Carpet Beetles: Museum Curators Love Them; Homeowners Hate Them

Carpet beetles, like their name indicates, are beetles that feed on carpets. They also fed on a number of other materials as well. The three main Carpet Beetles are the Varied Carpet Beetle, the Black Carpet Beetle, and the Furniture Carpet Beetle. They may infest warehouses, museums, and homes and the beetle larvae feed on materials such as carpets, wool, silk, fur, feathers, or any other animal product.

If you find damage on your clothes that have been stored in closets and are not sure if the culprit was moths or Carpet Beetles, you can usually tell by the amount of the damage. Moths tend to leave holes that are spread throughout a garment, where as Carpet Beetles tend to eat in one area at a time and leave a huge gaping hole in a garment. The adult Carpet Beetles fly, and you may first notice that they are located on your windows. This is the first sign that you have a possible Carpet Beetle infestation. Dealing with these critters requires skill since Carpet Beetles can feed on a variety of different materials and can hide virtually anywhere.

It is important to check second hand clothes and items thoroughly before bringing them into your home. You can visually see the Carpet Beetles so make a visual inspection before purchasing fur coats, wool jackets, or any other type of natural fiber material before bringing it into your home.

Museums have a love/hate relationship with Carpet Beetles. Because Carpet Beetles are expert at eating insects and other animal materials, Carpet Beetles can devastate a museum's collection of insects, animals, and any natural materials that are being preserved. However, it is also for this reason that some museum curator's favor the Carpet Beetle. If a museum wants to display a skeleton, they can prepare the skeleton by letting some Carpet Beetles work on the carcass for a few weeks. However, unless your home is serving double time as a museum, it is unlikely that you will find any purpose or benefit for these creatures being in your home, and you will want to eliminate them immediately.

Carpet Beetles will favor the underlying side of your carpet. They prefer dark, moist areas, and the underside of the carpet is host to a number of materials that they will feed their larvae upon. You may notice that little holes are appearing in your carpet. Upon closer inspection, you may notice their droppings, which resemble shavings from a pencil. Sometimes, you will discover that they have molted and left their body casings behind as evidence. All of these signs point to the fact that you have a Carpet Beetle infestation.

You will need to treat the area immediately to prevent further spread. Cleanliness is a great way to prevent Carpet Beetles, but if you are already dealing with an infestation, you may want to contact a professional exterminator who has experience dealing with Carpet Beetles. If you use insecticide sprays, make sure to spot check rugs or carpets before using the spray to make sure that it will not ruin or stain your rugs.