Small and tiny as they are, they can cause big and serious problems to our carpets, clothing and other fabrics. They are very insistent and tenacious at times. So how do we deal with them to make sure that they do not come back? First of all, it would really require our utmost patience. Of course, we can always seek the help of professional exterminators. However, there are also helpful remedies that we can do on our own at home.
Search and Discover
The first thing that we can do is to verify the problem. We can search on the internet about the type of pest that we are dealing about. To confirm that we are indeed dealing with a carpet bug, what we can do is to check for fecal pellets and shed skins. These two are the most common signs that we indeed have an infestation. Carpet bugs that have come of age are usually oval in appearance and a bit larger than a pin’s head. However, they do have varying colors as some are black, gray and others have brown patterns. We should also check if our carpets have signs of larvae in them. The earlier that we can get rid of them, the better.
If we can also search for the source, then that will be a big help to permanently stop the infestation. Carpet bugs are very drawn to fabric and clothing. We can check these areas in our houses and include dark, undisturbed locations as well. They also thrive on dog food, food cabinets and fresh flowers. They can be found on upholstered furniture, items that are made of fur and paint brushes.
Dealing with Them
What we can do is clean the areas that they have infested. We should use a vacuum for our carpets to ensure that they are thoroughly removed. In fact, we can vacuum our entire living space to be 100% sure that they are rid of. We can use a hand-held type of vacuum to deal with the ones thriving on our furniture. Items that can be washed in the washing machine should be cleaned that way. Just to make sure, we may have to do the vacuuming for multiple times in the first few days. Afterwards, we can do it daily just to prevent them from coming back. If the infestation on some fabrics is really bad, then it is best to just throw them away. Keeping these garments will only make the situation impossible to deal with. Finally, we can apply insecticide. For better results, we can use products that contain chlorpyrifos, bendiocarbs and allethrin.