Whether you call them carpet bugs, rug bugs, carpet beetles, or rug beetles, these voracious little insects love chewing on your favorite stored clothing and carpets. If you’ve found these pesky bugs around your home, you may be wondering what they eat so you can protect your clothing and rugs.
Carpet bugs feed on natural fibers like wool, felt, fur, silk, feathers, animal skins, animal horns, leather, hair, taxidermy animals, dried plant products, spices, grains, and pet hair. Adult carpet bugs only feed on pollen and are attracted to plants like crape myrtle, spiraea, and buckwheat.
By knowing which fabrics are vulnerable to carpet bugs, you can implement special storage techniques to keep these insects away and keep your fabrics safe!
7 Fabrics That Carpet Bugs Eat
Carpet bugs are one of the most destructive pests to have in the home. The larvae feed on our favorite Christmas sweaters and carpets stored in the closet. A study from the Journal of Textiles found that a single carpet bug larva can damage 92.5 pounds of fabric in just one year!
For this reason, it’s important to understand what carpet bugs eat and how to protect these vulnerable items from infestation.
Head over to our article on the 3 hidden ways carpet beetles use to invade your home for information on how these pests get into your house in the first place.
1. Carpet Bugs Love Wool
Wool is a common fabric used in sweaters, hats, coats, gloves, socks, rugs, and carpets. Wool typically comes from sheep, which is why this natural fabric is so attractive to carpet bugs.
Seasonal clothing made from wool is especially vulnerable to carpet bugs because the clothing is typically stored away for months at a time in dark, undisturbed closets. If there’s even the slightest opening in the storage container, carpet beetles can sneak inside and start snacking.
2. Felt Will Attract Carpet Bugs
Felt is usually made with wool or animal fur that is matted and pressed together. Not all felt is attractive to carpet beetles, as some felt is made with synthetic fibers like acrylic.
Natural felt fibers come in the form of slippers, rugs, and even coasters and house decorations. Check any stored clothing or items to see if it is made of felt, and take special precautions to store them properly (more on that later!).
3. Carpet Bugs Go After Animal Products
You may be surprised to learn how many animal products you have around the home or in storage. Animal skins, furs, and feathers are an attractive food source for carpet beetle larvae and can cause an infestation in your home if not stored properly.
Here are a few examples of animal products you may have at home:
- Leather: Wallets, gloves, bags, belts, book bindings, motorcycle pants, and briefcases can all be made from leather, which is sourced primarily from the hide of cows.
- Taxidermy: You may be proud of that 10-point buck on your wall, but unfortunately, it could be attracting carpet bugs!
- Animal fur: Again, most animal ‘furs’ today are synthetic. However, if you have a family heirloom fur coat, it’s definitely going to attract carpet beetles.
- Feathers: Bedding and outdoor gear may be made of down feathers from geese and ducks. This natural product can attract unwanted carpet bugs.
While there’s nothing wrong with having these items in your home, it’s essential to store them properly to prevent inviting carpet bugs into your house.
4. Silk Lures Carpet Beetles
Silk comes from the aptly named silkworm and is commonly used in delicate products, such as ties, scarves, pocket squares, dresses, blouses, robes, sheets, pillowcases, and curtains. Because silk is a natural fiber, it may attract carpet bugs to your home.
You can read more about the things that attract carpet beetles to your home here. The article dives into the details of what attracts adult carpet beetles to your home, which starts the process of an infestation.
5. Carpet Bugs Infest Pet Hair and Human Hair
Our beloved fur babies may unintentionally attract carpet bugs to your home. It’s natural for cats and dogs to shed fur as the seasons change. If this fur is allowed to accumulate around baseboards and inside vents, it will attract carpet beetles.
Similarly, human hair is a food source for carpet beetle larvae. Those with long hair are particularly susceptible to shedding in the home. Even a stored hairbrush with a few strands can attract carpet bugs.
Luckily, pet and human hair is an easy fix with weekly vacuuming, brushing, and bathing your pet.
6. Carpet Bugs May Go After Certain Foods
Carpet beetles are known for destroying fabric, rugs, and carpets, but they will also snack on certain foods.
Cereals, spices, grains, cake mixes, flour, powdered milk, and similar dried goods may attract carpet bugs to your home. These foods are attractive to carpet beetles because they are plant-based products and provide larvae with necessary nutrients.
7. Adult Carpet Bugs Target Pollen-Rich Plants
The most destructive phase of the carpet bug’s life cycle is the larval stage. This is when they do the most damage to our prized sweaters and carpets. However, adult carpet beetles do not eat fabric at all. Their entire diet is comprised of pollen.
Pollen-rich plants may act as a starting point for carpet bug infestations. Plants like crape myrtle, dogwood, buckwheat daisy, buckthorn, pyracantha, spirea, and wild aster produce copious amounts of pollen, attracting adult carpet bugs, which eventually make their way inside.
