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922 Highway 55, Hamel MN 55340 ● www.adamspestcontrol.com
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Pest Identification And Information

FABRIC PESTS

The most prevalent fabric destroying insects in the United States include two clothes moths: Webbing Clothes Moth and the Case Making Clothes Moth and three carpet beetles: Black Carpet Beetle, Varied Carpet Beetle, and Furniture Carpet Beetle.

The first thing to do is to identify and eliminate the source of infestation. You should make a thorough inspection of infested premises to find all sources of infestation.

In our area, damage to fabrics is more likely caused by dermestid beetles than clothes moths. Dermestid beetles are more resistant to cold temperatures and lower humidities. In the southern states, clothes moths are more likely to be a problem because of higher humidities and temperatures.

Insects of the remaining groups, crickets, silverfish, cockroaches and termites usually feed on substances other than fabrics, however, these insects will feed on fabrics, especially when the fabric has food or perspiration stains on it.

After damage to fabric is discovered, it may take some detective work to determine the culprit. The insect pest is usually no longer present when the damage is found. To properly determine the pest, an investigator should make note of the following clues.

Look for live or dead insects. Live insects may be hard to find because these pests avoid the light, hiding in the folds of the fabric or in the cracks and crevices of closets. You can sometimes find dermestid larvae by shaking the damaged fabric over the middle of a white sheet spread out on the floor. Live adult carpet beetles and clothes moths are rarely found because they do not feed on fabric. Carpet beetles adults sometimes can be found dead on windowsills, and clothes moth adults do not feed.
Look for cast skins, insect fragments and products. Cast skins of larvae are often found with damaged fabric or fur. Clothes moths will often leave silken webbing, cases, pupae or frass in the damaged fabrics. These "parts" will help identify the pest.
Analyze the types of fabric. Carpet beetles and clothes moths can digest keratin, a component of animal hair, which includes wool, fur and feathers. Fabric made of wool blends may also be damaged. They also feed on silk. The other fabric pests tend to damage fabrics only if the fabrics are stained with food or perspiration

Fabric insects cause significant damage in commercial and residential areas. Fabrics destroyed include woolens, furs, hairs, leathers, feathers, horns, insect and animal collections.

They can also attack stored foods such as food, meat, fish, meal and milk products. Synthetic fibers are rarely damaged, only incidentally due to oiled stains, perspiration or other residue on the fabric.

These insects are able to digest keratin as their food source. Keratin is the chief ingredient in human tissues such as skin, hair and fingernails and in other mammals, horns, hoofs, feathers, hair, and nails.

Other pest, such as silverfish, crickets, cockroaches and earwigs will chew or shred the fabric, but do not digest it.

The ability to digest the keratin and the abundant use of wool and other animal hair is the cause of such a widespread problem.

FABRIC PEST CONTROL

Except for silverfish, the main food sought by fabric pests is a protein substance called Keratin present in fibers of animal origin such as wool, and even human hair. Silverfish prefer substances of plant origin such as cotton cellulose and starch.

Inspection:

A complete inspection is necessary before beginning any control measures.

Fabric pests like cloth moths are sometimes confused with pantry pest moths. They are close in size and appearance. Many times an infestation can start in a grain or meal product, but cloth moths will travel to your closet areas to infest the preferred source of woolens, etc. Pantry moths will stay in the pantry areas.
Check corners, under furniture that has not been moved for a long time, behind baseboards, etc.
It is important to remember that adults to not cause the damage, but the larvae do. The presence of adults in an area, doesn't mean that larvae are nearby, in that they may have laid their eggs in another room, and the adults are randomly moving around. Carpet beetle larvae tend to wander, so consider sites in addition to the place you first found larvae.
The adults like to fly towards light.
The larvae of both clothes moths and the beetles prefer to feed in secluded, hidden places.
Using a flash light and a small spatula may be necessary to seek out the larvae.
The larvae may be found in dark clothes in closets, furs, woolens, and carpet bits, or other material in storage.
They can also be found in lint and animal hair found under baseboards, edges of carpeting, under upholstered furniture, under edges of carpets, in air ducts, and occasionally in stored products in the pantry like cereals.
The use of a knife blade or spatula will help examine the lint closely for live larvae or cast skins.
It is important to consider natural sources when making an inspection, such as woolens.
Larvae are often attracted to soiled fabrics (such as clothing soiled with body oil or perspiration) and cracks and crevices where lint, food crumbs or dead insects, such as ladybugs, boxelder bugs, or cluster flies accumulate.
Carpet beetle larvae may also feed on stored cereals, dry pet food and wool piano felts.
Carpet beetle infestations are more likely to be discovered because of the damage they do, not because large populations are being found.
Although larva and adults are easily killed, eggs and pupa are not.
Look for articles of woolen clothing which may have been stored and neglected, and check the premises for old furniture and rugs which may be a source of a continuing infestation.

