Carpet Beetles Information

Carpet Beetles themselves are not actually a problem, they only live between 2 and 6 weeks and they do no damage inside because they prefer to fly outside and feed on flower pollen and nectar. However, they do lay their eggs in carpets, hence the name, and any other upholstered products such as fur, leather and silk. From the eggs, larvae hatch after a couple of weeks and they cause serious damage to the carpets and upholstery. The larvae are 5mm in length and covered in tufts of arrow headed bristly hairs and are commonly known as “Woolly Bears”.

The larvae feed on the carpets or upholstery where they emerge and as they pupate they bury themselves deep into their feeding matter, causing irreparable damage as they go. They can remain in the larval stage for as long as three months. The “Woolly Bear” goes through many moults, up to as many as 25 and so sometimes the left over larval skins can be seen by the naked eye, but these are often hidden in cracks and crevices or mistaken for dust.

There are actually several species of carpet beetle, including the furniture carpet beetle (Anthrenus flaviceps), the two-spot carpet beetle (Attagenus pellio) and the varied carpet beetle (Anthrenus verbasci).

Carpet Beetles tend to be brought into the home on cut flowers and the larvae are inclined to damage a large area on one portion of a carpet, rug or garment, rather than lots of little patches or holes.

Carpet Beetle Control Pheromone traps can be used to detect adult carpet beetles. If you capture them before they have a chance to mate then damage will be minimized. Their most active time of year is between March and November as they don’t tend to survive in the winter. Pheromone traps are sticky and baited with the scent of a chemical attractant produced by an organism that attracts carpet beetles.

Maintaining a clean and hygienic home will assist in keeping carpet beetles and their larvae at bay. You should regularly vacuum and give you rugs, curtains, upholstery and blankets a thorough clean and airing.

Carpet beetles are one of the most problematic pests to control because they can scatter through a building and hide in all manner of fabrics. If you suspect your home may be infested with carpet beetles or Woolly Bears then you should lift as many pieces of furniture, carpets, rugs and fabrics as possible, in order to locate them, otherwise you may miss them, which means the infestation will quickly re-establish itself. To be really sure you’ve eradicated an infestation of carpet beetles or Woolly Bears from your home; you have to call in the pest controllers to do it for you.