The carpet beetle is not such a well-known pest as the cockroach or bedbug. They don’t always pay attention to it and are sometimes mistaken for a harmless bug that has crawled in by accident. Indeed, it looks quite harmless: a brown or red insect with a black head, an adult is no larger than a match head, the larvae are smaller, the hair is spread over the entire body. Some individuals have a pattern on the elytra, others are solid in color. The beetle moves slowly, turns over on its back when touched, and does not seem capable of causing trouble. However, it is not.
How dangerous is the carpet beetle?
Carpet beetles live in dark and not the cleanest places, so they come into contact with helminth eggs. By carrying them on their bodies, they spread parasites throughout the room. This way, helminths can get on the skin and hair of a person or the fur of a pet, where they begin to quickly develop. The skin beetle itself can also cause harm. Despite the fact that the insect does not feed on living skin and is not blood-sucking, it is capable of biting an animal or person. The bite causes itching, and in people predisposed to it - allergies. The damaged area should be washed with soap and treated with peroxide or an alcohol solution; it should not be combed. The beetle is also an unpleasant neighbor because it damages property. Clothing, especially leather and fur, hats, paintings, books, laminate and parquet flooring, wooden furniture, animal skins, carpets - the skin beetle feeds on all of this. In addition, it chews through wires and sometimes even damages concrete screeds. Therefore, under no circumstances should its presence in the house be ignored; you must get rid of the insect immediately. The top 5 tools will help you with this.
Who is he?
To recognize a leather beetle, you need to know what it looks like. So, this is a very small oval dark brown or even black insect with hard wings, no more than 3 mm in length. The larvae of carpet beetles reach 2 mm in length. The body is covered with tiny hairs, and at the end of the body there is something in the form of a tail-tassel. The skin beetles move slowly, and when touched they immediately turn belly up, pretending to be dead.
These insects reproduce very quickly; the female leather beetle lays about two and a half dozen eggs at a time. In a month, a larva emerges from the egg, and in less than a year, the larva reaches the adult stage. The appearance of these beetles occurs during the warm season, namely May. But the appearance of these beetles may not be related to the time of year or the cleanliness of your apartment. You can also bring skin beetles into your apartment with books you took from an infected library, or with infected things and furniture. The adults of these insects can fly, and you can see them during the daytime, and if there is an adult beetle, there are also its eggs and larvae. And there are many of them. A clear sign of the appearance of a leather beetle in your apartment is the skin that the beetles shed, but also the damage on objects themselves.
Brown beetles - little uninvited house guests
An important distinguishing feature of the leather beetle from some other insects is its love for dryness and warmth. Most often, leather beetles live on window sills, near heating appliances, in window frames and in closets with clothes. The beetle larvae will be hidden from your eyes; they live in inaccessible places where a lot of dust accumulates, and apartment owners rarely get to this place when cleaning. For example, under the baseboard. Well, or any other darkened place. The favorite place of the leather beetle in your apartment is the upholstery of upholstered furniture.
1.Self processing kit
An integrated approach to the destruction of skin beetles with a do-it-yourself kit will allow you to get rid of insects yourself at an affordable price. Our service offers you to purchase such a set with professional chemicals used by qualified specialists. You can read more about the set at the link. The set consists of the following components:
- professional chemistry;
- spray;
- protective gloves;
- protective mask;
- instructions;
Price of a kit for self-treatment against skin beetle: 1190 rubles. Order
You can separately purchase professional chemicals for killing insects from 100 ml.
The insecticidal product is an emulsion concentrate in the form of a transparent liquid from light yellow to red-brown color with a specific odor. Used to combat all types of crawling and flying insects. Chemistry price: 600 rub. Buy the drug
Low temperatures
By low temperatures we mean freezing of the home. This method is effective, but problematic if there are children and animals in the apartment.
The carpet beetle dies at a temperature of 11 degrees below zero. But some individuals have the ability to hibernate, so it will be more effective to lower the temperature to -20 degrees and maintain it for three to four hours.
The freezing procedure must be repeated periodically - alternating air temperatures should destroy even more insects.
If the beetles have only affected clothing, then it is enough to take things out into the cold.
Liquid GET Total
GET Total is a pesticide that effectively kills skin beetles. The active ingredient of the drug is chlorpyrifos - a strong insecticide that affects the nervous system of the insect. The drug is diluted in water in a ratio of approximately 1:10, and then sprayed in a dense layer on the surface of objects and on the floor. It can be used both indoors and on the porch, veranda, steps of a private house and beyond. After spraying the product, the water dries naturally and microcapsules remain, which will fight pests. These capsules are resistant to humidity, temperature changes and sunlight, so GET Total can be used in almost any conditions. In this case, no visible marks remain on the surfaces. The drug is sold in 100 ml bottles. and costs about 1000 rubles. As a rule, the consumption rate is 100 ml. for an absorbent surface and half as much for a non-absorbent one. An important advantage of GET Total is that it is harmless to people and pets. It has the fourth, lowest hazard class. Important! It acquires this class only after drying, so work with gloves and while spraying, remove small children, animals and anyone to whom you cannot clearly explain the dangers of the insecticide from the room. The drug has a very slight odor and the aroma quickly disappears. If you are not allergic to any scents, GET Total will not be a cause for concern.
