Adult carpet beetles are insects that often invade homes, searching for places to lay their eggs. If you’re allergic to the common carpet beetle, you may develop rashes; however, the most crucial impact these bugs have comes from the fabric-eating larvae they produce. Figuring out how to keep carpet beetles away from your home is essential to prevent these bugs from damaging your possessions.
Adult beetles don’t pose a significant threat to humans as these pests only spend roughly a month of their lives as adults. During this time, adult beetles mate and lay carpet beetle eggs in locations where their larvae have food supply.
These locations range from bird nests to kitchen drawers and underneath furniture in your home. Like a clothes moth, after hatching, carpet beetle larvae feed on the natural fibers in clothes, blankets, rugs, and pet hair and other fabrics made from animal products.
- Natural Ways to Keep Carpet Beetles Away
- Identifying Carpet Beetles
- How to Keep Carpet Beetles Away with Peppermint Oil
- Are Traps the Best Way to Keep Carpet Beetles Away?
- Use Diatomaceous Earth to Kill Carpet Beetles
- Repel Carpet Beetles with Vinegar
- Repel Carpet Beetles with Alcohol
- How to Keep Carpet Beetles Away
- Carpet Beetle Prevention Tips
Natural Ways to Keep Carpet Beetles Away
Beetle larvae feed on the compounds and proteins in these fibers and dead insects. Although the larvae of the insects are small and the damage they cause may seem minor, if their numbers are not addressed, you could have a carpet beetle infestation in no time.
Although the damage caused by these pests is severe, knowing their food source means that getting rid of carpet beetles doesn’t have to involve harsh insecticides. By eliminating the source of their food and using home remedies for keeping carpet beetles out, you can save your favorite wool clothes from being destroyed.
Identifying Carpet Beetles
Dermestidae is a family of beetles sometimes known as skin beetles and carpet beetles. There are over 500 species of beetles worldwide, and they are destructive to carpet fibers.
Varied carpet beetles and furniture carpet beetles closely resemble each other because they are small and round with fine scales. The furniture beetle has yellow scales with long protrusions that resemble hair follicles, and varied carpet beetles have yellow, brown, and white scales.
Fur beetles are among the largest carpet beetle species with red, black, or brown shells. A white patch on its wings makes this species easily recognizable.
As their name suggests, black carpet beetles grow hard black shells and are no larger than five millimeters. After reaching the adult stage, these beetles only live for about two weeks.
How to Keep Carpet Beetles Away with Peppermint Oil
Many commercial products for pest control use peppermint oil, but you can skip buying pricey repellents filled with chemicals. Use peppermint oil with a few household items to create natural ways to keep carpet beetles away.
Add peppermint oil to an 8-ounce spray bottle with water to create a spray to repel carpet beetles. Spritz entry points to your home like window sills. If you’ve noticed carpet beetles in your home, spray your curtains, carpet, and clothes to prevent carpet beetles from causing further damage.
Are Traps the Best Way to Keep Carpet Beetles Away?
If you spot carpet beetles in your house, likely, they are already laying eggs. Regular cleaning is a great way to remove carpet beetle eggs, but if you want to catch larvae before they begin eating your carpet, traps are an excellent way to keep these pests from their food source.
Sticky traps are inexpensive methods for controlling the number of carpet beetle larvae. They work by using a pheromone to lure in beetles before trapping them on a pre-glued portion they cannot escape from.
Use Diatomaceous Earth to Kill Carpet Beetles
Food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) is one of the natural ways to keep carpet beetles away; it also kills these pests after making contact with them. Diatomaceous earth is made of crystalline fragments that cut into the outer bodies of insects to dry them out.
To deal with larvae, add diatomaceous earth for insect control to cabinets and drawers, under the sink, and in any dark place carpet beetles may lay their eggs. Diatomaceous earth also effectively kills bed bugs or Japanese beetles in the garden.
Repel Carpet Beetles with Vinegar
If you find dead carpet beetles due to another carpet beetle removal method, the job is only half done. Adult beetles have short lifespans, so seeing them dead isn’t uncommon, but the priority is ensuring you stop their larvae from feeding and growing.
Carpet beetles hate the smell of vinegar, so make it a habit of cleaning out cabinets or drawers where you find adult beetles with a mixture of water and vinegar.
Mix vinegar with water in a 16-ounce spray bottle and spray the mixture in your kitchen. Although larvae enjoy feeding on natural fibers, they may also target grains and food particles left in cabinets. Spritz the mixture around windowsills and your living room where larvae feed as a way to get rid of carpet beetle larvae in the house.
Note: Distilled white vinegar is an acceptable substitute for apple cider vinegar.
Repel Carpet Beetles with Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is a great household item for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces. If it’s not part of your current cleaning regime, the fact that carpet beetles dislike the smell of rubbing alcohol and avoid laying eggs near it is reason enough to start using it.
Clean kitchen counters and drawers with rubbing alcohol and remove possible food sources for carpet beetles. Adult carpet beetles won’t lay their eggs in areas cleaned with rubbing alcohol.
How to Keep Carpet Beetles Away
Like with most pests, cleaning is an excellent defense for keeping them away. Many pests are drawn indoors for a food source or damp conditions that mimic their outdoor environment. Regular cleaning is likely the best way to keep carpet beetles away next to eliminating their food source.
Killing Beetles and Larvae with Bleach
When cleaning and sanitizing, few products are as effective as bleach. Due to its harsh chemical nature, bleach effectively kills bacteria and makes a handy, versatile cleaner when diluted with water. Create a bleach spray to kill larvae and new eggs on contact quickly.
Carefully pour bleach into a spray bottle filled with water and spritz it evenly over surfaces where you’ve spotted carpet beetle activity. Wear gloves and wipe down the areas with a white cloth or sponge.
Carpet Beetle Prevention Tips
If you have carpet beetle infested items like clothes, it may be easier to throw them away and clean your closet of any larvae. To protect the rest of your clothes, place them in plastic bags with a mothball wrapped in paper to draw in larvae to kill them. Perform regular carpet cleaning and inspect your upholstered furniture for signs of damage.
Because carpet beetles live outdoors and often lay eggs outside near your home, you may want to look into bird control methods for your area. Bird nests are ideal locations for carpet beetle larvae to hatch, so removing any yet-to-be-completed nests is a preventative step in managing the number of carpet beetles nearby.
So, what keeps carpet beetles away? Unless you plan on switching to a house full of synthetic fibers, it takes regular cleaning and maintenance to keep the number of carpet beetles down. With our home remedies for carpet beetle control, you’ll be able to manage their numbers before the damage to your home becomes a problem.
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