Carpet Beetle Eating Clothes

There are two main types of insect which cause serious damage to textiles in the british isles.

Carpet beetle eating clothes.

Newly hatched larvae are tiny and can easily enter through cracks less than one sixteenth of an inch wide. Woollen clothes insulation rugs and other items may be attacked and damaged. Clothes moths and carpet beetles. Synthetic items are resistant to attack but blends of synthetic and natural fibres can be damaged.

Their larvae are reddish brown and covered in fine hairs. Their natural habitats are the nests of birds rodents insects and spiders. This group of pests generally in. Carpet beetle larvae can damage fabrics furnishings and clothing that contain cotton wool silk hair fur or feathers.

Carpet beetle the most common carpet beetles in new zealand are the varied carpet beetle anthrenus verbasci and the black carpet beetle attagenus unicolor. Textile pests are insects that can cause damage to clothes and the fabrics in our buildings that are made of natural fibres. Food and sweat stains on fabrics can attract carpet beetles. The eggs hatch in eight to 15 days and hatch more quickly in warmer weather.

However synthetic fabrics that are blended with wool may be eaton along with the wool even though they are not digested. They often eat along the edges or. The eggs are laid on clothing furniture cracks in flooring and of course carpet. They hatch more quickly in warmer weather.

Treat spills and stains immediately as well. Female carpet beetles lay around 100 soft white eggs in concealed places that hatch in eight to fifteen days. Items susceptible to attack by clothes moths and carpet beetles should be kept clean and tightlysealed in plastic bags or containers when not in use. Carpets and rugs made of natural materials should be regularly vacuumed.

Vacuuming carpeting and washing your clothes and other fabrics frequently at least once every 2 or so weeks is the best way to prevent a carpet beetle infestation. Carpet beetles don t usually eat cotton linen or other plant based or synthetic fabrics but they may eat fabric blends or fabrics stained with animal products. Although very different in appearance and habits both are pests which eat animal fibres such as wool carpets and cashmere or mohair clothing. These beetles typically produce four generations within a year.

So it may not be just your carpet that is damaged by these fibre eating pests.