Do you fear that you are suffering from a carpet beetle infestation? Carpet beetles are most commonly found in homes, museums, warehouses, and just about any place where they can find a suitable food source. These beetles can cause damage to fabrics, furs, carpets, and even stored food. The three most common types of beetles are varied carpet beetles, furniture carpet beetles, and black carpet beetles. All three of these types of beetles have a similar life cycle. Rodent control services in Chicago can help.
Life Cycles
The adults will begin by laying eggs on a food source. The food source could be fabric, carpets, or fur. The eggs will hatch around two weeks, and the larvae will feed for different amounts of time depending on the species. These beetles like to live in dark and secluded places.
Dealing with the Beetles
These types of beetles are one of the most difficult pests to get rid of because they are capable of finding food in the most obscure of places. Eliminated the pest will really depend on sanitation and exclusion. If sanitation and exclusion are successful then you will not have to worry about insecticide treatment.
Identifying That You Have a Problem
Before you get ahead of yourself and start thinking about treatment you need to identify that you have a problem. The most common signs of infestation will be the presence of fecal pellets and skin. It is even possible that you will even be able to spot a beetle in the adult and larvae forms. However, most adults are oval-shaped and a little bit bigger than the head of a pin. While these beetles can take on many colors most of them will have some form of black and gray or black and brown patterns.
The best places to search for these beetles will be in the carpet, fabric items, food cabinets, fresh flowers, dog food, and paintbrushes.
Starting the Treatment
Once you have located the infestation, you will be ready to start the treatment. Start by thoroughly vacuuming all the carpeted areas in your home. You will want to spend extra time where you located the infestation, but be sure the vacuum the entire home. It is also important to vacuum any furniture that cannot be washed.
Depending upon the infestation you want to make sure you vacuum once a day for at least a week. If the infestation is big then you want to vacuum multiples times a day for at least a week.
If you have a piece of clothing or fabric that is all chewed up from the beetles it is best to just go ahead and dispose of that item. This is true, even if you do not see the presence of any beetles on the item.
Any clothing or fabric that is not stored in airtight containers needs to be washed in hot soapy water. The washing machine should be sufficient, but soap is more effective for removal than detergent.
Conclusion
After you have completed all the steps above and you still have a problem, then you might want to look for rodent control services in Chicago.