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Liquid MediLIS Super
MediLIS Super is a concentrated insecticide for universal use. It contains lambda-cyhalothrin, a chemical that destroys pests when they enter the body through the gastrointestinal tract. The drug has a repellent (repellent) effect and is twice as effective as the strongest second-generation insecticides. The knockdown effect that lambda-cyhalothrin causes in insects is irreversible. Quickly penetrating the tissue, the drug changes the potential of the nerve cell and blocks the nervous system. The death of the population occurs within 24 hours. The insecticide is capable of completely destroying pests and protects the room from the reappearance of the skin beetle. The product is sold in the following packages:
- plastic bottles;
- glass or plastic ampoules;
- polymer containers with a volume of up to twenty liters.
Before use, it should be diluted with water in a ratio of 1:100, and then sprayed in insect habitats. MediLIS Super is excellent for use in advanced infestations, as it remains effective for a long period of time (up to 1.5 months) and is a more powerful poison compared to others. The estimated cost of the drug is 450 - 500 rubles. Hazard class three (moderately dangerous). Gloves, overalls, goggles, and a respirator should be used as protective measures. The drug does not leave stains on treated surfaces and is invisible to an outside observer. The consumption rate is indicated in the instructions.
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Spray Clean Home Super
The drug has a very convenient release form - a spray. The manufacturer claims that one such bottle is enough to disinfect 2800 square meters. m. At the same time, the protective layer that forms when applying the Clean House Super product lasts about three months and, while destroying existing skin beetles, does not allow new ones to enter. The active ingredient of the drug is beta-cyfluthrin. It effectively copes with more than a hundred types of pests, including skin beetles. At the same time, both the substance itself and the spray are odorless, do not leave visible traces and, in general, only disturb dying pests. Aerosol Clean House Super belongs to the fourth hazard class, that is, it poses virtually no harm to people, animals, fish, etc. But care should be taken when applying. As with any pesticide, you need to work with it wearing gloves, a protective mask, goggles, and you should also put on a work coat first so that your clothes are not saturated with spray splashes. Keep the bottle as far away from your face as possible. Important: If you have ever noticed an allergic reaction to beta-cyfluthrin or any substance from the pyrethroid class, you should stop using this spray. In any other case, you can use it to combat skin beetles. A clean Super house is inexpensive. One can of aerosol will cost you about 300 rubles.
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Interesting information
Getting rid of skin beetles is not so easy, since their life activity includes some peculiarities. For example:
- Adults are active during the day and fly away into the light in the evening, so it is not difficult to deal with them; it is enough to create primitive traps. As for caterpillars, this method is not suitable for destroying them.
- The larvae are afraid of sunlight, so they prefer to hide in dark and hard-to-reach places, which makes them difficult to find.
- These parasites do not tolerate damp conditions well, so regular washing with water will help keep the skin bug out of your home.
- Kozheed beetle larvae are more resistant to the action of special control agents than moths. Therefore, by destroying moths in an apartment, it is unlikely that you will be able to get rid of the skin beetle larvae.
- Caterpillars never rest and constantly move in search of food sources.
Carpet beetle. Hairy insects in the apartment.
Harris Boric Acid Roach
The product contains boric acid crystals. In the process of fighting insects, sharp crystals should be scattered in those places where adults and larvae are found. Particular attention should be paid to hard-to-reach places, cracks in the floor, carpeting, and secluded corners of the room that leather beetles like to favor. Boric acid is an inorganic insecticide and has a contact-intestinal effect. The death of the insect occurs on the eighth day after the start of application. Getting into the skin beetle's digestive tract, boric acid destroys its walls and disrupts the body's water balance. The death of an individual occurs as a result of severe dehydration. The manufacturer's recommendations indicate that during the disinsection process it is necessary to pay special attention to the cleanliness of the room and periodically sprinkle the product in designated areas. The drug is moderately dangerous (class three) and can be used in residential areas. It is odorless, but visible to humans: you will notice small crystals where they were scattered. The cost of the drug is approximately 700 rubles.
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Control plan and prevention of the appearance of skin beetles in the house
Having discovered skin beetles in the house, you need to act without waiting for their uncontrolled reproduction. You can adhere to the following control plan:
| Event | Description |
| Cleaning | Wet clean the floor by moving the furniture away. Wash the backs of cabinets, linen drawers, bottoms of beds, armchairs, cabinets, radiators, window sills and windows with detergent. Thoroughly vacuum books, upholstered furniture and carpets. |
| Washing things | Wash and iron personal items, as well as blankets, curtains, bedspreads. Take your outerwear to the dry cleaner. |
| Room treatment | Treat the infected area with an insecticide. |
| Bookmark repellents | Place moth tablets or tablets or mothballs in corners and drawers. |
| Reprocessing | After 10-12 days, repeat the insecticide treatment. |
After expelling skin beetles from the house, it is necessary to take preventive measures against re-infestation:
- monitor the cleanliness of the room, prevent dust from accumulating even in hard-to-reach places;
- Vacuum books and clean bookshelves regularly;
- monitor the condition of entomological and botanical collections;
- monitor the condition of flowers brought into the house;
- It is good to wash and clean antiques brought into the house or things bought second-hand.
A mosquito net on the windows will help prevent skin beetles from entering from the street.
