Carpet beetles are crafty, opportunistic, and quite stubborn, making them challenging to get rid of. These creepy pests also inflict a considerable amount of damage on furniture, clothing, books, stored foods, leather, and other items.
Contrary to what their name suggests, adult carpet beetles do not feed on carpets, woolen, or fabrics. Instead, they feed on flower pollen while their larvae eat the nap from the fabric's surface. They have been found to bore holes right through carpets, causing insurmountable damages that will continue to spread unless controlled.
Adult carpet beetles can fly. They lay up to one hundred eggs at once, which means that a small infestation will get out of control in the shortest timeframe. Since the larvae do the damage, it won't take long to cause your property irreparable damages.
Unfortunately, no carpet is immune to beetle infestations. Even if your car carpet is made of synthetic materials, it won't take long before food, hair, skin flakes, and other organic materials drop onto its surface- carpet beetles like to feed on these things.
These super persistent and insatiable pests are notoriously difficult to spot and get rid of, requiring help from a licensed pest control company.
However, if your car is under a carpet beetle infestation, we have provided the simplest hack below to exterminate the beetles completely:
How Did Carpet Beetles Get In My Car?
Perhaps you are wondering how carpet beetles got into your lustrous car? You will be surprised to know that these annoying little critters are extremely opportunistic and will take even the most unimaginable opportunity to infest your car.
For instance, they can hitch a ride into your car via a bunch of flowers, clothing or even fly in via an open window! Below are other possible ways that carpet beetles can get into your car:
Trash In The Car
It's not uncommon to find trash like food wrappers and soft drink cans in cars. Most people find it comfortable to dine in their cars while traveling, especially long distances.
Food droppings will coat your car carpet unless cleaned thoroughly, and this dirt will attract carpet beetles. If you leave snacks lying all over your car, these invaders will be happy to feast on their share.
It's crucial that you give your car a good cleaning and eliminate all garbage. Though this will not keep carpet beetles away, it will dramatically reduce the chances of an infestation.
Parking Car Near Plantation
As noted before, adult carpet beetles feed on plant nectar and pollen. This means that they are often found in plantations with any variety of flowering plants.
For some reason, many people like to park their cars under trees or near plantations. Carpet beetles are quite tiny, and they will grab the chance to enter your car via any small opening or even an open window.
Your car will soon become a beetle breeding ground, with females laying nearly 100 eggs at once! The carpet beetle larvae are too tiny and very hard to detect. Unfortunately, most car owners only realize they have been infested after the damage is already visible, like damaged carpets.
Uncleaned Cars
It is normal for human skin to flake naturally as a part of ongoing growth. In the same way, it is normal for humans to lose hair. In fact, a study found that healthy people can lose anywhere between 50-100 hair strands daily. While it is more noticeable for people with longer hair strands, it's pretty hard for those with short hair to notice.
Carpet beetles salivate at the sight of animal proteins like hair, skin flakes, leather, silk, and more.
Additionally, it's not rare for drinks to spill on your car seats, automated mats, or you could even unintentionally touch your car seat covers with oily hands. The synthetic fabrics absorb these liquids, and carpet beetles will diligently try to source them out, hence damaging your car fabrics.
Therefore, you'll need to ensure regular and detailed cleaning to get rid of possible beetle meals.
Unused Cars
Not everybody drives their cars daily. Most people use their cars depending on requirements, hence, it spends a lot of time in the parking, undisturbed.
Carpet beetles and their destructive larvae tend to prefer dark, quiet, and secluded areas. They will sneak into parked cars and even love it better when it's dirty and silent.
You should consider driving your car even when it's not necessary to eliminate the peace and silence attracting carpet beetles.
4 Easy Ways To Get Rid Of Carpet Beetles In Cars?
Luckily, it's quite easy to get rid of carpet beetles from your car. The most effective way to get rid of these nasty little critters from your car is by ensuring the environment is not suitable for their survival in the following ways:
Step 1- Vacuum Thoroughly
Giving every corner of your car's interior a thorough and detailed vacuuming eliminates both adult beetles, their eggs, and larvae. Pay very keen attention to tiny cracks, crevices, and the trunk area, as beetles like to hide in such dark places.
The process can be tiring, but it should be easier with a powerful vacuum cleaner, and you can expect the best carpet beetle control results once you're done.
Step 2-Clean The Carpets
A carpet beetle infestation means that carpets are the most affected area. Therefore, you want to ensure thorough and complete cleaning of all carpets.
Step-3 Treat With Organic Insecticides
Luckily, there are many safe and highly effective organic insecticides available on the market today- you're spoilt for choice. But the more the options, the harder it is to choose the best. Therefore, you need to do some research ahead of time.
Whichever choice you make, it should be able to kill carpet beetles effectively and provide long-term protection from re-infestations. Before treating your car, please read the instructions on the product labeling and follow them keenly for the best results.
Step 4- Clean Your Car Regularly
Even after successfully getting rid of carpet beetles from your car, you need to ensure regular, thorough cleaning to keep off all factors that can attract the opportunistic pests.
Note that the pest barrier created by insecticide treatment will wear off with time, and the only way to prevent a re-infestation is by cleaning your car every now and then.
You can create a car cleaning schedule and follow it strictly. For instance, you can have a deep car cleaning weekly or monthly depending on convenience and how fast your car gets dirty. The goal is to make your car unattractive to carpet beetles for ultimate peace of mind.
