r/carpetbeetles

Ive been at war with these little monsters since the beginning of last year’s summer. And they are just not leaving.

Last year they were in my couch (literally inside, they kept hiding in the gaps), in all 3 of my wardrobes, my pillows, my clothes, my laundry, I even found some dead ones in my cat’s tree. And it was crazy, I’d see 6 of them in one spot, spray them with the most chemical weapons I could find and an hour later I’d see 3 more making their way down my beautiful newly bought pillows.

After the summer ended, they also stopped appearing. This year I decided to act fast. I threw away most of my clothes that could work as their hiding spaces, I threw away my couch, all of my pillows and blankets - everything was OUT.

I have a new bed, new wardrobe, new clothes, new laundry baskets, new cat tree - every single thing in my apartment is new and cleaned EVERY SINGLE DAY.

And guess what? 20 minutes ago I was chilling on my bed and noticed a „stain” on my (also freshly painted) wall, I put on my glasses and the next thing I see? a carpet beetle. I didn’t know they could get on walls. But it looked just like the last ones.

I have lost this whole year because of the insanity and panic these guys brought onto me, I suffer from anxiety and seeing bugs everywhere made me spiral. And now its coming back.

I have no idea where they were hiding, as Ive left them absolutely no space but somehow they are still here - possibly in the walls or something.

HOW does one get rid of them for good without burning down my entire flat?

Also quick edit: I swear I have not seen a single adult that flew inside since the beginning of this season, as far as my uneducated ass things they don’t even appear till actual summer. Could it be something else? I didn’t get a photo since I absolutely smashed that bug to pieces the second I laid my eyes on it so Ive got absolutely no idea, but my trained eye genuinely believes its some kind of a carpet beetle that Ive dealt with last year.

After moving traps around my apartment for the better part of a year during my minor carpet beetle issue, I finally found a significant source of beetles under my fridge, which is quite nasty.

I live in an apartment and I'm nervous to pull the fridge out because I don't want to break the water line to the fridge ice maker, to which I have no shut off valve access (I'm guessing it's behind the fridge). The fridge is also enclosed in an alcove, so I can't access the back or underneath unless I pull it all the way out.

So - my question is: what can I do to prevent the beetles from reproducing and munching on food scraps beneath my fridge if I can't clean well under there? Any cleaning tips? Safe pesticide options for a kitchen? I am reluctant to use DE or powders as the fridge compressor fan might blow them all over the kitchen floor.

They feel so close yet just out of reach!

Thanks in advance!

It was next to my backpack, so I’m putting the bag outside rn. It was a larva, right next to the shed skin. Weird. I’ve also seen them in the bathroom. Hell, I don’t really gaf as long as it’s not in my bed (they were in an armrest pillow once 💀) but besides vacuuming, what do I do/should I do anything?

Had them since I was a youngin. We moved houses and my mom is one of those people who spirals when they find a bug like this. She never thought to make sure not to bring them to the new house. She also passed that irrational fear onto me. I had a depression room for a while and left my clean laundry on the floor while I went out of town for a month. Came back and saw one on my bed and one on my pillow. I knew I messed up, if they made it that far, they were definitely everywhere. I made a plan. I got gloves (for my own wellbeing and paranoia I know they don’t bite but my brain says I can touch and clean if there is a barrier lol), I bought vacuum sealable bags, and I bought indoor use carpet beetle poison. Washed all my clothes whether it was clean or dirty, wiped down all drawers, and am now storing all unused blankets and clothing into the vacuum sealable bags. I am vacuuming out my closet, mopping with Clorox/water, then hot water, then vinegar/water, then water again, then fabuloso (for scent), more water, and finally spraying the indoor poison in the baseboards and along all cracks and crevices. I washed all bedding and am vacuuming and moving furniture. I plan to vacuum my boxspring and mop everywhere and again spray poison in my bedroom baseboards. I seriously get grossed out beyond reason. Rationally, these things are harmless and there’s really not many. They’re small and hardly noticeable. They cause no harm to me other than making me freak out really bad and feel like my skin is crawling. I got so paranoid one night I thought they would behave like lice and best in my hair 😭. For anyone reading this, THEY CANNOT AND WILL NOT nest in your hair. Trust me, I was up until 3 am researching and making sure. I asked my nerd of a boyfriend who knows a lot about bugs and he also assured me they wouldn’t go into my hair. But anyways, please tell me if this should get rid of them. I need them gone. It’s either that or I bug bomb my room and sleep in the living room until further notice .