How to Get Rid of Carpet Beetles in Mattress {In 7 Easy Steps}

Is your mattress infected with carpet beetles?

Are you wondering how to get rid of carpet beetles in your mattress?

Below I will cover everything you need to know to achieve this.

Signs of Carpet Beetles in Your Mattress

It’s time to observe the tell-tale signs that you have a carpet beetle infestation in the bed. Look for tiny holes on your bed sheet.

The larvae may have chewed on your bed sheets to have created these holes. If you’re looking to determine whether or not they are carpet beetles, the color you are checking for is reddish -brown and the shape is like an oval.

The larvae of a carpet beetle is yellow brown with prickly hairs that look white. You will most likely find dark spots or red stains on your bed sheet if you do not see any tiny holes.

How To Get Rid Of Carpet Beetles In Mattress

To get rid of carpet beetles you will need to find the source of the beetles, remove and clean all fabrics, vacuum the infected area, then spay the area with a insecticide such as Ortho Home Defense.

Personally, I use Ortho Home Defense for this which you can purchase from amazon.

Seeing an insect on your bed may freak you out the first time you see it, especially that it’s an unexpected thing to be on your mattress. You may feel unpleasant that you found a bug, and indeed, you want to get it out of your bed as soon as you can.

Carpet beetles infest carpets, as their name implies, but these pests eat materials like wool, fur, feather, other animal skins, and they also eat cotton at some point.

Having a bug infestation doesn’t sound so pretty, so you must take proper actions to eliminate them before they multiply.

Steps To Take

You can get rid of carpet beetles without any assistance from other people. Before you do any action to get rid of the carpet beetles, you must learn some steps to eliminate them from your mattress easier and in an orderly manner.

To get rid of carpet beetles in a mattress follow these steps

1. Find the Source

Carpet beetles do not only infest on your mattress, but they can be on pieces of furniture, too. Within your mattress, look at which part do they inhibit and identify that spot.

2. Validate Their Inhabitance

Homeowners usually confuse carpet beetles with bugs, and you should know what carpet beetles look like to get rid of them with proper precaution.

Bed bugs are uniformly brown, while carpet beetles come in a range of colors: black with white, brown, yellow, and orange. Common carpet beetles have white, black, and red scales. There are also entirely black carpet beetles.

Signs of carpet beetles in your mattress are:

  • Adult, oval-shaped carpet beetles with either of the indicated colors above.
  • Larvae carpet beetles with light and dark stripes on their bodies covered with dark, spiky hair.
  • Small pellets of feces, about a size of a salt grain.
  • Brown sheds of skins that looks like a shell.

3. Cleaning Your Mattress

Once the presence of carpet beetles on your mattress is confirmed, it’s time to clean that bed. Yes, this is the start of the essential part because how can you get rid of them if you don’t clean up, right?

Remove your bed sheet, pillowcase, comforter, and blanket. Any fabric that you used on your bed should be stripped off, and check for any infestation on your bedding. 

Wash all your bedding with hot or warm water, depending on the maximum heat that fabric can take up. Some material requires only warm water, but people can wash some with hot water.

These water temperature levels can kill any larvae or adult carpet beetles that you overlooked from them and those hiding in the corners of each fabric.

If you suspect any bad or worst infestation among any of the material, throw that fabric away – this will keep you safe from having carpet beetle infestation again.

4. Vacuum Your Home

Yep, that’s right. The most thorough and quickest way to get rid of carpet beetles is to vacuum your house. You need not only the mattress to be vacuumed, but your whole home, too.

This clean-up will get rid of larvae and beetles present at any sides and corners of your home and clean your carpets simultaneously. Focus on most infected areas’ source and focus on the rooms with mattresses infested with carpet beetles.

  • Vacuum your home at least once a day for a week or so, and include your mattress, of course. If the infestation is terrible, you should continue vacuuming your home until you got rid of the carpet beetles in your mattress. You may also clean your home with a vacuum multiple times a day to ensure getting rid of the infestation.
  • Vacuum any upholstered furniture and any areas covered with fabric that you can’t wash with a washing machine. This way, you can eliminate carpet beetles from your mattress by preventing their infestation from any of your things at home.
  • Check labels for some fabrics in your room. If any of them are not qualified to be cleaned with a vacuum, you may steam clean the material or hire a steam cleaner to clean your whole room or home if necessary.

