AIBU to be worried about carpet beetles?

[Mads199]

We get carpet beetles in our flat every spring, granted it has never turned into an infestation thankfully but usually when I see them start popping up around this time, I start a strict cleaning regime, vacuuming like a mad woman and also probably spraying enough pesticide to kill me and DH let alone the bloody bugs. Every spring the adults show up all around our bed, usually seeing 1 every couple of days on the bed frame or (the worst) in the bed, I do this cleaning routine, then eventually by the summer they disappear and we don’t see them again until the next spring. I do think the adults are just venturing in from outside through cracks in our thick baseboards around the bed (at least that’s what I’m telling myself) as I have looked inside, around and under our bed frame and can’t see any signs of infestation in the bed itself.

Things are different this year through, because we have a 3 week old DD. Not only is there no time to do this strict cleaning regime to keep them under control, neither can I go mad spraying the place down with pesticide (I don’t know the impact on babies but I’m guessing it’s a no no!) I have seen four adults this week, all around and in our bed (btw - definitely carpet beetles and not bed bugs, I know bed bugs sadly and this isn’t them at all), and I’m losing my mind a bit. My DD’s crib is right next to our bed and the thought of there being an infestation or any of these bugs getting near her is freaking me out, so much. I called pest control out last year and they basically told me carpet beetles are so common that they don’t actually bother treating them unless it’s an infestation, and in the numbers I’m seeing it’s not an infestation but it’s still enough to seriously make my skin crawl.

DH says I’m being dramatic, that they’re common and that we know they go away in the summer and for the rest of the year so it’s fine. I am a bit neurotic with it yes, but I’m also scared of it turning into an infestation before it’s too late, especially with DD around. It’s all freaking me out loads and making me panic about going to bed (definitely not needed with a newborn) but DH thinks I’m being unreasonable about it and I should just let it go/ we can up the vacuuming and hope for the best.

So what do you think? Am I being unreasonable about this? Should I just let it go and accept that this happens every year so it will probably be fine and won’t turn into an infestation?

These are carpet beetle larvae we get them every year they drive me crazy!! We live next to a wood so pretty sure that’s where the carpet beetles come from.
I see more larvae in the autum and the beetles in the spring!

I know this is an old thread but I’ve seen an adult carpet beetle in my house and I’m freaking out. Pest control says it means an infestation somewhere in the house and it’s going to cost me a lot of money to get rid of them and see real harsh chemical sprays I’m really scared.

You can use a permethrin spray like indorex but the adults just tend to come in through open windows, just hoover around the edges of flooring and carpets behind beds regularly, the adults don’t do much but the larva look like a tiny hairy grub and they eat fabric, we have them every year larva in November and adults in spring summer.

We did.
I kept seeing little moth type things and then when I moved DDs bed I found a corner of the carpet underneath had been eaten. Luckily we were moving DDs bed to take the carpet up and replace with laminate due to her asthma.
We then got rid of all the carpets as this was the long term plan anyway. We have no carpets in the house at all apart from on the stairs, we prefer hard floors
Is this an option for you?

I would not be happy with this, would want to get to the bottom of the problem deal with the core issue.

I've had this before. I just left them to it. Nobody died.

We had them once around 5 or 6 years ago. Every morning I would find a few on the window sill, they did freak me out at the time.
I moved every piece of furniture and thoroughly hoovered everywhere, the next year we only saw a few, the year after hardly any, then they were gone.
I didn't use any chemicals just regular hoovering under the sofa, etc.

Before you do that, please research the active ingredients. If you find you are getting brain fog after using it you will know what I mean. Indorex is one of the best pet flea killers for household fleas and kills them by destroying their nervous system (or whatever they have) so can also affect humans. I have noticed that after treating the house with insecticides I feel weird for few weeks after, eventually worked out that I have been poisoning myself. If you are very healthy it should be OK but if not...

I prefer diatomaceous earth, food grade not commercial use and have had carpet beetles in several houses. The larvae can cause skin irritations and will eat your textiles but the beetles are tiny and like little black/brown ladybirds. I remove them and get rid when I see them. They nest in cracks of floors etc. and old birds nests so are hard to eradicate.

They can also cause skin problems for pets. I have used DE on pets, avoiding the face, massage in gently, no puffing, then brush though and leave. It won't heard the digestive system and is often used to treat internal parasites naturally.

If you use it on floors, be aware it is a very fine dust and will be around for a long time to come. It did clear an infestation and since then we have only had a few beetles every so often, the dust was worth it to avoid poisonous sprays.

@Mads199
Did you get rid? We cleaned our house as saw a few, no sign anywhere and now a few appearing from behind our loo. Filthy buggers.
Have a new baby so not keen on chemicals

It’s definitely a carpet beetle larvae

Get some Constrain spray - it can't harm any mammal. And some sticky traps to catch the adults. Put them round the edges of the room, especially in dark spots under / behind furniture. Also move furniture and vac / spray where it was - they like the dark undisturbed spots to lay their eggs. If you've got woollen clothes and you think they're in the area they're stored, put in plastic bags and stick in the freezer for a few days.

But the best way to get rid, as with clothes moths, is to cut off their food supply. Like moths, they eat animal-based proteins (so wool, fur, feathers, silk, taxidermy). If you don't have those things, no beetles. If you have woollen carpets (or underlay), antique furniture stuffed with horsehair etc, they'll keep coming back.

Also think about places out of sight they could be feeding - under floorboards, up chimneys. If there's even an old bird nest up a chimney with a few feather and what's left of a dead chick (to paint a charming image), they can feed on stuff like that.