E. A. Back

“ The adult flies readily and is often seen crawling on window panes and screens. It is during the adult stage that the black carpet beetle spreads most easily from house to house.
The female beetle lays small, white, fragile eggs upon fabrics, in floor cracks, or in any sheltered spot near its food. The length of life of the parent insect ranges from 3 to 35 days during April, May, and June. Seldom are adults found later than July, except in very warm storage houses. ”

“ Fumigation with formaldehyde candles, although excellent for killing disease germs, is worthless for insect control, and the public is warned accordingly. Sulphur fumes will kill many carpet beetles, but very few persons succeed in killing all carpet beetles with sulphur fumes. Sulphur should be burned at the rate of 131⁄2 ounces per 1,000 cubic feet of space. It is likely to bleach wall paper and fine fabrics and tarnish metals, and should never be used unless one is aware of these possible bad results. ”

“ The larvæ, or grubs (as the larvæ of beetles are often called) are brownish or black and variously clothed with stiff hairs, as shown in Figures 1 and 8, or with a long tuft of hairs at the end of the body, as shown in Figure 5. Carpet beetles pass through not more than two generations annually, and more often only one, and there are records of certain individuals requiring much longer, even three years, to complete their growth. ”

“ This beetle is now well established in this country and is a most serious furniture pest. The adults eat holes through heavy leather and linen coverings, while the larvæ reduce the hair used in the upholstering to a mass of cast larval skins and ground-up hair. The hair then has the appearance of black gritty dirt which can be scraped up by the handful, if not by the pailful. When the larvæ become abundant in a piece of furniture they may drop to the floor and there feed upon rugs and other fabrics made of wool, hair, fur, or feathers. The larva ”

“ The adult insect is a small, broad-oval beetle, about three-sixteenths of an inch long, black in color, but is covered with exceedingly minute scales, which give it a marbled black-and-white appearance. ”

“ The measures to be used for the control of carpet beetles depend upon the place in the house where the pest is causing injury. If carpet beetles are troublesome in trunks, chests, or closets that are not opened often, a good grade of flake naphthalene, paradichlorobenzene or camphor will give good results. ”

“ These flights of adults are of extreme importance to the householder, because they emphasize how readily carpet beetles may spread from house to house during spring and early summer. Window screens will exclude all except the smallest specimens if they fit tightly, but the average removable screen does not fit tightly enough to prevent adult carpet beetles from crawling into the house between screen and window frame. ”

“ Carbon disulphid.—Carbon disulphid is a fumigant in general use for killing insects of all sorts in containers that are reasonably tight. It is excellent for killing carpet beetles in chests, trunks, and closets that can be closed and sealed. It has been used for the fumigation of entire buildings when these are detached. ”

“ The beetles are day fliers, and when not engaged in egg laying are attracted to the light. They fly to the windows, and may often be found upon the sills or panes. Where they can fly out through an open window they do so, and are strongly attracted to the flowers of certain plants, particularly the family Scrophulariaceæ but also to certain Composite, such as milfoil (Achillea millefolium) . The flowers of Spiræa are also strongly attractive to the beetles. It is probable, however, that this migration from the house takes place, under ordinary circumstances after the eggs have been laid. ”

“ CARPET BEETLES OR "BUFFALO MOTHS."
T HE so-called "buffalo moths" are not moths; they are beetles and very distinct from the true clothes moths. In this country there are six species, [1] at least, that attack museum materials and household fabrics, but of these only four [2] have proved serious household pests in America. All species are capable of subsisting upon dried animal remains, and thrive upon them perhaps as well as upon the fine fabrics of wool, hair, feathers, fur, and silk. ”

“ From the observation of the writer, made in houses, warehouses, and in the laboratory at Washington, there seems little doubt that a very large percentage of the insects have one generation each year. ”

“ Fortunately this species does not seem to be very prolific, since no adult has been known to lay more than 85 eggs. The eggs are small, white, easily crushed by brushing, and are laid in the nap of clothing. In furniture coverings of mohair, plush, and similar materials the eggs are tucked down in the pile, as shown in Figure 13. The eggs hatch during warm summer weather in from 12 to 15 days. The larvæ require the rest of the year for growth and do not transform to the adult until the following spring. ”

“ Fig. 11.—Upholstered furniture sometimes harbors thousands of clothes moths and carpet beetles without showing evidence of their feeding until they have become very abundant. From this couch thousands of adult carpet beetles were found emerging, and spreading about the house. Only reupholstering or fumigation will rid such a piece of furniture of pests.
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For a general impression of the appearance of the furniture carpet beetle see Figure 10. The adult may live several weeks. The female has been known to lay as many as 36 eggs in one day. ”

“ Their development is retarded by cold weather or lack of food, and they remain alive in the larval state, in such conditions and particularly in a dry atmosphere, for an almost indefinite period molting frequently and feeding upon their cast skins. Under normal conditions, however the skin is cast about six times, and there are, probably, in the North, not more than two annual generations. When the larva reaches full growth the yellowish pupa is formed within the last larval skin. ”

“ Hydrocyanic-acid gas is dangerous to human beings, but is noninflammable and nonexplosive as used in household fumigation as here advocated. It is lighter than air, will injure no fabric or painting, and will not tarnish household metals. ”

“ The adults are present in abundance only during the early summer. In a steam-heated building at Washington, D. C, large numbers of adults were present late in April and during May, but became rather scarce during the first part of June, although single adults were found as late as early in July. ”

“ If properly used, it is one of the simplest and best methods of fighting house pests. Interested persons can have full particulars free of cost by writing the Division of Publications, Department of Agriculture, for Farmers' Bulletin 699. ”

“ It is always better to use a larger rather than a smaller quantity of these crystals Great care should be exercised to keep tightly closed the trunks or chests of clothing with which the naphthalene is stored. ”