How to Get Rid of Those Little Black Beetles in Your Basement
- 1). Search your home for the source of the carpet beetles. Look at clothes, fabric hats and even old toys to find the infested item. Either clean or destroy the offending item. Taking care of the item often resolves the carpet beetle issue.
- 2). Treat your home with a pesticide product if you cannot find the source of the infestation. One option is to sprinkle food-grade diatomaceous earth in the cracks and corners of the basement or inject it into any holes in your walls. The fossilized algae in diatomaceous earth pierce the exoskeletons of carpet beetles that crawl over the substance, causing them to dehydrate and die. You can also treat your home with a pesticide, such as sumithrin, tralomethrin, deltamethrin or cyfluthrin. Most products are sprayed or applied to areas such as floors, cracks and corners; however, read the label's instructions for best results.
- 3). Vacuum your entire home. Vacuuming your carpet, furniture and other fabric-covered items, moldings and underneath any carpets or rugs can remove the beetles from your home. Also look in laundry baskets, closets, registers, baseboards and attics. Empty the vacuum's bag or canister outdoors. Sometimes carpet beetle larvae are attracted to dead rodents or animals within your walls. Therefore, even if you have removed all the beetles from all interior surfaces, you may still have some within the house. Getting to them may require an exterminator's help.
- 4). Place sticky traps or no-pest strips on the floor and inside your laundry basket. Bugs that walk across the traps get stuck on the adhesive. Continue to replace the traps until the carpet beetle collection stops.
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