Other important areas of concern may be include sites which represent the natural habitat of these insects. Sparrow, starling, or other bird nests, inside or outside of the premises, are common points of origin.
Bird nests in fireplaces and attics can be common sites. Wasp nests which are found under eaves and in attics are also common sources of carpet beetle and clothes moth infestations.

Another source of food material for carpet beetle and clothes moth larvae is accumulations of animal hair which may be found quite often in homes where pets are kept. Shed hair may accumulate in heating ducts, beneath furniture, or in hard-to-clean corners. These loose tangles of hair may be sufficient to sustain a small population of fabric pests for a long period of time, even in places where all wool products might have been treated.

Prevention and Sanitation:

It is important to frequently and thoroughly vacuum carpet and upholstery, and dry clean susceptible clothing such as the woolens.
To not store discarded garments, fur or animal pelts, old wool rugs, feather pillows, or such vulnerable fabrics for long.
Soiled fabrics such as synthetic fibers can also be attacked by these insects.
Other potential sites can be dried flower arrangements, or decorative items with "seeds" in them.
Baseboards, behind door casings, under heat radiators, and inside furnace or air conditioning registers should be cleaned with a vacuum cleaner.
In garment bags or storage boxes, moth balls would work fine. Moth balls (naphthalene) can work as continuous repellent, but most be in a stored, sealed container. Cedar chests or cedar closets don't work well, because a sufficiently tight seal is rarely maintained. Cold vaults for garment storage would be effective for valuable furs.

Control Measures:

A complete inspection of the closets and other areas is the first order of business. The soiled garments, particularly woolens need to be dry cleaned or laundered.

After the inspection, critical areas should receive special attention. The insecticides will kill exposed adults and larvae. In carpeted areas, the treatment would be focused around the baseboards. In furniture it would be around the buttons, zippers and seams.

After vacuuming cracks and crevices in the closets, an aerosol with a crack and crevice tip such as Intruder can be sprayed in the cracks and crevices.
Use a good residual insecticide for spot treatments.
Infested rugs, carpets, and furniture should be cleaned thoroughly and protected with a residual insecticide application.
Sensitive items, such as museum pieces, wall mountings, furs, taxidermy mounts, etc., might require vault fumigation or treatment with temperature control.
Always keep pets and children off the wet surface until it dries.
Prevention is the best control.
Thorough vacuum cleaning of rugs and furniture removes lint and pet hair as well as some of the larvae.

Stored clothing should be kept in tightly closed containers.

Black Carpet Beetle

Biology:

Eggs - Found near where foodstuffs accumulate - often very small.
Larvae - Found in cracks or walls where foodstuffs accumulate.
Pupae - Larvae pupate in the last larval skin, pupal state is from 6 to 24 days.
Adults - Emerge in spring and early summer to lay eggs.
Minimum Life Cycle: Nine months.
Distribution: Cosmopolitan

Black Carpet Beetle (Attagenus megatoma). The black carpet beetle, a dermestid beetle, includes several similar species that may all be referred to as black carpet beetles. They usually have an annual life cycle. The adults feed only on flower nectar, pollen, and free water, while the larvae usually feed on wool, leather, silk, fur, and other animal products containing Keretin. Several species of these insects are found worldwide, but more commonly in temperate areas.

This as the most abundant and widespread of the carpet beetles and is the species which causes the greatest damage to fabrics and other keratin containing articles throughout most of the United States. Adults are shiny black with brownish legs, and grow to a length of 1/8- to 3/ 16-inch. They are frequently found outdoors in flowers and are most numerous in the spring and early summer. Carpet beetle larvae are frequently pests of insect collections and other museum specimens.

Since they are attracted to flowers, and in the spring of the year the adult Black Carpet Beetle may fly into the house.

They lay eggs either indoors or outdoors, beginning 4 to 8 days after the adult emerges. Each female lays approximately 50 eggs over a period of about 3 weeks, after which she dies.

Indoors, these eggs are deposited in accumulations of lint, in air ducts, underneath baseboards and other similar places. Eggs hatch in 6 to 11 days in warm weather.

Body color varies from a light brown to almost black.

They can develop under a wide range of temperature and humidity conditions, and are much less susceptible to environmental changes than are clothes moths.

Larvae may grow to 1/2-inch long over a series of 5 to 11 molts. They tend to avoid lighted areas, so are found most frequently in the lower parts of clothes closets, rolled up or wrapped into woolen materials, at the edge of carpeting under baseboards, or inside upholstered furniture.

Mature larvae can wander rather widely, so may be found anywhere in a building. It is not at all unusual to find them in a bathtub, kitchen sink, or even crawling on walls and ceilings.

Black carpet beetle larvae are general feeders, feeding on dead animal materials, hair, fur, hides and horns, as well as the usual woolen products. They tend to be surface feeders on wool, usually eating the nap from fabric and leaving the base threads relatively unaffected.

