Question
QUESTION: Hi Jack, I recently wrote to you about having carpet beetles. I hired a pest control company and hopefully these insects will go away. The room that I found them in is a room that I am planning to use for my daughter. I already bought the furniture, drapes and rug. My concern is once I furnish this room, the carpet beetles coming back. Is it better if I just remove the carpet and put laminate floor just to prevent any future damage?

ANSWER: Elsa,

Keep in mind that carpet beetles only infest carpets that are made of wool. Most carpets nowadays are synthetic so won't be affected by carpet beetles. Most of the time carpet beetles infest stored food like cereals and dry pet food (see earlier question and http://www.livingwithbugs.com/carpet_beetle.html for more info.). So unless it is an old carpet made of wool it should be ok to leave it.

Jack DeAngelis
http://www.livingwithbugs.com



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So if they only infest wool carpets, why do I keep finding them in my carpet that is not made of wool? I don't have them in my pantry where I store all cereal and grains. I only see them in my daughter's room in the same spot everyday. I follow all the recommendations such as vacuuming and cleaning where ever I find them, but the next day they're back. Are they ever going to go away even though the pest control company already sprayed pesticides?

Answer
The source, either natural fabrics or some type of dry food, must be nearby. Keep searching you'll eventually find it. Even a very small amount of foodstuff, like a single dog biscuit, can produce a steady supply of beetles. Also, if it is only a few beetles you could just ignore them and let normal cleaning take care of it since these beetles rarely do any significant damage.

Jack DeAngelis
http://www.livingwithbugs.com