How To Keep Items Safe From Carpet Bugs
Carpet beetles will damage vulnerable clothing, carpets, and other items if not stored properly. If you have seasonal clothing or carpets in storage, it’s important to seal them tightly so that no insects can sneak their way inside for a snack.
Below, I’ll go over the best ways to keep your items safe from carpet bugs to prevent an infestation in your home. The best part? Everything on our list is eco-friendly and safe for your family and pets when used as directed!
By the way, our article on where carpet beetles go during the day has a wealth of information on where these pests hide in your home, giving you specific locations to focus on while cleaning and repelling.
Check Current Items For Infestation
Before storing any items, thoroughly check them for current carpet beetle infestations. Check all seams, cuffs, folds, or any other areas of the item that might harbor these little insects. Our guide on identifying carpet beetles can help you make sure the bug you see in your stored clothing is actually a carpet bug.
Even if you don’t see any carpet beetles, it may be prudent to get items that have been stored for long periods professionally laundered first. Alternatively, wash the items in your own washing machine on the highest heat setting the item can handle.
Laundering not only eliminates eggs, larvae, and adults on the item, but it also removes perspiration and food crumbs that could attract future carpet bugs.
Seal Items in Airtight Containers
Once you’ve removed any current infestations on the items, the most effective way to keep carpet bugs from damaging them is to seal them in airtight containers. Vacuum storage bags are an excellent way to store clothes, bedding, and small items in airtight packaging.
Spacesaver Store’s Vacuum Storage Bags come in a 10-pack with a variety of size options depending on your needs.
Larger items may be more difficult to store in airtight containers, so other preventive and repellent techniques must be applied.
Use Repellents
Large items like carpets, rugs, and furniture simply cannot fit into a vacuum-sealed bag or an airtight container. For items like this, repellents are a fantastic way to keep your items damage-free and prevent carpet bug infestations.
Here are a few repellents that work well against carpet beetles:
- Cedar: Cedar oil and products contain terpenoids and other chemicals like cedrol that work well at repelling carpet bugs (and many other insects!). You can use cedar in a variety of ways, such as placing cedar blocks in storage containers with your clothes. You can also soak cotton balls in cedar essential oil and place them on paper plates within storage containers.
- Lavender: Like cedar, the chemical constituent found in lavender (isononyl ester) has a repellent effect on carpet bugs. You can use the essential oil or buy lavender satchels to place in closets and chests.
- Citronella: While most people know citronella as a mosquito repellent, this magical chemical can repel carpet beetles at the adult and larval stage as well!
- Eucalyptus: Eucalyptol is the main chemical ingredient found in eucalyptus, and what gives it its fresh scent! Use the essential oil on cotton balls to repel carpet bugs from your fabrics.
Natural products like essential oils are only effective if the scent is replenished often, about once a week. Our article on the 9 scents that carpet beetles hate goes in-depth into essential oils and other scents that naturally repel these troublesome pests.
While synthetic repellents like permethrin are more effective at deterring carpet beetles, the above-listed essential oils are much safer to use around the home. Essential oils are concentrated, so always dilute them before using. A good rule of thumb is about 10-15 drops per cup of water.
If you’re interested in more concentrated repellents, check out our article on the 9 best carpet beetle sprays.
Monitor Items
Even the best-laid plans sometimes go awry. If it’s possible, check on your items from time to time, looking for signs that carpet beetles have been munching on your fabrics.
Here are some tell-tale signs that carpet beetles have affected your items:
- Shed skins: Larvae molt several times before pupating into adults. These shed skins look similar to the actual larva and will be brownish in color with bristles present. These skins are usually less than ¼-inch (0.6 cm) long.
- Damaged fabric: Carpet bugs typically leave behind irregular holes or thin patches in one area of the fabric. This is different than clothes moths, which usually leave scattered holes throughout the garment.
Another sign that carpet beetles are in your home is the presence of adult carpet bugs on window sills or near doors. When the larvae feed, they eventually pupate into adults. Since adults only feed on pollen, they will try to find their way outdoors, gravitating toward windows and doors.
For a more in-depth look at keeping carpet bugs away, head over to our article on the 7 powerful ways to repel rug beetles!
That’s All For Now!
Carpet bugs are a destructive pest that can ruin certain fabrics, including stored clothing, carpets, rugs, and curtains. Knowing which fabrics carpet bugs eat can help you preserve vulnerable items properly, keeping them whole while in storage.
To recap, the 7 fabrics that carpet bugs eat include:
- Wool
- Felt
- Animal Products (leather, taxidermy, animal fur, feathers)
- Silk
- Pet and human hair
- Certain foods (mainly dried goods like cake mixes, cereals, grains, spices, and powdered milk)
- Pollen-rich plants (adult beetles only)
To keep your items safe from these destructive insects, you can seal them in airtight bags or containers and use repellents. Remember to check for current carpet bug infestations before storing your items.
If the carpet bug infestation is severe or DIY methods aren’t working, you can always reach out to a pest control specialist for help!
