Carpet Beetle Control: How To Get Rid of Carpet Beetles

This page is a Carpet Beetles control guide. Using the products and methods suggested you will control Carpet Beetles. Follow this guide and use the recommended products and we guarantee 100% control of Carpet Beetles.

Carpet Beetles are a fairly common pest that you may encounter in your home as they have a big appetite for fabrics and furniture. Known for leaving holes in carpets and rugs, Carpet beetles are small dome-shaped insects ranging from between 1/8th of an inch to 1/4th of an inch long. 

Carpet Beetles primarily feed on fabrics and carpeting but they also can be a common pest around the kitchen, getting into stored food. Despite their name, Carpet Beetles are not naturally born and raised up out of carpets but in fact, are naturally outdoor bugs who make their way indoors in some form or fashion. These pests are commonly found in warehouses, homes, museums, and other locations where suitable food exists.

If you have a Carpet Beetle problem, this DIY guide covers how you can remove them from your home using expert techniques and professional-quality products.

Identification

It is important to first make sure you are dealing with Carpet Beetles as they can often be confused as being some type of ladybug or bed bug due to its similar resemblance in shape and occasionally spotted body. Misidentification can lead to using the wrong pesticide, costing you time and money. Below are some identifying traits and info to help you with proper identification.

• Carpet Beetles are small and have an oval-shaped body. They are usually brown but the speckles on their shell can vary in color with black, orange, yellow, green and white-ish patterns on their body.  
• There are four main species of Carpet beetles. These include the Black Carpet Beetles and the varied, common, and furniture Carpet Beetles. An adult Black Carpet Beetle is consistently black in color, oval-shaped, and varies in size from 5mm to 8mm. Carpet beetle larvae have color-banded bodies that may be white, light brown or dark brown and they have prickly hairs that can cause skin irritation if they graze against you.
• What makes Carpet Beetles a particularly problematic pest in households is their preference for consuming and digesting keratin, a protein found in skin and hair. This affinity for keratin makes them relentlessly target and eat clothing, carpeting and upholstery. They have been reported to be a major pest in homes, storage areas, museums, and apparel stores.
• They can also be hazardous to some humans with asthma as their ability to discard molt skins from the larval stage can trigger asthmatic symptoms.

Use the image and description above to help you to properly identify Carpet Beetles. If you are not totally sure, contact us and we will assist you with proper identification.

Inspection

Once you have identified Carpet Beetles, you can move forward with an inspection. You may find a group of Carpet Beetles nestled in a piece of furniture in the living room and find another pocket of carpet beetles in a closet upstairs.

These groups of Carpet Beetles, especially when there is a large infestation, may be formed either from multiple beetles finding a way inside the home or even a single female laying eggs in a secluded area that have all hatched. It is in these cases where when conducting control treatments to treat the entire home and not just spot treating certain areas.

Where To Inspect

Indoors inspect your carpets, rugs, furniture, closets, and along baseboards. Inspect storage spaces, attics, basements, and areas of your home that are undisturbed.  Carpet Beetle larvae are light sensitive so they may be found in dark areas like in drawers or along baseboards. On the flip side, adult Carpet Beetles are attracted to light and may be found on windowsills. Inspect items made of natural fibers such as wool, cotton, silk, fur, and animal hair.

Perhaps the area where carpet beetles are most commonly found which can aggravate homeowners is a closet. Usually, in such circumstances, Carpet Beetles would be munching on clothing and the holes they leave behind are often confused as being from a clothes moth.

What To Look For

You're looking for Carpet Beetles and Carpet Beetles Larvae. Carpet Beetles larvae look like worms with small hairs, and will often on the edges of carpeting, baseboards, and tufts of furniture. If you find Carpet Beetles or Carpet Beetles larvae, these are the areas where you will apply the treatment.

The main difference between a moth feeding on clothing and a Carpet Beetle feeding is that moth larvae often stays where they have been feeding as they transition from larvae into adult. Carpet beetles, on the other hand, will move to a different area when pupating, away from the clothing itself. When you see no trace of a bug in your clothing, you can rest assured that the damage was the work of Carpet Beetles.

Treatment

Once you have confirmed Carpet Beetle activity it's time to begin treatment. Remember that you must read all the product labels and follow the application instructions on these labels, and stay safe by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).

For treating Carpet Beetles, we recommend a combination of cleaning measures such as vacuuming to remove the beetles and the use of professional insecticides. After a thorough vacuuming, apply Flex 10-10 Insecticide to cracks and crevices inside the home as well as create a perimeter barrier outside of your home. We also recommend applying D-Fense Dust to treat entry points and other areas where Carpet Beetles hide that are hard-to-reach. 

Step 1 - Preliminary Vacuuming

Before applying treatment you need to prepare the areas for product application. You will do this by vacuuming and immediately disposing of the contents of the vacuum outdoors in a bag. Vacuum the areas where you found the infestation. Also, vacuum close to the cracks and crevices as well as close to the baseboards. If you found Carpet Beetles near furniture, it will also have to be vacuumed. 

