Warning as tiny insects found in carpet can trigger serious medical condition

29 January 2024 , 12:04

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Carpet beetles find their way into your house and can do a lot of damage (Image: Express)

Housework is always challenging when you're trying to juggle it with full-time work, parenthood or other responsibilities.

Usually it's just the banality of doing the dishes or getting round to that umpteenth round of laundry that's half the work. Most of us dread to tackle the slightly odder jobs which can suddenly crop up - like an unexpected invasion of bugs.

Mrs Hinch devotees are sharing that they've had outbreaks of tiny black insects in their carpets which can trigger health issues. Carpet beetles, small creatures usually black or brown, are surprisingly common in the UK.

These bugs make their home in your carpet fibres and they are undesirable guests. The squirming critters can be tricky to spot, usually hiding in gaps in skirting boards or windowsills, inside floorboards and furniture, or hidden in carpets and even clothes.

But having carpet beetles can have far more serious implications than just a scruffy home. Astonishingly, these creepy crawlies can chew through carpets and cause medical conditions including asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and other health troubles.

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Speaking in Mrs Hinch Fans Facebook group, follower Diane Owen informed: "Carpet beetle larvae look like very, very small fuzzy caterpillars; however they are far from harmless. They feed on fabric, clothing, and furnishings and leave damage behind.

"Carpet beetles and carpet beetle larvae can also trigger rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma as indoor allergens in house dust." Pest control experts meanwhile advise the critters can cause skin, eye and respiratory irritation if not curbed, but are otherwise unharmful to humans.

According to cleaning experts, the best way to get rid is to simply vacuum them up, Yorkshire Live reports. Running the vacuum across all your carpets, rugs and even furniture like settees can be a good way of ridding your house of the pests without having to resort to hard chemicals or expensive professionals.

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Susie Beever