carpet beetle problem in apartment

Hi Jonathan,

I wish you lived in my area. I unfortunately found carpet beetles in my new apartment. Management sent an exterminator but I don't think he knows what he's doing. Some of the information he have me contradicts what I've found in several places online.

I just have one question for you: what do the eggs look like? if you know where I can find a picture, it would help me tremendously. I have had no peace of mind since I found these disgusting critters in my home. I'm afraid they will infest my bed or clothing and I won't know until it's too late.

Thank you.

Carpet beetles are quite commonly found active in apartment buildings. As explained in our CARPET BEETLE CONTROL ARTICLE, they naturally occur outside and will readily migrate into homes and other structures when available. Apartments typically have a lot of entry points and consequently are vulnerable to invasive pests like carpet beetles. And once they get inside it's important to monitor their activity to see what they're eating and where they nesting. As explained in our article, it's not just the carpet they like to eat!

Since carpet beetles will thrive on more than just carpet, they can cause quite a bit of damage to furniture, clothing and most anything made with fabric like cotton or other natural ingredients. Pet hair is a favorite but the list is long and includes most anything natural. And it's on these items that they'll lay their eggs once they get established and comfortable to the local environment.

To answer your question about carpet beetle eggs; they are quite small and hard to identify. Only a trained eye can make a positive identification so there isn't much I can add here except that they'll be located on or close to their food supply. Since they're only about 1/4 of a mm wide and less than 1/2 of a mm long, they'll appear small to the naked eye. They are rough skinned, with spine like projections at one end, mostly designed to help adhere them to where they were laid. Carpet beetle eggs will be white at first and will later turn tan to brown. And since there are thousands of species of this beetle found active around the United States, this description will vary slightly from specie to specie which makes identifying them so difficult. In general, only a trained professional with the proper tools is really qualified to make a good solid id.

Lastly, if you aren't satisfied with the level of treatment being done I suggest you do some supplement applications by spraying some NYLAR GROWTH REGULATOR. It's very inexpensive and treatments will last months. Since it breaks the life cycle of carpet beetles, it's ideally suited for long term control where areas are prone to more adults coming around like an apartment building. It also works great on roaches and fleas so again, it's ideal for apartment complexes. Additionally, it's one of the longest lasting products making it ideal for carpet beetle problems. In fact, apartment complexs can get great control of ants, roaches, fleas, carpet beetles and other pests by simply applying Nylar quarterly in and around the structure. By itself it won't kill anything as it's only a growth hormone and not a true pesticide but because it interferes with the proper development of the young insects, Nylar can be one of the best actives to use for pest prevention. Unfortunately, most management companies won't think about preventing pests but instead opt to wait till the problem is obvious and tenants are actually complaining. Thing is at that point the treatments will be very expensive and not nearly as effective. Hopefully you don't encounter any of these obstacles in trying to get a resolution.

At this point, I would still recommend getting some of the Nylar applied so you at least have something in place to prevent further expansion of this pest in your apartment. Over time, these treatments will take care of your problem and is about the least costly treatment available. Adding an adulticide to the tank mix as explained in our article will help and of course, setting out some CARPET BEETLE TRAPS will really show if in fact you have a significant problem and may be the first thing to do if you are unsure at this time. If you have further questions, give us a call on our toll free 1-800-877-7290