Wash or dry (on high heat) any infested fabric item (clothes, bedding, etc.) that can be washed. If the item is old or not needed anymore, you can discard the infested items. Finally, wipe down shelves and surfaces with mild soap and water.

Step 2 - Treat Indoors with Flex 10-10

To treat your indoor surfaces, use Flex 10-10 liquid insecticide. Flex 10-10 is a liquid concentrate that you will mix with water to be sprayed around and under carpets, on baseboards, and some cracks and crevices. Flex 10-10 is safe to use and has a broad label, meaning that it is labeled to control Carpet beetles and other pests like mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, ants, cockroaches, and many more.

Determine how much Flex 10-10 you will need by calculating the square footage of the treatment area. To do this, measure and multiply the area length times the width (length x width = square footage). Flex 10-10 is mixed at a rate of 3.2 fluid ounces of Flex 10-10 per gallon of water (for heavy infestations, mix 6.4 fl. oz. per gallon of water) in a 1 gallon pump sprayer. Mixing is easy; fill your sprayer about halfway with water, then measure your insecticide and add that to the sprayer. Then fill the sprayer the rest of the way to the 1 gallon mark. Screw the sprayer lid of tight, and then shake the sprayer to mix well.

Spray the edges of carpeting and under carpets and rugs. Use a fan tip setting on your sprayer and spray with low to medium pressure so that you are spraying to wet rather than drenching the carpet. Also, spot spray baseboards, shelving, drawers, closets and in cracks and crevices where you have noticed Carpet Beetle activity. Use a low to medium pressure and spray to wet. It's best to spray the top of the baseboard so the solution runs down and coats the entire baseboard.

Do not let people or pets enter areas until the spray has dried, usually between 2 to 4 hours.

Step 3 - Apply D-Fense Dust

Carpet Beetles make their way into homes through smalls gaps and holes, using them as points of entry. They also hide in tight cracks and crevices that most pesticides cannot reach. This is when D-Fense Dust comes in handy. D-Fense Dust is a moisture-resistant insecticidal dust that will be perfect to target Carpet Beetles their hiding spots, and has a solid residual of 8 months.

To use D-Fense Dust, you will need a handheld duster. Simply fill your handheld duster halfway with D-Fense Dust, and leave plenty of room inside the duster for the air to circulate. Close the Duster and apply by squeezing on the duster lightly. Apply D-Fense Dust in cracks and crevices in rooms where you have noticed Carpet Beetle activity. You should also focus applications along baseboards where the carpet touches the wall and in small openings. 

Step 4 - Monitor with Catchmaster Glueboards

While the above pesticides will do the trick to kill any present Carpet Beetles, it may not successfully eliminate all of them. For any that happen to be lingering around, you can try to capture them by placing around Catchmaster Glueboards or use the glueboards to monitor activity as a preventative measure.

These glueboards are easy to use and come in increments of 12, allowing you to get a good spread around your property. Place in areas you suspect they would be active.

Prevention

After you have treated your home for Carpet Beetles, you will want to implement some preventative measures to discourage future infestations. Here are a few tips we recommend:

• Start by keeping pollinating plants as far away from your home or structure as possible. Adult Carpet Beetles are attracted to pollen and many times end up in homes after being attracted by the flowers.
• Seal any possible entry points around your property (like cracks and crevices around window frames, door frames, and electrical/plumbing penetrations).By making absolutely sure there are no obvious points of entry into your home, no insects (including Carpet Beetles) will be able to enter your structure.
• You can also apply Flex 10-10 once a month to ensure continued control of carpet beetles and other pests. To use Flex 10-10 for preventative measures, use 1.3 fl. oz. of Flex 10-10 per gallon of water.

Key Takeaways

What are Carpet Beetles?

• Carpet Beetles are a beetle species that can cause indoor infestations where they can damage carpets, fabrics and contaminating food products if not addressed quickly.
• Carpet beetles are capable of eating just about anything from your carpet to your furniture. They do not shy away from pet hair, pet food, dead insects or even leather products. They also like to lay eggs in carpet, which make way for destructive larvae.
• When you are looking for Carpet Beetles, you might want to start off around the edges of your carpets, around all your door casings and especially inside the upholstered furniture that you might have.

How To Get Rid of Carpet Beetles In Your Home

• To get rid of Carpet Beetles we recommend conducting a detailed vacuum and cleanup of infested areas and items, applying Flex 10-10 Insecticide and D-Fense Dust. Finally, you should capture lingering Carpet Beetles with Catchmaster Glueboards.

Preventing Carpet Beetle Reinfestation

• Prevent future infestations of Carpet Beetles by sealing up points of entry to your home with caulk, maintaining cleanliness by vacuuming around your home.
• Make preventative applications of Flex 10-10 periodically every 90 days or so for continued protection against Carpet Beetle invasions.