What You Need to Know to Keep Carpet Beetles Out of Your Frisco Home

How often do you hear something that blows your mind? Probably not often enough. Well, prepared to have your mind blown! Carpet beetles don't eat carpet. Not even a little bit. If carpet beetles get into your home, they're not going to damage your carpets at all. Carpet beetles eat pollen and nectar. They never eat carpets. Did you hear the tiny little explosion go off inside your head? Okay. Maybe that wasn't as mind blowing as we built it up to be, but it is interesting to consider. Carpet beetles aren't a threat to your property. They're just a warning sign that your property is being damaged. When carpet beetles lay their eggs in your home, their offspring are the critters that present the threat. They're the ones that eat your carpets—assuming your carpets are made from natural fibers. So, as we discuss carpet beetles, and the threat they pose to your belongings, keep in mind that we're not talking about the adult beetle form of the carpet beetle. We're referring to their grub-like larvae. Here's what you need to know most about them.

Carpet Beetles in Texas

We have three carpet beetle species you can expect to find in your home. The common carpet beetle, the varied carpet beetle, and the furniture carpet beetle. Two of these look very similar to one another. You might have trouble telling a varied carpet beetle from a furniture carpet beetle because they both have a mottled mix of brown, black, and white coloration. Common carpet beetles have a fiery orange coloration down the center, and are quite distinctive from the other two. But, being a mere 1/16 of an inch in length, you may have difficulty clearly seeing the difference in coloration between these insects. They're not much bigger than a speck. Would you like to know another mind-blowing fact? The larvae of carpet beetles are larger than the adult beetles. Larvae can be ⅛ to as much as ¼ of an inch long!

Carpet Beetle Larvae Are a Threat

When carpet beetles get into your home, they can be a serious problem. Their larvae eat wool, silk, fur, leather, feathers, and natural fibers. They'll also feed on the hair on your hair brush, and the hair on your pets. They eat dead skin, dead insects, and even each other (after their dead, of course). They have a voracious appetite. They'll eat holes in a wool hat or a wool blanket. They'll eat holes in silk sheets. They make holes in your favorite shirt or blouse. They'll put holes in items made from yarn. They can also damage your upholstered furniture.

Carpet Beetles Are a Double Threat

When carpet beetles get into a home, their larvae can sometimes become pantry pests. If eggs are deposited in a pantry item, the larvae can contaminate the food. While they are not known to be a source of disease, and won't make you sick, it is fairly disturbing to find out you've eaten from a food source that has dozens of wormy bugs in it. You can prevent your foods from being infested with carpet beetles by putting pantry foods in sealed glass or plastic containers.

Carpet Beetles Are a Triple Threat

If it isn't bad enough that carpet beetle larvae damage your stuff and get into your food, they're also known to leave bumpy rashes on the skin. These rashes look so much like bug bites that some residents swear these insects are biting them. But, as we said above, carpet beetles eat pollen and nectar. They don't eat people. What happens is the bellies of carpet beetle grubs come in contact with the skin and cause an allergic reaction. This makes bumps rise, and a rash to form. If carpet beetles are eating your sheets or your bedding, you may start to develop a rash. While not as bad as being bitten by bugs while you sleep, it's no fun to get an itchy rash.

How to Get Rid of Carpet Beetles

If you have these insects in your home, and you want to protect your belongings from damage, the best solution is to contact Adams Exterminating Company. We use strategies that are proven to locate and eliminate these insects and their destructive offspring. Reach out to us today for immediate assistance.