Does Vinegar Kill Carpet Beetles?

by

You can use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar to kill carpet beetles. However, white vinegar is the best because it is stronger and it will not stain your upholstery.

Vinegar kills and repels carpet beetles because it drains their cells at the larvae stage. Combine 4 ounces of white vinegar with 2 ounces of hot water and spray it on them. Let it overnight before you sweep or vacuum the infested areas.

You can also spray your curtains and furniture if they are made of fabric. This is because those beetles not only live in your carpet but they love eating fabric in general.

Vinegar for carpet beetles

How to get rid of carpet beetles with vinegar

Carpet beetles nibble on carpets and if you spray white vinegar, there are high chances of killing. They will not have time to crawl out of the carpet before vinegar overwhelms them.

  1. Fill a bucket with 10 liters of warm water
  2. Add 2 cups of white vinegar into the bucket
  3. Add 1 cup of carpet cleaner soap into the bucket and stir to mix
  4. Deep a clean heavy cotton hand towel into the bucket and gently wring to remove excess water
  5. Use this to white the carpet with your hands as you gently squeeze
  6. If it becomes too dry, deep again into the water and uses it to clean every inch of the carpet
  7. This may take time but it is a sure way of getting rid of carpet beetle and their eggs

White vinegar for carpet beetles

Carpet beetles are common in living rooms and bedrooms since there is a lot of fabric for the larvae to feed on. Remember to use white distilled vinegar when getting rid of them on fabric. Colored vinegar may leave them stained.

Ensure your spay a white vinegar solution on the carpet when there is not much activity in the house. Spray it close enough to the carpet so that there is maximum contact with the bugs.

Let the vinegar spray stay on the carpet for at least 12 hours. Do the spraying at night and then clean up in the morning if it is in the living room.

If you can manage to vacuum your carpet after that, the better. Vacuuming will help in pulling up any eggs and larvae that are left behind. Do not spray your bedroom carpet when you are about to sleep. The smell will irritate you and hinder you from sleeping well.

Vinegar for carpet beetles on seats

If the seats are made from leather, silk, or woolen fabric, consider cleaning them with vinegar to kill and repel bugs. To manually clean and remove carpet beetles from your seats with vinegar, you will need the following:

  1. 2 pieces of heavy hand cotton towels
  2. White vinegar
  3. Warm Water
  4. Clean bucket or basin  
  5. Dish soap
  6. Upholstery shampoo

Here is what to do:

Use the following steps after collecting the above requirements:

  1. Get 5 cups of warm water in a standard bucket or basin
  2. Add 3 cups of white vinegar to the water
  3. Add 1 ½ of dish soap into the bucket and stir to mix
  4. Deep one clean hand towel in it
  5. Ensure it is soaked before you slightly squeeze out the excess water so that the seat is not over soaked
  6. Use this to clean the seats by gently pressing and rubbing the towel on the fabric
  7. When washing the seat joints where the carpet beetles hide, squeeze the water in there
  8. Let the seat dry out naturally for at least 24 hours
  9. Use the other clean hand towel with warm water
  10. This should be mixed with a nice scented upholstery shampoo to remove the soap and vinegar smell

Only adult beetles have wings and spraying white vinegar will be effective in killing their larvae. However, vinegar will repel the adult ones from curtains.

Vinegar for carpet beetles on curtains

Washing the curtains will help in removing most of the eggs laid there. Then hang them back and spray them with a white vinegar solution to repel the adult carpet beets from curtains.

After washing your curtains, add 1 cup of white vinegar when doing the final rinse. This will help in killing and repelling any adult flies that land on them.

If the curtains are too dirty, consider adding ½ cup of white vinegar to the soaked curtains. However, this will depend on the quantity soaked. You can reduce the amount of vinegar, based on the soaking water levels and the number of curtains soaked.

Advantages

Apart from killing the carpet beetles and their eggs, soaking curtains with white vinegar will also soften the fabrics and remove stubborn stains. This is one trick that is very handy and you should give it a try.

In most cases, adult carpet beetles fly into your home through open places like the door and the window. If you have a thick curtain that is dirty and never cleaned often, that will be their first landing point.

If the curtains are clean, spray a solution of white vinegar and water directly on the curtains to repel beetles. However, this should not be done on dirty curtains if you want the best results.

Safety

It is safe to spray white vinegar to kill bugs around the house. Do not spray too much in your bedroom at night. The strong smell of vinegar may hurt you while sleeping. This can also be mixed with baking soda to kill carpet beetles on upholstery.

Generally, some people may also react to a strong smell if it is closed in a room for some time. This may also affect your pets and young ones when they are over-exposed to vinegar smell overnight.

It’s advisable to use vinegar to get rid of carpet beetles during the day in your bedroom or sleeping areas. There is less activity in the bedroom during the day and this is the perfect time to spray.

Spraying vinegar will also kill ants in your carpet that are attracted by the beetles. Ants can feed on beetles and they will crawl into your carpet while looking for them.

Reference: