I first found some carpet beetle larvae over three years ago in a bag of clothes that had been sitting for a year or so waiting to be sorted for the charity shop...got rid of them and thought that was that...worst of the problem was over with.
Over the years I've seen the odd larvae - then none for about a year. I thought I'd got rid of them. I've seen quite a few adults on the window sills (but I didn't know they were connected - I thought they'd come in from outside).
Then about six months ago I found another larvae in a drawer with some stored clothes...and decided I'd better have a through check...
I found about 6 larvae in total, mostly in stored clothes but also in a food cupboard apparently eating a stray piece of dry cat food. And I found pupal cases in three sets of drawers...and that they had chewed holes in (clean) wool coats, cotton items (seem to prefer black), wool mix socks etc etc.
I've washed and ironed all the clothes, and all but the bare minimum are now stored in sealed plastic bags. I have steamed my carpets and mattresses etc.
I read online that they didn't like lavender or cedar. So I bought these oils and wiped the inside of my drawers etc with them. And then realised a lavender pouch hadn't stopped them eating my cashmere mix coat.
(caution - live insect experimentation coming up...)
So when I found four larvae I decided to see if they really didn't like lavender or cedar oil. Cedar oil had no effect - they would crawl right over it. Lavender oil they would crawl right up to it (couldn't seem to 'smell' it) but didn't like crawling over it - until it was completely dry -and then it might as well not been there.
I also read that borax and/or salt might kill them. So I put borax in a sealed plastic box with them and then after a day so added some salt too - and almost three months later (with no water and a few strands of hair for food) only one of them seems to have recently died, while one is so happy it has shred its skin once...(one I tumble dried on the 'freshen up' cycle to confirm that this would be hot enough to kill at least the larvae - and it did...)
What has really shocked me is that they have survived for so long ...I had forgotten they were there and really thought that regular hoovering under beds etc and restricted food (clothes etc in plastic) would have killed them - but a few hairs and no water kept three of them alive for so long!
I have just bought some Boric acid (not borax) and some diatomaceaous earth.
Have given the remaining two larvae a little moisture and some more hair - to make sure they are healthy when I try these out on them...I'll keep you posted on the result.
How to Get Rid of Things: Forum » Pest Control
carpet beetles - larvae are almost indestructible.
(17 posts)-
Posted 1 year ago #
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I believe Boric Acid and Borax are the same things. I've discovered I still have these buggers too. Never see any beetles though. I bought some borax recently and was hoping that would do something.
Posted 1 year ago # -
The trick is to find the breeding area. Think of a spot that has undisturbed for a long time. Maybe under a piece of furniture, some junk in a closet..a through INSPECTION with a flashlight may turn up the source of the problem, not just work on the symptoms as it seems we are doing.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Ok -so I gave them a day or so to recover and then put one in a tub with boric acid and the other with Diatomaceaous earth...and about three weeks later they are still alive and kicking...thinking I might try both together now.
The only place I have seen one or two dead ones is in my eaves...where I had treated with woodworm killer. I also found a few dead woodworm
beetles, a couple of dead wood lice and another unidentified insect. Whatever is in woodworm killer (pimethrin or something) does kill them - but I know isn't very good for cats (mine got into eaves just after treating - and ended up having a bath on the advice of my vet- it didn't like it much!)As for the source...have literally been through everything - a few years ago I cleared out my attic completely looking for more woodworm and for insulation - didn't find anything.
I do have a few suspects of the original source - I found a few larvae in a manual carpet sweeper thing in a cupboard that hadn't been used for a while. Also - but I think I found carpet beetle larva before this started - I found a mummified bird - (I knew my cat had brought one in (feathers on the floor) but looked everywhere and couldn't find the bird - a year or so later(!) it re-appeared in the middle of the floor - I don't know where it had been - I suspect behind the central heating boiler... Finally our sofa was inherited with the house and the previous owner had a dog, when I was getting rid of it I cut open the bottom to find a mat of dog hairs, a few dog biscuit things and a few clothes moth larvae...no carpet beetle larvae though - and I had had it professionally cleaned!
I think the only solution is to carry on with clothes in vac bags, regularly hoovering -and get some nasty chemical thing....Just thought I should add - I did buy the DE and boric acid on line - in dodgy packaging - so maybe they aren't the real thing.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yep a lot of stuff on line isn't the real thing..but WoW..You have really done a job on those beetles. How are they doing?