They also can feed on many plant materials such as cereals, stored grain or nuts.

However, they are quite capable of eating large, irregular holes through any suitable food material. In fur, hairs are cut at the base with no injury to the hide. The hair then readily drops out leaving a bare appearance to the hide.

Black carpet beetle larvae frequently burrow through containers to obtain food, leaving small openings through which other insects may enter to cause additional damage.

Cast skins and frass in the form of minute, irregular pellets are frequently found on infested fabrics.

Black carpet beetle larvae may live as short as 9 months to as long as 3 years, depending on their diet and environmental conditions.

Damage done:

The larvae or immature stages of carpet beetles are about 1/4 inch long and densely covered with hairs or bristles. Only the larval stage feeds on fabric and causes damage. The adults feed on flowers, but are often seen indoors around light fixtures and windows, indicating that a larval infestation is present somewhere within the home.

Fabric damaged with no traces of silk-like threads.
Much surface damage with various holes.
Frass may be seen in minute, irregular pellets, many time in the color of the fabric.
In fur:
Hair cut at the base, hair drops out easily and hide may be exposed.
Cast skins, no webbing

PREVENTION:

The best way to avoid carpet beetle problems is through prevention. Woolens and other susceptible fabrics should be dry cleaned or laundered before being stored for long periods.

Cleaning not only removes perspiration odors that are attractive to the beetles, but also kills any eggs or larvae that may be present.

Insecticides should not be used to treat clothing.

RECOMMENDED CONTROL MEASURES:

INSPECTION:

The first step in carpet beetle elimination is a thorough inspection of the entire structure.

Carpet beetle larvae prefer to feed in dark, undisturbed, protected places.

Before the infestation is discovered, the active forms (larvae and adults) may have distributed themselves in such places as the lint collected behind baseboards, in air ducts, in the stuffing of furniture and in the bristles of old paint brushes. From these unsuspected locations, carpet beetles may continue to re-infest valued woolens for long periods of time.

Check under baseboards, in and under upholstered furniture, piano felts, air ducts, stuffed animal trophies, stored cereals, bird nests under eaves, wasp nests in attics, dead birds, rodents or insects in wall voids, woolens, clothes closets, furs, etc. Black carpet beetles favor animal nests such as that of birds and rodents and can be a source of infestation in the winter when the first sign of cold weather forces the beetles indoors. Location and removal of such nests before winter can also prevent infestation.

Often the cast skins are more abundant than the larvae. Adult beetles flying around windows may help in locating the infestation.

The list of materials upon which carpet beetles can feed successfully is extensive. It includes such diverse substances as meal and flour, peas and beans, animal dandruff, dead insects, leather, dried meats, silk, powdered milk and dog food as well as the natural food substance of wool, fur, hair and feathers mentioned previously. Eggs, larvae, pupae and adults may be brought into the home in any of these substances.

Since adult beetles feed on pollen and nectar, all cut flowers from the outdoors should be inspected for black carpet beetle presence.

Screens should also be installed around windows and doors should be tightly fitted to prevent adults from entering the structure.

VACUUMING:

Remove debris such as animal hair and lint that serves as a food source for black carpet beetles.

When located, infested articles should be disposed of.

TEMPERATURE TREATMENT:

If the item is of high value, several options are available. Items such as furs can be placed in cold storage at temperatures around 40^oC. Also, some items may be frozen for a week in an effort to kill all beetle larvae, but bag it first so when you remove it from cold storage, humidity in the air doesn't rush to the item.

CHEMICAL TREATMENT:

In the case of a heavy infestation, insecticide treatment may be necessary. Before making insecticide treatments for carpet beetles, the premises should be thoroughly vacuumed.

Use a residual Insecticide spray that is registered for control of carpet beetles.

Indoor spot or surface treatment with insecticides can provide effective control of carpet beetles, although more than one application may be necessary.

When spraying rugs or area rugs it would be advisable to spray underneath the underside of the rugs a couple feet or the entire underside.

Clothes should not be sprayed directly, but can be washed or dry cleaned.

When treating rugs, closet areas, and storage areas, be sure to treat all known or suspected feeding and hiding places. Carpet beetles leaving the infested products will contact the sprayed surfaces and die.

Cracks and crevices can be treated with an insecticidal dust such to kill the adult beetles . You will need 2-4 treatments spaced about 3 weeks apart, due to the nature of their cycles.

REMEMBER:

Although larva and adults may be easily killed, eggs and pupa are not, a complete vacuuming is important.
Vacuuming may be used to remove debris such as animal hair and lint that serves as a food source for black carpet beetles.
Do not use any insecticide on surfaces where food is eaten, prepared, or stored, or on food itself.

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922 Hwy 55 Suite 100 ● Hamel MN 55340 ● www.adamspestcontrol.com

763-478-9810 ● Toll Free 800-227-2214 ● Fax 763-478-6715