Evening star., 1936-08-04
They Belong to Species
Of Anthrenus, or Plain
Carpet Beetle to You
Dietary Preferences of the Various Types
Are Apt to Cause Havoc in
the Home.

signs of red, orange, yellow. brown and
white. The only beetle of the group
which has no color scales, and Is a
shiny black all over, is the black car
pet beetle. The larvae Of this gentle
man is reddish brown, long and slen-
der, and has tuft of whiskers at the
stern end. The larvae of the other
three are more or less similar, being
yellowish or reddish brown, and COW
cred with stiff blackish hairs all
around with an extra long bunch on
the rear.
The common carpet beetle larvae
feed upon carpets, woolens, turs,
feathers, bristles and silks. When
carpets are tackled to floors they will
usually eat along cracks and seams.
With the growing tendency to use
rugs or carpets that can be taken
up for thorough cleaning at frequent
intervals, the pet hiding place OF the
"buffalos" will disappear, which should
help considerably in eradicating the
pest.
The beetles love the light, and fly
to the windows where they may be
caught in the adult stage. They be-
gin to appear in the Fall, usually, but
in heated houses may continue to
take to the open during the Winter
and Spring. Eggs are laid in con-
venient spots-often in cracks in the
floor, or in folds of clothing. These
hatch in few days, and the larvae
the villains Of the piece-start out on
their foraging career 1t takes larva
long time to grow up to be a pupa,
and during that period he does an
awful amount of damage.
THE black carpet beetle, in addition
to the diet chosen by his relatives,
likes cereals. seeds and cereal prod
ucts. The adult flies through the air
with the greatest Of ease, and enters
houses through openings around loose
screens, or through opened doors.
The adults do not appear as rule
in this part of the world after July,
but the larvae, of course, go on for
ever!
The varied carpet beetle likes seeds
better than other foods, but when
none are handy will accept a nice
portion of woolens, feathers, furs and
silks. The adults are particularly
aesthetic, and love flowers-especially
spirea bushes White roses are also
passion with them, and they may
often be found on the blooms.
The furniture carpet beetle is a
wicked affair. and literally eats the
stuffing out of upholstered furniture.
He eats his way through the covering
into the curled hair or moss interior.
and there proceeds to set up house
keeping in a big way. Often the
owners of the furniture are not aware
that their possessions have been taken
over by the pests, until the colony
becomes so large that some of the
inmates are forced to go elsewhere
for food, and start a covered wagon
procession to new pastures BY then
the sofa or chair is only fit for the
junk pile.
Fumigation is the only answer TO:
houses or articles that are really in
tested. An inhabited piece of furni-
ture may be sent to be fumigated in
dividually, if there is reasonable as
surance that the pests have not spread.
Certain moth-preventatives are fairly
effective against the insects, when
used in tightly closed trunks and
chests. Frequent going over" of
clothes in drawers or closets. and
thorough, regular cleaning of walls
and floors help in keeping the bugs
from getting a strangle hold. Cracks
in floors should be carefully cleaned,
and sprayed with an insecticide strong
enough to really do good job
Vacuuming of rugs and overstuffed
furniture, and curtains. will do lot
in getting rid Of possible eggs Eternal
vigilance is the best bet of all!