Plagued by carpet beetles...advice on treating furniture.

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Plagued by carpet beetles...advice on treating furniture.

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stefaniemari

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Posted 11 months ago
Tue Jul 17 2012 23:33:23
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Hey guys,

We have been so plagued by carpet beetle larvae (my bf mainly since he appears to be allergic and I am not) that we are actually moving. The only piece of furniture I am really worried about is a sofa bed that was kind of expensive. We found 1 larvae crawling on part of it and are worried it is infested. I was thinking of spraying it with Ecosmart but I didn't know if there was anything we could do to try to kill any larvae or eggs that are on it?

Thanks in advance.
P Bello

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Posted 11 months ago
Wed Jul 18 2012 6:27:59
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Dear stef,

Go to lowes, home depot or ace hardware for the following supplies:

> 2 mil or 3 mil large plastic tarp/painter's drop cloth sheeting

> packing tape or similar

> pest strip, hot shot is the usual retail brand

(As an option you can also add the application of a suitable residual insecticide to the under framing areas of the sofa however, you will need to remove the bottom dust cover material so you can get up in ther where the critters may be located.)

Read the label directions of all pesticide products.

Thoroughly vacuum the sofa in all areas.

Inspect all areas of the sofa as you vacuum using a good flashlight. Physically remove as many pests as you can find.

Wrap your sofa like you are wrapping a large sandwich with the plastic and seal in the pest strip with the sofa.

Leave it wrapped for as long as you possibly can, say at least two weeks.

This should render your sofa carpet beetle free provided you do this correctly.

Hope this helps ! paul b.
P Bello

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Posted 11 months ago
Wed Jul 18 2012 6:30:27
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Dear stef,

If you want to go "pesticide free" with this effort:

> Use the vauum as per above.

> Get a bed bug steamer, say $300 or better.

> Steam all areas of the sofa and be thorough.

> Apply DE.

> Pray.

Hava a great day ! paul b.
bugzbegone

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Posted 11 months ago
Sun Jul 22 2012 19:39:49
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First, it is an honor to speak with an author. Next, please HELP! My sill plate has a continuous sawdust trail across the back wall of my house. The trail is approximately three inches wide and two and one half inches deep. When I enter my attic I hold on to the roof rafters for balance. My rafters are raining sawdust. I spoke with a consultant who informed me of the expense of his services - $500 is nothing compared to what I have invested in my tiny home ($100,000). I led a PCO company representative to my crawl space opening and showed him a handful of sawdust. He attributed it to contractors,without going under. I found this on the internet ("If you see sawdust raining from your ceiling or from any indoor cracks, you have a problem.")and contacted the author by e-mail - he did not wish to be disturbed. You write with the expertise of a entomologist - perhaps you can suggest the first "correct step" with this bug war. I am in the midst of a bedbug war now. I live on Maryland's Eastern Shore. I believe if I speak to one good knowledgeable person I may be blessed with the correct path to follow. If I have disturbed you or posted incorrectly I apologize. I'm loosing my adult functioning as a bug victim so please forgive my long whine. Deepest Appreciation for your dedication to the bug war.
stefaniemari

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Posted 11 months ago
Sun Jul 22 2012 23:02:22
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Hey Paul,

Thank you...We tried the first approach you mentioned and will see how it goes!

-S
bed-bugscouk

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Posted 11 months ago
Mon Jul 23 2012 7:39:11
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Hi,

There is a document on carpet beetles and how to resolve here:

http://www.bed-bugs.co.uk/carpetbeetles/carpetbeetles.html

Hope it helps.

David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited