prevent carpet bugs

Commercial buildings, facilities and homes are all prone to pest infestation, which is hard to control and no matter what your structure is made of; pests can invade it from the ceiling down to the floor.

Carpeting your home or office is nice for interior design’s sake but many are put off because they think that carpets can attract pests of all sorts. The dreaded carpet bugs. This, however, is not the case. It’s the food, soil, dirt or whatever organic matter that gets stuck on the carpet that attracts bugs and insects because these are their sources of food. Without this food source, the pests will have no chance to survive so the basic trick in making sure that your carpet is free from pest infestation is to make sure it’s clean, really clean. Carpets are often made of nylon and if there’s nothing organic going in there, pests cannot live.

Prevent

This is another case where prevention is better than cure but you can’t always be sure that no one else in the household or office lets food crumbs fall on the floor. So once in a while on a regular basis, it’s still a good idea to call a pest control company to assess your area and get rid of whatever is living in your carpet.

Using entrance matting is also a good way to prevent ticks and other creeps from entering your home or office. There are permanent entrance mattings and removable entrance mattings you can choose from but just make sure you properly and regularly get it cleaned as well.

Vacuum

Regularly vacuuming your carpet aids in avoiding pest infestation as well and we’re not just talking about regular vacuums especially if you’re cleaning office carpet. There are actually some vacuums that have the seal of approval from the Carpet and Rug Institute and if you really want the carpet to stay, invest in a vacuum that can really do the job well. Permanent matting can be cleaned with hot water but removable ones will have to be washed and changed regularly.

Vacuums don’t kill pests

It is important to remember though that vacuuming will not kill the pests so make sure that your vacuum doesn’t exhaust back out what it takes in. Get rid of paper filter bags by putting them in plastic liners before you throw them to the garbage can. Also make sure your vacuum is properly maintained.

Extract pests

Offices with carpets often require more than a good vacuuming job and often times extraction is necessary. You can go for hot water extraction from a truck-mounted system for extra strength and so that your carpet will dry faster. Moisture will breed new pests so it is important to make sure your carpet is dry all the time. Periodic steam vapor treatments also work effectively but when in doubt, check your local pest control professional’s available services by inquiring.

Proper carpet care and cleaning will let you avoid pest infestation as well as enjoy the carpet through its suggested life span. If you don’t have the resources or the time to make sure the carpet is clean at all times, do yourself a favor and remove it before it causes you more problems with pests in the future.