Having any kind of pest inside your home or business can be extremely annoying. Pests can make you feel stressed in your own home and make you feel like your space isn’t clean. While there are many pests that are just a nuisance, there are some that can do a lot of damage. From spreading diseases to causing allergies to creating property damage, some pests can be dangerous and others can cost you a lot of money. While you’ve likely heard of termites or rodents doing damage to buildings, there is another pest that often leads to property damage. This pest is the carpet beetle.
While you usually think of adults of any species posing the most problems, this isn’t the case with the carpet beetle. This pest is only a problem when it is in its larval stage. While adults of the species aren’t a problem for people, their larvae definitely are.
What Do Carpet Beetles Look Like?
Depending on the species and their age, these beetles can look slightly different. However, there are some overall things to look for.
Adults:
- Oval shaped
- Six legs and two antennae
- Rounded bodies and wings under their shells
- Range in color but are usually black with varying scales of colors such as brown, yellow, and orange.
Larvae:
- They look like fuzzy worms
- Have bands across their body
- Larvae are usually red, brown, dark brown, or black.
Damage Carpet Beetles Can Cause
Carpet beetles can get into your home through small openings. They commonly enter through windows, doors, or cracks or holes anywhere in the exterior of your home. They often eat flowers outside the home and search inside for food.
If you are wondering if these pests can really do that much damage. The answer is yes. They really can be a huge problem. They are known as one of the most common invading pests, and the larvae love to eat things such as fabrics, hair, and other insects. They will also eat cotton, wool, fur, and leather.
This makes them a big problem as they can ruin things such as:
- Furniture
- Clothes
- Carpets
- Blankets And more
Prevention Tips for Carpet Beetles
The best way to avoid spending a lot of money replacing items and flooring that these beetles have ruined is to keep them out of your building or home in the first place. The best way to keep them from becoming a problem is to keep the adults out. Adults will get inside and lay their eggs in the carpets and around your home. Then their larvae will get to work causing a lot of damage. Since the adults feed on nectar and pollen, be careful to make sure outdoor plants and flowers don’t have any unwanted visitors on them before you bring them inside.
Some other prevention tips include:
- Keep certain flowering plants away from your home.
- Make sure windows and screens are intact.
- Keep weather stripping around doors and windows.
- Place clothing items in storage in pest-free containers.
- Have your carpets and upholstery deep-cleaned regularly.
Contact the Professionals
Once these pests get inside your Streater home, it can be really difficult to get rid of them. This is because they are hard to find as they often hide and feed in areas you might not access often. They can spread quickly, and getting rid of all of the eggs and larvae can be a challenge.
The best way to get rid of carpet beetles once they’re inside is to contact the team at Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators. We have experience getting rid of these pests as well as other household invading insects and rodents.