Essential oils are natural deterrents. Peppermint oil and clove oil diluted with distilled water is a cheap and natural carpet beetle killer. Spray it in areas where you suspect beetles or larvae activity.
Regular and thorough cleaning of rugs, draperies, upholstered furniture, closets, and other locations where carpet beetles congregate is important to both prevent and control these pests. Frequent, thorough vacuuming is an effective way of removing food sources as well as carpet beetle eggs, larvae, and adults.
Insecticide sprays are one of the most effective forms of control against carpet beetle larvae. These sprays should be applied liberally on the underside of the carpet and around the edges. Carpet Beetle Killer Powders can be sprinkled and dusted into carpets, around the skirting boards and under furniture.
Use lavender! The beetles hate this flower, and it can scare them away. Place small bags of dried lavender in the same places you store your wool and silk.
Peppermint and marigold are good repellents and can work safely inside. Also orange, lemon, lime and other strong citrus fragrances will drive a way pests while freshening a room.
Vinegar repels carpet beetles, which hate the scent. Use a mixture of white or apple cider vinegar and water to clean areas where carpet beetle larvae can be found. Another natural deterrent is a fine white dust called diatomaceous earth, or DE.
Garlic. Use it for food — and pest control! Garlic's pungent scent deters insects such as mosquitoes, aphids, beetles, mites, and more.
Most dryer sheets contain the ingredient linalool, which can be found in plants like lavender, basil, and coriander, all of which naturally repel common garden pests. Similar studies found that this ingredient is also useful for repelling bugs like mites, weevils, beetles, and German cockroaches.
Yes, Vinegar kills carpet beetles.
Like juvenile clothes moths, carpet beetle larvae also feed on animal materials such as wool, fur, hair, feathers, glue, book bindings, silk, horns, bone, leather, and dead insects. They attack cotton, linen, and synthetic fibers only if the items are soiled.
Adult Carpet Beetles are most often seen between April to June when they are active in search of a place to lay their eggs. The larvae are typically most active in October prior to hibernation.
Baking soda has a pH of 9.5, which is very alkaline. It works by raising the pH level of the carpet, which kills carpet beetles but doesn't hurt humans or pets.
Lightly spray an area with a mixture of water and a few drops of peppermint oil to make an area less attractive to the pests. A 1:1 mixture of vinegar and water can have a similar effect. Food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE) will kill crawling pests like carpet beetle larvae.
Are carpet beetles bad? Adult carpet beetles aren't bad if you don't mind inhaling tiny insects or having insects crawl all over you while you're watching TV or sleeping.
How did I get carpet beetles? Due to their diet of fabric and animal products, carpet beetle larvae can thrive in homes if left alone. Adults fly inside through open doors and windows to lay eggs on furniture, clothing, or rugs and often are introduced when infested items are brought inside a home.
While moth balls, crystals, and cedar oil, when properly used, will kill clothes moths and carpet beetles, they do not repel these pests. So they are actually of little value before items become infested.
Boric Acid
This household powder can be found in many supermarkets. It can be sprinkled on infested carpet to quickly exterminate any present carpet beetles, then vacuumed up after two hours.
Natural Carpet Beetle Repellant
Some oils like clove oil, cypress oil, and peppermint oil effectively repel carpet beetles (and many other bugs), while others like lavender oil act as insecticides that can kill existing carpet beetle larvae and even adult beetles themselves.
Because these are still beetles, some of the same treatments that work on other species will work on carpet beetles as well, including: Borax.
Machine Wash Infested Clothes and Fabrics in Hot Water
Extreme temperatures kill carpet beetles. Use a hot water cycle when machine washing infested bedding and clothes. Hot water terminates hatching by detaching the eggs from your clothes or bedding.
WILL CARPET BEETLES GO AWAY ON THEIR OWN? Carpet beetles aren't likely to go away unless they run out of food, and since they eat such a wide variety of items, that isn't likely to happen quickly. Once carpet beetles are inside a home, they're difficult to control because of how widely they can disperse throughout it.
If you've noticed beetles spending time outside your home or damaging your plants, use insecticidal soap to kill them. Purchase this soap at your local hardware store. Spray it onto your bushes or plants to kill beetles on contact.
The Natural Scents That Bugs Can't Stand. Peppermint and eucalyptus, lavender and lemongrass, and tea tree oil and neem are natural scents that bugs cannot stand. Peppermint and eucalyptus have strong aromatic properties that repel bugs due to their high levels of menthol and cineole.
Carpet beetles don't bite people, and their woolly bear larvae won't bite either. However, the rashes caused by carpet bugs as explained above can give the appearance of a rash, with the rough hairs of carpet beetle larvae causing irritation.