5. Spray Insecticide

There are some parts of the bed and the room that you can’t reach by cleaning, or there are some parts that we do not feel confident are clean enough. Look for an insecticide that includes carpet beetles on its label. 

  • Wear protective clothing when dealing with insecticides. Gloves should be the priority to avoid coming in contact with the insecticide to your skin.
  • Avoid spraying it all over the house and follow directions carefully. Make sure you are spraying parts that the insecticide can function.
  • Limit your sprays to places that are hard to reach and places you don’t feel assured about. Include closets, shelves where fabrics are placed, bed frames, and many more. Don’t include any clothing or bedding.

6. Use Boric Acid

Use boric acid on areas that are really hard to reach. If you’re having difficulty getting into some infested areas, sprinkle and dust them with boric acid. You can also make boric acid into a spray.

  • For one tablespoon of boric acid, mix it with two cups of hot water. Stir continuously until the powder entirely dissolves to ensure balance in the formula you made.
  • Use a spray bottle to store boric acid. Plastic spray bottles are better to use with this mixture.
  • Spray it over hard to reach surfaces and avoid spraying into dark areas: boric acid somehow has a bleaching effect.

7. Changing Your Sheets

Pillowcases should be changed every week, while you should change bed sheets every other week. This way, you can keep your mattress clean, and you are also keeping yourself away from the dirt that has stuck onto your beddings.

Body sweat, oil, dirt, even dust from your home can be stuck in your sheets, and changing them more often will keep your mattress safe from infestation, and you’ll feel fresh, too.

Every time you change your beddings, you can check for infestations simultaneously, which can help you prevent having them even at an early stage.

YouTube video

How to Get Rid of Carpet Beetle Larvae in Mattress

Getting rid of carpet beetle larvae in a mattress is similar to eliminating the adults. Follow some of the information below to help you get rid of larvae and prevent them from returning:

  • Spray insecticide.
  • Spray boric acid.
  • Sprinkle diatomaceous earth.
  • Keep the mattress dry.
  • Use a dehumidifier.
  • Vacuum the mattress.
  • Steam clean the mattress.

A weekly cleaning schedule with more frequent washing of bed sheets and pillowcases is necessary to prevent carpet beetle larvae from returning.

Do Carpet Beetles Live in Mattresses?

No. Carpet beetles are different from bed bugs because they don’t want to live in your mattress. Adult carpet beetles seek to find a place to lay their eggs,  and your mattress might be the best available option.

The larvae could end up eating the bed linen or other furnishings located in your bedroom. Carpet beetles would enjoy your mattress if they are attracted to any scents from:

  • animals
  • fur
  • soiled linens
  • perspiration
  • natural fabrics

Carpet beetles enjoy roaming and finding comfortable locations around the house including your mattress, but they are not looking to live in it.

Can I Use Home Defense to Kill Carpet Beetles in Mattress?

Yes. You can use Home Defense to get rid of carpet beetles in your mattress. The problem is carpet beetles love to spread throughout your house. You will need to apply sticky traps, insecticides that are potent with chemicals or non-toxic options such as boric acid.

Apply Home Defense as a treatment option on your mattress and make sure to apply it in hard-to-reach areas because carpet beetles love to hide in and around your bed frame.

Don’t just stop there. Apply Home Defense to carpets,  fabrics and other areas throughout your bedroom as well.

Final Words

Finding any insects on your mattress would set your mood upside down anytime: may it be bed bugs or carpet beetles; these insects will only make you feel dirty about your mattress and home.

However, if you know the signs of carpet beetle’s presence, you can get rid of them with some orderly and straightforward steps to help you clean your mattress.

You may also contact professional help if needed. By then, you can get the treatment you necessitate to feel clean and tidy with the bed you’re lying on.

 

Thanks for visiting ThePestManagement.com for the best information to help you to make the pest control process easy, safe & affordable. 

Jason Barrett

Hello, I'm Jason. I have 11 years of experience in dealing with pests. I try to provide you the best information that'll help you to make the pest control process easy & affordable