As the name suggests, carpet beetles infest carpets and cause extreme threat to them. But Are Carpet Beetles Seasonal? Or they stay on the carpet for years until you treat them for removal.
The question is complicated, but its answer is more complicated because the size of these beetles is incredibly small and can easily avoid detection by the naked eye.
Let’s dive deep into the article and try to find out what are these carpet beetles and why do they grow in your carpet. Read the article till the end to know how you can eradicate them entirely from your room’s rug and take measures for their avoidance.
What Are Carpet Beetles?
Carpet beetles are 4mm long, oval-shaped bugs with a striped shell of black, yellow, and white color —however, they vary in color based on their species and maturity. They generally live on carpets and cause severe damage, especially when they are left unchecked due to their size.
These tiny larvae are fed on natural fibers like wool, leather, and silk, and sometimes, they are also fed on animal products and pet hair.
When they grow up, they lay hundreds of white color eggs that are less than 1mm long. This laying occurs every 10 days to 1 month, which is also a significant area of concern for carpets.
Are Carpet Beetles Harmful?
Carpet beetles may cause skin irritation if their number increases on the rug significantly, but other than this, they are not harmful to humans.
So, is it important to eliminate beetles from your carpet and home?
Well, yes, because these beetles not only damage the carpet by chewing its fabric but also the furniture above it, such as beds, couches, tables, etc. These damages can be so big that even after the beetle’s removal, it will be challenging to un-change its impact.
Why Are Carpet Beetles Present On The Carpet?
Carpet beetles seek out flower nectar, and they inadvertently fly anywhere while moving from flower to flower looking for nectar.
In the meantime, carpet beetles can visit your home from anywhere, including doors, windows, cracks in siding, or through openings near utility lines in search of warmth.
So, we can say that these beetles are more active in warmer regions, and their infestations commonly begin in the summer season.
With this, carpet beetles tend to hide in places where predators don’t notice them, and for this, carpets are the best place for them. Due to these reasons, carpet beetles stick to the rugs to lay eggs in fibrous material with dark, sheltered areas.
Are Carpet Beetles Seasonal?
As we have already discussed in the above point, carpet beetles are widely spread in the warmer regions. So, it must be clear that their availability is most noticeable in the summer season.
The Adult Carpet Beetles can be found around your garden between May and July, and you can notice them feeding on the pollen and nectar of flowers. The female beetles may then fly inside your home to lay their eggs, and if your carpet is dirty and has pet hair, then they will find it adequate for themselves and their offspring.
Is It Possible To Remove Carpet Beetles From The Carpet?
It’s important for you to understand that carpet beetles will not just go away on their own. So, if they are left untreated on the carpet, they will start to populate more.
To treat them, you can follow any of the handful of natural methods so that you can quickly get rid of these eggs, larvae, and adult carpet beetles without risking harm to your children or pets.
Hacks To Remove Carpet Beetles
The availability of carpet beetles is a threat to the carpets, and this is majorly when you leave them unchecked for a long time. The primary way to control Carpet Beetles is to find the sources of infestation and eliminate them.
Besides, you can check the most obvious regions, such as carpeting, fur, and plants. In addition, you can also make a call to professionals and licensed pest control operators.
If you want to be on the crest of a wave, follow the steps given below and remove the infestations through natural methods:
Vacuuming
This is the first yet most important step for beetle removal, and if you employ it regularly on your room’s rug, then there will be no chance of beetle availability on the rug.
- Vacuum your carpet hard while moving back and forth.
- Make sure that the vacuum cleaner reaches deep into fibers so that it can eliminate the most obvious beetles and their offspring.
- Remove the furniture present in the room to reach every corner well.
Steam Cleaning
As vacuuming, the steam carpet cleaners will also suck up beetles and their eggs while giving a deep clean to your carpet. But its significant advantage over vacuum cleaners is that it kills all the larvae in the carpet with its heat-wet strokes. You can also use Fabuloso on the carpet to give it a fresh look and remove beetles.
So even if there is any beetle remaining on the rug, it will not be alive to cause further infestation. To make better use of this step,
- Pout hot water and carpet cleaner solution in the clean water tank of carpet cleaner.
- Plug on the cleaner and move from side to side to give the rug a few wet and dry strokes.
- Do this step once every summer to avoid the chances of arrival beetles on your room’s carpet.
Vinegar
The acidic properties of vinegar and its effect as a cleaning agent can do miracles in your beetle removal process. And to use this,
- Mix equal parts of white vinegar in water and store it in a spraying bottle.
- Pour a bit of solution on the hidden part of the rug and check if it causes any discoloration.
- If not, sprinkle the solution evenly on the carpet and leave it until it dries.
- Due to the solution’s acidic property, the carpet beetles will die on the carpet, and then you can easily remove them by vacuuming or using a carpet cleaner.
Boric Acid
You can find this powder in your nearby market and use it on your carpet for the effective elimination of carpet beetles. But before making it into use, ensure that its acidic property does not spoil the fabric of your carpet. And for this,
- First, sprinkle the powder on any hidden part of the carpet and then leave it for some time to see the results.
- Shower an adequate amount of powder while ensuring the coverage of your rug.
- Leave the powder for 24 hours, and then dust it off with a vacuum cleaner.
If you have children or pets in your home, then you can avoid using this method for beetle removal. Because boric acid is poisonous to humans and, if consumed in large quantities, it can cause severe threat to health.
Insecticide
While talking about insects like beetles, it is impossible not to consider insecticide in their removal. You can buy any insecticide containing ingredients such as bifenthrin, deltamethrin, or cyfluthrin.
Also, before using it on the whole carpet, always test the insecticide on a small region to ensure your carpet won’t be damaged or stained.
How To Keep Carpet Beetles From Coming Back To Carpet?
You can vacuum the carpet regularly to remove all the filths and your pet’s hair. Other than this, you can keep the doors and windows of your home closed if you notice a hefty amount of bugs and beetles scrolling in your garden.
To eliminate their chances of entering completely, seal the gaps present in corners of your home or beneath the doors and windows. Additionally, check all the potted plants thoroughly before bringing them inside your home.
Are Carpet Beetles Seasonal? | Conclusion:
The question of “Are Carpet Beetles Seasonal?” is evident when you can’t find the course of their removal and wait for their self-elimination.
But instead of this, you should ask for ways to remove carpet beetles because there are a handful of methods that you can execute on your own. People also remove them from the carpet because of suspicions that carpet beetles bite.
Are Carpet Beetles Seasonal? | FAQ’S:
Will carpet beetles go away on their own?
You might think that the beetles will leave your carpet on their own, but that is not true. In fact, the longer the carpet beetles are left on the carpet, the more they will populate. So, to avoid their infestation, you can use methods like vinegar solution, steam cleaning, boric acid, etc, to eliminate the eggs, larvae, and adult carpet beetles without risking harm to anyone.
Why are carpet beetles most found in summer?
Carpet beetles mostly pupate in warm, which is why they get into carpets to lay eggs. Summers bring this warmth naturally; thereby, they grow more in this season.
How to find the ways where carpet beetles come into the house?
Carpet beetles typically enter a house from doors, windows, or gaps present on corners of your wall. If you want to avoid their entrance into your home, then seal the gaps properly and don’t leave the windows open all the time.
Daleyza knows a lot about carpets! She has worked with carpets for over 7 years and can help with things like putting them in, keeping them clean, and replacing them. She really likes carpets and spends most of her time learning about new ways to work with them. When she’s not learning about carpets, she enjoys reading books. She’s really good at helping people choose the right carpet for their homes and making sure they’re happy with it. If you want to know more about carpets, Daleyza is the person to talk to!