You do your best to keep your house clean and prevent pests. Unfortunately, even the most conscientious homeowners can suffer from an occasional infestation. While many pests are attracted to food waste and garbage in messy homes, some pests have an appetite for your home itself. Carpet beetles can ruin your belongings and prove difficult to get rid of once an infestation has developed. If you’ve been wondering how carpet beetles get into Portland homes, we’ve got the answer.

What Are Carpet Beetles?

While we know some pests like ants and bees come into our homes from their nests in search of food, carpet beetles can seem to appear out of nowhere. These tiny bugs average about 1/8 inch in size and can easily enter your home undetected. Carpet beetles feed on dead insects, grains and pantry foods, and various fabric materials like carpets.

There are three main types of carpet beetle that vary in appearance:

• Black carpet beetles: Dark brown or black
• Varied carpet beetles: Speckled with spots of brown, black, and white
• Common carpet beetles: Black and white with bright red or orange stripe

As you may have guessed, carpet beetles can be found in carpets. But they are also known to infest upholstered furniture and other fibrous materials including animal skins and feathers. While you might think adult beetles are responsible for damage, it’s actually the larvae that feed on carpets, clothing, and furniture while adults prefer nectar.

How Did Carpet Beetles Get In My House?

Carpet beetles either fly in through openings around your house or hitchhike their way in attached to plants and flowers. Thanks to their small size, even the tiniest gaps and cracks can be an entrance for carpet beetles to crawl in. These pests are attracted to light and will gravitate towards windows and doors.

Once inside, carpet beetles will lay their eggs, and hairy worm-like larvae will begin to feed. Unlike other fabric-damaging pests like moths, carpet beetle larvae will eat one large section of fabric at a time, resulting in visible gaping holes in the material they feed on.

Can I Get Rid Of Carpet Beetles?

Carpet beetles can be difficult to get rid of. First of all, carpet beetles tend to lay their eggs in hidden areas where they won’t be found by predators. A female can lay up to 100 eggs at a time which hatch into larvae in a month or less. Not to mention, carpet beetle larvae can survive without food for several weeks. All of which are factors that can contribute to a severe infestation.

Because they are so tiny, carpet beetles and their larvae are often hard to spot. They are also commonly confused for bed bugs since they will occasionally crawl into bed sheets to feed on dead skin. Carpet beetles don’t bite but can still cause homeowners to worry as they scour their house for blood-sucking bed bugs.

As long as carpet beetles have something to feed on, an infestation will persist. The best thing you can do to get rid of carpet beetles is to reduce the food available to the larvae. This can mean simply washing dirty fabrics around the house and storing clothing and fabric in secure containers. But regularly sweeping for dust, hair, and lint can also reduce the presence of carpet beetles.

However, if you’re really looking to get rid of carpet beetles, the easiest and most effective way to handle a carpet beetle infestation is with professional assistance from Kanga Pest Control. With great prices and unbeatable customer service, our residential pest control plans are second to none in Portland, OR. Get in touch with us today.