If you notice holes appearing in the clothes inside your closet, they may have been infested with carpet beetles. Like moths, carpet beetles will eat clothes made out of natural fibers like wool and fur. Carpet beetles will also chew through other fibers (including synthetics) if they're covered in something the carpet beetle can eat, such as animal dander. Carpet beetles won't bite you, but they can cause substantial damage to your clothing, furniture, carpets, and rugs.
In their adult state, carpet beetles look like black or brown ladybugs. In their larval form, they look like furry worms. Carpet beetles are very small, so they're hard to spot. If you notice any in your closet, it's important to eliminate the infestation quickly in order to protect your clothing. To learn how you can get rid of carpet beetles in your closet, read on.
Wash Your Clothing to Kill the Carpet Beetles Nesting Inside
Carpet beetles will be killed by high temperatures. You can kill carpet beetles nesting in your clothes by washing them using the hot water setting on the washing machine. For delicate items of clothing that would be damaged by hot water, you can have them dry cleaned in order to kill all of the carpet beetles living inside them.
Once you've washed your clothes, store them in airtight plastic bags to prevent any more carpet beetles from getting inside them. You can take your clothes out of the bags and return them to your closet when you're sure there are no more carpet beetles inside your home.
Prevent More Carpet Beetles From Entering Your Home
Adult carpet beetles eat pollen and can fly, so they often enter homes accidentally when they fly away from a flowering bush that's near a door or window. In order to keep carpet beetles out of your home, you'll need to carefully inspect all of the insect screens on your windows. Carpet beetles are very small, so they can enter your home through tiny holes in an insect screen. Repair any holes you find in your insect screen to keep the carpet beetles out. In addition, make sure you inspect any flowers you pick outside for carpet beetles before bringing them inside.
Remove the Carpet Beetles Nesting in Other Areas of Your Home
Carpet beetles often migrate from closets to other nesting areas inside the home. Once you've prevented any more carpet beetles from getting inside, you'll need to remove the remaining carpet beetles in your home. Carpet beetles prefer to nest in dark areas like closets and attics. They may also nest in cracks in furniture and the gap between the edge of a carpet and a wall.
The best way to get rid of the remaining carpet beetles in your home is to use sticky traps. These are coated in a pheromone that attracts carpet beetles. They'll wander onto the trap and become stuck. Place sticky traps in dark areas where carpet beetles like to make their nests. If a trap fills up, throw it out and replace it with another one. Once the traps stop filling up with carpet beetles, you've successfully eliminated the infestation from your home.
If you're having trouble getting rid of the remaining carpet beetles, call a pest control service in your area. They'll be able to spray pesticide around the outside of your home that will kill carpet beetles before they're able to fly inside, and they can also use pesticide to remove all of the carpet beetles still inside your home. Carpet beetles can do significant damage to expensive clothing and furniture, so it's best to call pest control professionals as soon as possible if you can't manage to remove the carpet beetles on your own.
For more information, contact a pest control company near you.
Most pest infestations can quickly get out of hand if you do not address them. There is a reason people joke about "breeding like mice." You can go from having two mice in your home to having hundreds in a matter of weeks! When you think there are pests inside your home, you need to take control, and quickly. You take control by calling in a pest control professional. They can use a combination of trapping, poisoning, and cleanup methods to eradicate the pests. Learn more about these methods and about other pest control topics on this website, created to educate people like you about the pest control industry.