Posted 1 year ago # -
If I have any suspect clothing, firstly,I take outside,and give it a thorough shake; then turn it inside out, and give another thorough shake to try to get rid of any eggs before putting in the freezer for 3-4 days.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Excellent!! You can also use heat..Keep up the good ideas!
Posted 1 year ago # -
hi, im also having difficulty getting red of carpet larve ( as identified by rent to kill). Story in short; i bought the house from an old person about 18 months ago who lived in the house since the house was built about 30 yrs ago. I removed all the old carpets and replaced with laminate and wood flooring, apart from the stairs/landing where i put new carpet, also removed old cupboards, bathroom suite and kitchen and replaced with new ones, painted the whole house.
But soon after moving in with mrs, 3year old and a new baby about 14 months ago, mrs start finding these insects every few days and i took no notice and didnt take her seriously untill started to find clothes with holes about 6 weeks ago. Searched the web and came across RentToKill company who sent someone to identyfy the insect as carpet larve. He advised the treatment to wash all the clothes in the house in washing machine at 60 degree and to spray the whole house twice, 2nd spray after 10 days. Before they came to do the 1st spray we washed all the clothes and bagged them up, only kept essitials clothes to wear.
After the 1st spray (in the cupboards, around skirting board etc) we didnt clean the house as instructed and on the 7th day started to clean the house and we found so many alive larve crawling around under bed about 8, and odd ones here there. Naturally very upset, rang the guy who came to spray, who said he would use different product for the 2nd spray which he did about 2 weeks ago. He said he had used abiol if i spell it right which is safer for kids and pets, 2nd time he will use ficam.
We didnt clean the house again for 10 days, and to our disappointment when we started to clean we found around 7-8 larve again. So quite upset and angry, we had spent few days washing all clothes and paid £230 to renttokill and still not got rid of the ba*tards.
Any suggestion welcome
Posted 11 months ago # -
So you're only finding larvae? Since they all look the same withour a microscope why not let one live to maturity so we can tell if it's a Black carpet beetle or a Common carpet beetle or a Varied carpet beetle.Just because some scientist a long time ago named this a "carpet beetle" any normal human would assume it eats carpet....Oh no..here's where you look..ready? the list is long..
Hair(brush) fur feathers hides hor carcasses dead insects and bird rodent and insect nests.and thats just the first beetle (Black). Number 2 (Common )they like all the above and pressed flowers rye flour and wheat and GUESS WHAT? CARPET clothing and textiles.Next we have Varied..who enjoys all the above PLUS bones red pepper (achoo) silk fish meal and their FAVORITE food is spiders and insects!!
So what does all this mean to you? Get a good flashlight and go hunting.Oh and Rent A Kill is the largest pest company in the UK and they are expanding to the US so don't give up with them. Speak to a supervisor.Posted 11 months ago # -
I moved four years ago into my townhouse with my beautiful antique furniture. My house had been completely renovated on the inside, new carpets, paint, all the cabinets ripped out everything was synthetic, they hate synthetic. My neighbor decided to take over half my front yard and plant a Crape Myrtle tree. One day I came home and found a pile of beatles beneath my front window. I put them in bottles, took them to the local extension Society and they sent them to Virginia Tech. They identified them as the verigated kind with an occasional black, and a few larva. They recommended a few companies that could come in and spray chemicals which I'm highly allergic to, or I could remove my furniture and piano, and have them fumigated. As long as I have that Crape Myrtle in my front yard this will be a problem. Their second advice was to vacuum a lot. This did help, I didn't see as many adults. They told me the adults eat off the tree, mate on the tree, then come in the front door with me to my beautiful antique furniture with silk, horsehair, raw cotton, and piano felt and lay their eggs. They must have so much to eat in the living room that I have not seen them in other parts of the house, except in the beginning, I saw them on the walls in the kitchen. It's sad I cannot sit on my furniture because they just chew me up. I am having the tree cut down in the next month. I am going to have my furniture cleaned, carpets cleaned, and new felt put on my piano. It's better than killing myself with chemicals. I've learned a lot in the past two years trying to eradicate them, it's nearly impossible and very expensive. They told me, once the source is gone the larva will grow up and go for the window to get outside, eventually my problem will go away, God willing.
Good luck
Posted 11 months ago # -
Now you have me thinking "outside the box" where most of the good stuff comes from. Bear with me cause I'm thinking and typing. Can the tree be vacuumed? Chemically treated?Is there a tape like the one for gypsy moths..or maybe something systemic you can put in the ground at the base of the tree? Anybody know of a pheromone trap for these? I'll be right back.
