Comments on: Carpet Beetle Larva

By: Annie

Annie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:02:11 +0000

Hi everyone. First can not believe how much this small larvae/ beetle has affected my life, my physical, emotional and mental well being. Not sure if I will ever be the same.
Since last report I went to a motel for a month and a half. Not a sign of anything in the room which surprised me as they allow pets. My 4 cats , 3 rats and 2 turtles were there for a month and half. I had floors installed in the rental apartment I was moving too. Floors came out great but the owner took me for a ride of sorts. I keeep asking for the original receipts but so far I am here , things still arent done by him and no receipts. My friend lay the floor and did an amazing job and I am pleased with that. For sure there were larvae in the old carpet here. I found 1 beetle deed and 1 larvae dead in the bathroom. old signs of stuff on the wood doors I thought was paint until I moved in and the owner had not painted. Then I began looking so far nothing alive. I havc my fingers crossed.
aI got my car fumigated in San Jose California and AAA paid for it. The car went to Cost less Fumigation if anyone is in the area in San Jose on Earle Ave. They were honest and did not charge me for my rugs, 3 framed pcs of art, 1 vase that was my grandmothers very old cloisonne, 4 wood animal carvings done in the 30s by my great uncle Leo, my moms gold jewelry and some silver. Not a dime misssing I did not tell them what all I had i threw it to the wind I was so worn out. they packed my car back up on Monday so neat it was unbelievable. I could see damage on the after market tint and other areas of the car . m

we need to remember these rittera are near invisible when hagtched or they are and we transport them with out knowing it.

I c ould see all gthe spots that I had not seen as they fell right off of areas they were on if touched them dead dead dead. so fumigation does work,.
they usually do temites during the week and use the warehouse on weekends for certain things like tables cars etc.

My friend in S san FRanciisco has an infestation in his apt building. the pest control came and were going to do only the one room I told him do the entire unit he read the links and agreed with me. the little boy has had rashes and blisters , lucky not the baby so far.

so please try to remember that they can be anywhere on anything and leave eggs anywhere.
tilt your fridge and clean the bottom of it not just under it etc etc.

I still continue looking and I hate doing it but maybe one day I will be sure they are not alive here. I vacuum constantly and feel like I wish the old place burned down and then I would not have anyone to blame for the loss of all my stuff. I moved to the hotel w/ new pants and shirts and sweatshirt. threw out the new cages, cat box , pants , shirt etc when I left got new shoes again and started with nothing when I got here. its horrid how mjuch it cost to replace basic necessities but i did not bring any bugs with me
i would take a lint roller over the entire motel room daily and never found a speck not even flea droppings. amazed.

hope you all get a grip and we all get some peace soon.,
annie and her crew of animal companions.

ps i did not bring dishes or anything looking for a good price on AIRTIGHt containers for food if anyone has a link. everything edible is bagged and in fridge or freezer including the baggie box themselves. I trust nothing anymore even got new phones , eye glass case you name its been dumped. i have 2 pair of socks even dumped the laundry soap etc.
all my meds are new or have been repalced its been a hassle and half.
went to home depot and got depressed realizing i did not even have a screw driver anymore.
good to de clutter i do not even want furniture though I prpobalby will get some.

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:39:08 +0000

Michelle asks:

“Does anyone know if electronic bug and rodent repellers work?”

The answer appears to be no, they don’t. A number of controlled tests of various ultrasonic repellers have been carried out over the years, and all of them have shown that these units are completely worthless in getting rid of pests. Do not buy them. They are a waste of money.

By: Shira

Shira — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:10:50 +0000

So, wanted to update on my infestation. I washed and dried all clothes. I put clothing in my garage until my home was sprayed. Luckily I have mostly wood floors. They sprayed whole house, floors, furniture, etc. Saw a few after they sprayed, then I didn’t see any larvae. Saw about 4 a couple of weeks ago. They came and resprayed just this past week. Haven’t seen any since. I now have linens stored in airtight plastic containers and have clothes that are stored in those vacuum sealed bags. I am so far happy with the outcomes. I am hoping I don’t see any more larvae. I have a year contract with the pest control company now, so they will spray next month if I see any before then. So far so good. Hope everyone else doesn’t have any more bug issues during the new year. Good luck everyone:)

By: michelle

michelle — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:05:19 +0000

help I have dealt with this prblem now for 4 yrs these larva are eating all of my shirts I’ve done everything! duct work cleaned x3 whole house heat treatment x2 pest control spraying poision powder placed in all outlets ‘electrical sockets by removing plastic covers and placing the powder in the walls holes drilled inside my home above all baseboards and poison placed in the holes activity is definetely diminished but still occuring! does anyone know if electronic bug and rodent repellers work?

