Carpet Beetles. Any experience?


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Heard of Carpet Moths, but never heard of Carpet Beetles until recently.  I found a couple around my desk in work just before I retired and was fascinated by them because I have a general interest in insects.  Here's one..

 

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That's an adult above.

 

Here's the real pest...  the Larva.  Known as 'Wooly Bears'  This is what eats woollen carpets and other animal based  stuff like hair, feathers, dead insects etc. It can also cause an allergic reaction in humans.

 

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Anyway, since I first saw the little sods in work, I've been finding them at home.  Almost exclusively the adult beetles, always either on, or heading for a windowsill, as if drawn to the light. Easy to spot as they stand out against white paint and pale walls. Always found upstairs, mostly in one bedroom. I may have inadvertently brought them home, or it may just be coincidence.

 

I only ever found two of the larvae, .. downstairs. They were hanging around the various plugs and sockets under my P.C. (They are apparently attracted to the electromagnetic field given off by electrical kit)  They were the only ones I ever found and I disposed of them quickly, hoovered like mad and sprayed with insecticide.  Frequent checks since have revealed no more. in that area. They aren't likely to be attracted by the carpets as such, because they are mostly artificial fibres.these days.

 

So.. what I'm getting is two or three adults appearing upstairs every couple of days in spring.  I think they are trying to get outside, but they get a one way trip down the loo instead.  Despite intensive searches, I can never find any larvae anywhere upstairs.  My theory is that if there is any sort of 'colony', they are under the floorboards. and only popping up as adults. There are  holes around radiator pipes and the odd crevice they can probably find their way out of as adults. We used to get mice years ago, because they were getting under the integral garage door and in via pipe spaces.  One set up a nest next to central heatiing pipes under the floorboards. I put a stop to that with expanding foam and no mice since. But, it's possible there are still nests under floorboards with animal matter which would attract the bugs.

Anyway.. the things must be more widespead than I thought, because it's easy to get various control chemicals etc., from eBay and Amazon.  So.  I intend a real purge, spraying/dusting all possible hiding places and then sealing off holes etc with tape. See how that goes.

But if anyone else has had to deal with these anti-social little critters, I'd be keen to hear how you tackled them.

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Yep see them often in summer over this side of the pond, you need to spray insecticide over your carpets, the larvae eat the carpets backing, and give it a thorough vacuuming, they will over time destroy your carpets.

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Moving swiftly on.... :Shock:

 

I went up today into the room where most of these things appear.  Just the adult beetles.  Just as a reminder, the damage is done by the larvae, 'woolly bears', which don't move far.  They then turn into the Adults, which is pretty much all I've seen.  The larvae just crawl about a bit, the adults walk quite swiftly but do no damage.  The larvae cannot fly, the Adults can, and alwatys seem to be trying to get to light and go outside.

Examined under carpert all around the edges, also under bed, every seam on the mattress and base, inside all the storage drawers in bed base, inside pillow and duvet covers etc. Also inside and on top of fitted wardrobes.. indeed everywhere in the room.  No sign of any of the 'woolly bears'.  Hoovered everywhere to within an inch of its life and changed all bedding.

 

So, there are none of the beasts in there or anywhere else I can find.  Also no detectable damage to carpets or anything else. Only clue is that the floorboards in that room barely tuck under the skirting along the outside wall..( typical 70s building) so lots of gaps, but covered by carpet.  Possible that they are under floor boards feeding off something and coming up from those gaps, but also possible they are in (integral) garage, and have found a way through, or even just coming in from outside and not living indoors at all.

Tomorrow, I shall consult the local council pest people.  No point spreading poisons and stuff about at my expense, if it's not going to help, or if it's not even a real problem.

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Translation?

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