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Three signs of Carpet Beetles

They may be small, but carpet beetles are extremely persistent and voracious pests, and an office infestation will require the assistance of a professional pest control company as they are notoriously difficult to get rid of.

Despite their name, carpet beetles have an extremely varied diet, and will feed on furniture, hair, fur, clothing, stored food, books, plants, leather, and of course – carpets. In short, carpet beetles like to eat organic fibres and other organic products. However, even if your office carpet is made from synthetic materials, this won’t necessarily prevent an infestation.  Office carpets over time, can become coated in organic matters such as food, sweat, skin flakes and cells, hair, and other substances carried in on clothing from outside – rich pickings for carpet beetles. No carpet should be considered immune to infestation.

Top 3 Signs of Carpet Beetles in Your Office

Carpet beetles can be very hard to spot. They sometimes live under floorboards or in vents but will more often hide in cracks and crevices in carpets, furniture, clothing, and other textiles. Adult beetles are able to fly and can lay up to 100 eggs at a time – meaning that an infestation can take hold in a relatively short timeframe – but it’s the larvae from the eggs that do the damage. These appear brown and hairy, though are minute – just 2mm long, and will tend to roll up into a ball when disturbed.

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As such, you won’t necessarily spot a carpet beetle itself, but rather evidence of their presence.

1. Damage to Fabric

Thin, bare areas, or even holes in natural fabric items such as carpets, rugs, furniture upholstery and leather book bindings are often amongst the first signs of carpet beetles and should prompt a pest control enquiry. The carpet beetle larvae will eat the nap from the fabric’s surface, exposing threads from beneath, or simply bore holes right through, causing visible and irreparable damage, which will continue to spread if ignored.

2. Shed Skins and Faecal Pellets

As carpet beetle larvae grow, they moult or shed their skins, leaving a litter of light brown, empty skin cases in their wake, which will typically accumulate around the areas where they are feeding. In addition, the larvae produce tiny faecal pellets – about the size of a grain of salt – evidence of which will again be concentrated around the area of infestation.

3. Live or Dead Adult Insects

Adult carpet beetles can grow up to 4mm – still small, but large enough certainly to be visible to the naked eye. As the adult beetles emerge indoors, instinct tells them to move outside where they will mate. As such, you may see the tiny beetles – small, dark dots – slowly climbing walls towards windows, or otherwise dead at or around windowsills.

How to Get Rid of Carpet Beetles

If you discover any of the above signs of carpet beetle infestation at your office building, pest control action will need to be taken.

Employ the Services of a Professional Pest Control Company

Though quite common, the carpet beetle isn’t particularly well-known, and many people can confuse carpet beetle damage with that caused by more “famous” insect pests such as moths. The damaged areas may appear similar, however, moths feed sporadically, resulting in scattered holes over fabrics, whereas carpet beetles tend to feed in concentrated segments.

To remove any doubt, by far the best way to ensure that your office is completely free of carpet beetles – or any other pest – is to employ the services of a qualified, experienced and professional pest control company. Pest control experts will not only eliminate the infestation once and for all, but help you devise an ongoing programme which will prevent further infestations in the future.

Carpet beetles are extremely resilient pests, and DIY carpet beetle pest control techniques often don’t work, and very rarely last even if short-term successes are realised. Only by bringing in professional pest control help will you be sure to put an end to a carpet beetle infestation once and for all.

Be sure to choose a pest control company with specialist skills in carpet beetle removal, for these will be essential to verify that your office is indeed suffering a carpet beetle infestation in the first instance. The company will then conduct a thorough survey of your office environment and develop a professional plan to deal with the problem using specialised techniques. In addition, they will be able to help you with all your pest control needs beyond carpet beetles, ensuring that your office is free of all potential infestation problems, including threats from rodents, birds, and other insects.

Safeguard Pest Control

If you’re looking for a quality pest control solution for carpet beetles or any other pests at your office, Safeguard Pest Control has over 30 years’ experience designing bespoke strategies for commercial clients. Please get in touch today.

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