By: Arlene

Arlene — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:08:59 +0000

Had a major infestation over a year ago. Exterminator believed some were brought in from a shipment I had from China a few years ago. They infested my basement without me knowing it and ended up in my living area. After tearing my house apart, taking out carpets, washing, drying, etc. clothes, blankets, etc., and having the exterminator for $1200.00, I am happy to say I have been CB free since last February. I vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, deep clean everything. It is a lot easier now that I have wood floors cause I have two cats and they leave a lot of hair. Easier to clean now. It was quite a fight and extremely stressful while I was getting rid of them but all my hard work seems to have paid off. I haven’t used insecticide for almost a year and intense cleaning seems to do the trick. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

By: Annie

Annie — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 04:11:34 +0000

Hi, I have not had internet for a week, moving finally , still not sure if I will dump the entire house or find a fumigator. The pest control freaked out and said they have no idea or have never seen anything like the damage occurring here. that is why I keep telling people this is not the norm but a case of minimum 6 yr out of control situation.
They painted right over larvae and a few beetles.
That was at least the last tenants who were here 6 yrs.

Cynthia. Here is the problem. The egg sacks and pupae are impervious to chemicals. Univ of Florida has an article on how to treat. You must treat every 30 days for a minimum of 2 months preferable 4-6 months with both a kill and growth regulator to get them when they hatch. 1 egg sack will be a minimum of I think 60-90 larvae.
Same if you fumigate because that also does not get the sack or pupae but does go into cracks and crevices so the kill of larvae and beetles more thorough.

http: //edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig089 uni of fl.
http://www.bugspray.com/articles98/carpetbeetle.html

also look up Khapra Beetle , Los Angeles, Chicago and us customs
It is a relative and boy looks the same pretty much to me. “worlds worst pest”

I did have a print out on each type , black and varied and their egg amts. larvae life, etc
they are different one larvae can live up to 630 days. I forget which but I have at least 2 the black and the varied. I think the third is varied but different color then the other varied.
Lucky me have the longer living one. egg deposits vary on type as well.

sacks etc all look almost alike from the scant info I have found. not one pest control has known what the egg sacks look like in my area north of San Francisco. unbelievable.

Wish all of us luck in this I have been so worn out, I actually am not becoming allergic to them. MY immune system is shot.
After my move I will let you know if I left everything or not. The new owner is going to bomb the place before we lay flooring. Thank the powers that be no carpets. I have checked my orientals. Three absolutely clean. the other 3 I am not positive. if need be will treat before the move and then store them so I can treat every 30 days. I just had them appraised and besides them I have 4 pcs of art, a very old cloisonne vase that was my grandparents that has been damaged and jewelry , printer and computer tower and monitor. the rest will go in the garbage . That is what it seems to be looking like. the computer may go as well just get another one my son built it for me. maybe I can take the printer in under warranty my cell phone had to go back 3x as they got in it somehow as well and now my new one is not working people can not hear me.
so I guess they or droppings of something clog the speaker or ???
then there is my car treating and cleaning it tomorrow morning. will do again every 30 days I guess I thing if we fumigate in the garage we can put the car in as well the gas is contained but not sure. it seems it should be as if it were in the gas pipe line but up to the pest guy

In San Francisco there is a bed bug guy that does fumigation in a uhaul but you can load it up all the way you need to have alot of air flow for the fumes to get to everything so depends on how much stuff you have

hope this helps

ps Gentrol growth regulator is very good but a bit hard to spray. great for crevices.
It was the only product that once dry in residual but not toxic to my turtles who are cold blooded like insects they are fine

I also read that if you spray it must be a flat spray and you must cover every inch if you miss an inch and larvae are there they will keep on living keep that in mind.

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 09:48:35 +0000

So is now the season to see them reappear? I moved into my new place in March, and found a ton in my room. The exterminator came and we found maybe a couple stragglers and then for many months did not see any more again. I think when I thought about them, I thought maybe I found some…but I wasn’t really entirely sure. But today as my roommate and I were cleaning, I found 4 larvae. 2 of them were dead, and I think saw a casing, another was still alive — I found 3 of them in the cracks of a step of our staircase. Then as I was doing laundry, I saw one right in the middle of the tile floor. It makes me nervous because I had never seen the larvae before..they were always adults. I feel like I only find them when I’m thinking of them. But finding 4 larvae makes me wonder if there is a more. We did a pretty good cleaning of the house but it makes me paranoid to find more since we hadn’t seen them in so long. I will continue to look for more, and if I do I guess I’ll have to alert my landlord again that there might be a possible infestation. No one else in my house is worried, but I don’t think they’re as afraid of the bugs as I am. Sigh….seems like we can never get away from these bugs. I’m sorry Annie that your case is so much. I hope you can find a better place.

