Carpet beetles can be a major problem for any Western Massachusetts Home. The best way to handle an infestation of this pest is to engage in proactive prevention and utilize the assistance of the professionals at American Pest Solutions.
Common Area Carpet Beetles
There are a few different varieties of carpet beetles in the Western Massachusetts area that you should be looking out for. Keep in mind that these insects are tiny and that you may encounter one or all of these species in your home.
- Varied Carpet Beetle: The wing covers of this beetle are a mixture of white, brown, and dark yellow. As the beetle ages, this coloration will turn to a more uniform dark brown color.
- Common Carpet Beetle: It is often called the black carpet beetle. It is shiny black and dark brown in color and may sometimes be confused for a bed bug.
- Furniture Carpet Beetle: This beetle has black spots that intersperse among white and yellow or dark orange areas on its wings. It is well-known for preferring to feed on upholstered furniture.
Carpet Beetle Dangers
Carpet beetles pose a few different dangers to your home, especially in terms of destruction. As the adults invade your homes, they lay their eggs near certain fibers. When these eggs become larvae, they destroy the fibers around them as they feed, leading to substantial damage to not just carpets but upholstered furniture, clothes, and fabrics all around your home.
In addition, humans can develop allergic reactions or irritation to carpet beetles if they come into contact with them. This typically happens at night when the beetles that are invading your home move in to eat dead skin cells or human hair. This is also part of the reason why carpet beetles are confused for bed bugs – they can leave behind red itchy marks on humans. However, bed bugs will not leave behind damage to furniture like carpet beetles except for occasional rust-colored stains.
Carpet beetles will typically enter into homes in their search for food. They will enter through the cracks and gaps in your windows, doors, and foundations, or the space between utility outlets, and easily set up shop in your home’s carpet, furniture, or other fabrics.
One of the challenges of dealing with carpet beetles is that most homeowners don’t recognize they have a problem until an adult beetle is spotted. This means that positively identifying a carpet beetle infestation is problematic. Carpet beetle larvae are the root cause of destruction in your home. It is often impossible to detect the larvae until it is too late – if you see adult carpet beetles, you already have a beetle life cycle in rapid continuation and a major infestation in your home.
Professional Carpet Beetle Removal
Carpet beetle infestations can be difficult to detect or positively identify and may grow unmanageable before you know it. The easiest and most effective way to handle a carpet beetle infestation if you suspect you have one is with professional assistance. At American Pest Solutions, our experts will do a complete evaluation of your home and customize a plan to identify and eliminate your pest problem. Call us today to protect your home.