Posted 11 months ago # -
thanks for the advise, after hassling the supervisor at rent to kill, they have agreed to spray one more time with ficam chemical. i have also caught some alive larve and put them in jar for some experiment.i have not arranged for the spray as im not very hopefull that this will get rid of them because im yet to find the source. Is it safe to think that there MUST be some adult beetles somewhere in the house to produce the eggs hence i keep finding tiny larve every 3rd or 4th day. To make matter worse my parents have found some larve down there house yesterday which is next door to mine! This is stressing me out too much as i cant see the light end of the tunnel.
Posted 11 months ago # -
What have you passed back and forth with the parents in the last year? Furniture, carpet, all that we have talked about? Now you make us wonder if maybe...just maybe..it came from there house to start with.
Posted 11 months ago # -
lucky83- have any of your experiments proved successful in killing the carpet beetle larva? We have tried many of the same experiments, putting them into Ziplock bags but they seem to live forever. We are now experimenting with carpet freshner, they don't seem to like the strong smell of the powder, but we are not sure yet if it is actually killing them. Thanks for the feedback.....
Posted 10 months ago # -
I found carpet beetles about a month ago but failed to adequately ID what they were and after destroying that area they were living in I thought I was in the clear. Little did I know nor realize this was just the beginning. I now found another area loaded with them and after much research found this site and I now realize that all this talk of moth balls and cleaning may not be enough. Does anyone know if you soak the itmes in tap water overnight if that kills them? Also if putting items in plastic bags and not touching for a month will kill them similar to scabies/lice treatments? Also what about microwaving the items for a few minutes(toys,small cloth items)? If not I think I will follow lucky83 and do some experiments myself,,, if I have any larvae still around which I'm guessing I will once I start looking through everything. Thanks, for helping realize this is serious business.
Posted 9 months ago # -
Hi
Gosh hadn't checked here for a while and find that I am not alone....
Nothing killed the larvae in the tub...I got rid of them a couple of months ago and one was still alive...
I had a major kitchen refit/rewire in April - so the whole kitchen was gutted and lots of other areas were disturbed... as I had to find storage space or make room for the work men to do electrics etc.
I found some larvae on a bit of spare carpet from my daughter's room stored under the stairs...I am pretty sure it is mainly synthetic so I was quite surprised but it is dark (green).What I was even more surprised about is that some pale-coloured mainly wool carpet stored with it seemed to be untouched....
Part of my daughters' floor had to come up and when we lifted the carpet there were no signs of them under the carpet or around the edges...
Otherwise I have found two larvae - in the bath - feel that maybe they got in and couldn't escape ...otherwise no sightings and no signs and no adults on the window sills trying to escape - so maybe fingers crossed the worst is over with...Even so I have all the clothes that aren't worn regularly in tightly sealed plastic storage tubs, vac bags and freezer bags...so at least they are safe from destruction and it is easier to check for signs of them in drawers - in fact my drawers have never been so tidy - I even keep my spare socks in freezer bags - better than those drawer dividers you can buy....
I'm assuming the little b******s can't chew through plastic...an experiment I didn't do...
I also got rid of a lot of stuff (mainly bedding, towels,etc.) I now literally have 2 sets of things - one to use, while the other is washed.
And I iron or tumble dry everything...Really think this is the best I can do (without nasty chemicals)....the environmentally friendly stuff really doesn't work....
Posted 8 months ago # -
Yeah they are somewhat indestructible. A local pest prevention place said either rip out all of the carpet (some of it is glued to a slab) or they could fix it by spraying unpronounceable stuff for $1500. I don't have that kind of money, nor do I want I lot of nasty stuff sprayed. I work too much to try to scrape carpet off concrete, but that will be done eventually.
Long story short, I tried the diatomaceous earth. Took a good while to work but it worked. A mess to apply but after two months I find one or two a month compared to finding them in biblical proportions.
Lesson learned. If you buy a place you can afford to live in, because the previous owner was a complete slob, have it professionally inspected or something.
Total cost: $23 dollars including shipping and I still have a lot left. That includes the respirator when I applied it because it does create a bit of dust until it settles. Once it settles, it is fine. Also must use food grade, not silicon dioxide like for a pool filter.
Nasty crawling things (hopefully) no more.
Posted 8 months ago #
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