By: Shay

Shay — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:08:39 +0000

Hello everyone, I have been seeing carpet beetle larvae for a while. My fiance and I lived in an apartment and thats where I first saw them, I didn’t even know what they were until I lived there. We lived at the apartment for 3 years, and have since bought our first home. I took every precaution when moving that I could. I wiped everything down all my furniture and vacuumed it out and washed our clothes then put them in garbage bags and immediately took them out of the apartment and into the car to transport over to the new house. When we moved in to the new house, we cleaned very good, and I found some actual carpet beetles, but they were dead, so I was hoping that everything would be ok, but to no avail. I have found a few in our second bathroom, and only one in our kitchen. Of course, as soon as I see it, I kill it. My sister works for a pest control company and she had one of her best clients call me so that I can have him come spray my house before it gets bad. He did tell me that carpet beetles are attracted to crepe myrtle trees, (sorry if I botched the spelling on that) and you will never guess, but I have 6 in my front yard alone. I have one on each side of my drive way and then 4 leading down the right side of yard at the driveway. So….. I’m guessing since they were so close to the house, one got in and called it a day. I asked the pest control guy if he thinks its even possible to get rid of these things and he encouraged me that yes it is possible, with multiple treatments done fairly close together, not spread out over weeks and months. He also told me that he needs to treat my yard because thats where they come from is outside. I know its difficult, and time consuming, but we all have to realize that 99% of homes have them, just not everyone is as lucky as us to have come across them ( said with total sarcasm!). My fiance gets irritated with me because I get frazzled about them sometimes. He says they aren’t going to hurt me, and I realize that, however I am a female and its in my DNA to not want to live with bugs. I will be on here posting updates and glad that I have other people to talk to about this, because my fiance, as wonderful as he is, doesn’t understand my frustration with this whole ordeal. Well have a great day and God Bless.

By: Della3

Della3 — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 02:54:54 +0000

Denise, I guess I haven’t made myself clear enough. Yes, I HAVE gotten rid of the infestation in my home. Please read my posting on 8/31/10. At that time I think I listed 5/6/10 as the last time I had sighted a carpet beetle in my home. It has been over a year since then. I waited to see if they would come back after the winter. All I found, starting in February, were 1 or 2 strays each month for 3 months this Spring. One was a very tiny one in the room where the original infestation was. Its size indicates that its larva form did not get much food. The other beetles I found were already dead, stuck in my carpet. Perhaps I had not noticed them last year, and I only found them this year because I was checking for any new ones. I found 1 or 2 larvae – something I had not seen in the previous 3 years of infestation. I had only seen their shed skins before, not live ones. During the infestation I saw more adult beetles than anything else, and they were often feeding on the dead pupae of wool-eating moths. I think these few stragglers are just leftovers or ones that have flown in from outside. I have not seen any more beetles or larvae or anything related to them since April of this year. I do not expect any sort of reinfestation because I’ve eliminated the moth infestation and the primary food sources for the moths and beetles: wool (for both), and dead moth pupae (for the beetles). I do not expect to NEVER see a carpet beetle again because they are everywhere out there, just like the ants and moths and spiders and crickets. Every once in a while a few will migrate into my home and I’ll just squash them or carry them back outside. If I start seeing 6 or more for 2 or more months I’ll consider that a possible reinfestation and I’ll let you know, but I’m sure they won’t show up until Spring, if they do.

I am almost embarassed to admit that I don’t have time to dust that often, and I did not scrub all of my surfaces or wash or dry any clothes in hot water, or scrub the walls where I found the critters. I have carpet and pets. The primary part of the infestation was in a room that had a tile floor. Please read my 8/31/10 posting to see what I actually did do.

I had a mild, 3-year infestation with a variety of carpet beetle (Furniture Carpet Beetle) that may not be as aggressive as the variety most of you are dealing with. I, too, suspect that most others simply stop bothering to check in with us once they have solved their problem. I hope that some of those who finally conquer the bigger infestations will eventually post their solutions for us.

Denise, please make sure the tiny black “pepper” particles you saw are really termite droppings before you tent the house. Termite droppings are usually smooth and roundish or oval in shape and the color of the wood they are eating. Carpet beetle poop looks like fine grains of pepper and is not round or oval.

Shira, I would throw out the wicker laundray baskets – it would be too easy for them to hide in cracks and crevices. Get some plastic baskets or tubs. Also, they usually don’t eat cotton unless it has food or sweat stains on it. None of my cotton clothing was affected, even though it was tightly sandwiched in with my eaten wool clothing. Luckily the beetles never made it into the room where my laundry basket was.

By: Denise

Denise — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:51:25 +0000

Thank you Annie, I appreciate your reply. I’ve been on several sites and it seems carpet beetle/larvae is more common then I thought. Unfortunately, I have yet to see anyone say that they finally got rid of the carpet beetles/larvae, etc. Maybe they just don’t follow up with the sites. I really do hope if anyone reading this email thread will help out by giving us their success story….if that is even possible without having to demolish my house! =(

One quick comment about washing clothes, and dry cleaning. I took all my coats to the dry cleaners and left them at my mom’s house until the cold weather. I pray that they were properly cleaned. I don’t know what i would do if my mom went through what i’m going through. I would feel awful!!! As for my clothes, since I’ve had them in boxes and keep only a limited amount of clothing in the house, I have not seen any new holes or any larvae in the plastic. At first I was feeling very itchy, but i’ve been itch free for awhile. Since I’ve de-cluttered my house, it’s been easier to spot them. The kitchen is the ONLY place in my house that I have yet to thoroughly clean. I will need to hire someone to carefully move my stove and turn off all the gas to properly clean that space, my kitchen cabinets are mounted and there is no way for me to get under.

Anwyhow, again, thank you for sharing your story and I do hope that IF anyone has heard or has finally conquered these nasty little pest, PLEASE share your story.

Thank you everyone!!
D