Does Lysol Kill Carpet Beetles? Can You Use Vinegar, Baking Soda or Bleach?

Disinfectants are the first thing that many homeowners think of when faced with such nuisance insect infestations, so it’s perfectly reasonable to wonder, does Lysol kill carpet beetles?

While some of these disinfectants can get rid of some insects, they unfortunately are not potent enough to kill others. At least, not as easily.

For example, carpet beetles are some of the common bugs that invade homes. While they do not usually bite, they can cause serious damage to your carpet and other items in your household.

So, how do you eliminate these seemingly harmless bugs from your home? Does Lysol kill carpet beetles or should you look for other alternatives?

This article explains what Lysol can do against a carpet beetle infestation and outlines when it might be a good idea to call an exterminator for carpet beetles.

Does Lysol Kill Carpet Beetles Easily?

Lysol does not kill adult carpet beetles unless you apply it in high concentration.¹ However, since Lysol contains isopropyl alcohol, lactic acid, and hydrogen peroxide, it can still help to reduce the population of these irritating bugs in your home.

The presence of alcohol in Lysol helps to repel adult beetles but cannot kill them in normal circumstances. For the beetle’s larval stages, however, Lysol might be fatal.

Do not try using Lysol in large, high concentrations. While it might kill the bugs in this form, it can pose serious danger to humans and pets.

Alcohol is also flammable and might lead to more dangers.

Since Lysol is not potent enough to kill these bugs, can you use vinegar, baking soda, or bleach to get rid of carpet beetles?

What Is a Carpet Beetle?

A carpet beetle is a small insect that can infest your home and cause some serious damage.

Firstly, the larval stage of this carpet bug feeds on fabrics like silk, wool, feathers, and leather.

These are some of the most common materials in making furniture, carpets, rugs, curtains, and more. As such, a large infestation of carpet beetles can cost you a significant amount of money.

The favorite food for young carpet beetles is fabrics made from animal products, including fur, silk, leather, wool, and feathers.⁶ These are common fabrics in most homes thus, you want to get rid of these bugs as soon as you notice them.

There are hundreds of carpet beetle species. However, there are three main types that infest your home.

1. Varied Carpet Beetle

These are a type of carpet beetles with black wings. They are mostly tiny and the wings contain white, brown, or dark yellow patterns.

The colors of their wings change gradually as the beetle matures, eventually attaining a dark brown or black shade. These types of beetles lay their eggs on other animal nests, such as wasps, birds, or bees, while outside.

This is because nests provide rich sources of carpet beetle food, including pollen, dead insects, beeswax, and feathers.

2. Black Carpet Beetle

Black carpet beetles are even tinier. However, this does not mean that they are any less harmful.

They can be a real nuisance in your house. Their larvae are reddish brown with bristles and can grow up to 7mm.

The adults are around 0.5 inches with dark brown legs and a shiny black back. Since adult black carpet beetles can lay up to 90 eggs within their eight-week lifespan, their population can grow significantly fast.⁷

Their extermination should, therefore, be done as soon as you spot them.

3. Furniture Carpet Beetle

A furniture carpet beetle is the largest of the three carpet beetle types. They are also rounder, with black spots on their white and dark yellow backs.

Furniture carpet beetles also have a lifespan of eight weeks and lay up to 60 eggs during that time.² As for what they eat, these beetles feast on animal-made fabrics just like the other carpet beetles.

Adults love pollen from flowers.

How To Kill Carpet Beetles (Does Lysol Kill Carpet Beetles?)

Does Lysol kill carpet beetles? Research shows that it is not an effective solution.

If you want to learn how to get rid of carpet beetles, you need to do more than just use a disinfectant. Fortunately, there are numerous homemade solutions you can use to eliminate carpet beetles.

For instance, you can use boric acid, diatomaceous earth, or even a vacuum cleaner.³ However, that is only if you are dealing with a small infestation of these carpet bugs in your house.

Sometimes, you need to contact an exterminator, such as when the infestation is huge. The next section explains all the solutions for dealing with a carpet beetle infestation.

Can You Get Rid of Carpet Beetle Yourself?

There are several ways of getting rid of carpet bugs from your home.

For instance, you can use baking soda, boric acid, or vinegar to repel and kill carpet beetles. However, for each of these options, ensure that you take proper precautions to protect yourself and your household.

Getting Rid of Carpet Bugs: Carpet Beetle Infestation Solutions

Getting rid of carpet beetles can be done, depending on the severity of the problem, both by yourself, or by a professional.

A professional will be able to eradicate the problem a little quicker, but is more costly.

If you have a carpet beetle infestation, here are some alternative solutions.

Using Vinegar: Does Vinegar Kill Carpet Beetles?

Vinegar can kill carpet beetles. However, like Lysol, it is only effective for the beetles’ larvae.

For the adult beetles, it can only work to repel them. The acidic aspect of vinegar dehydrates the beetle’s larvae cells, eventually killing them.

The adults have a stronger exoskeleton, which makes it hard for the acid to penetrate. However, the strong smell of the vinegar repels these bugs.

White vinegar is an excellent option as it does not (usually) stain your home’s fabrics.⁴ You can also use apple cider vinegar.

The best time to spray the vinegar is when people and pets are outdoors. The solution’s smell could be irritating to kids and pets.

Also, do not dilute the vinegar while spraying.

Use Baking Soda: Does Baking Soda Kill Carpet Beetles?

Like vinegar, baking soda can also kill carpet beetles at their larvae stage. It kills the larvae in just a few seconds after you apply it.

However, when it comes to adult carpet beetles, it is not such a potent solution. If you are looking for a friendly way to kill the larvae infestation of carpet beetles, baking soda can be your solution.

If a more concentrated solution is used, it can also repel or kill the adult ones. You can also combine vinegar and baking soda to make your solution stronger and more effective.

Using Bleach: Does Bleach Kill Carpet Beetles?

Bleach is one of the effective ways of getting bugs out of your home. Most home-infesting bugs, like carpet bugs, use their exoskeleton to breathe in oxygen.

When you spray these bugs with bleach, it settles and sticks to the bugs’ exoskeleton, covering the breathing pores. After some time, the bug suffocates and dies.

Bleaching agents are also able to penetrate the harder part of the exoskeleton to the softer inside of the bug. When it does, it dissolves the softer skin, killing the bug.

Lastly, most bugs including carpet beetles do not like the pungent smell of most bleaching agents. This means that they avoid anywhere there is bleach.

Using Boric Acid: Does Boric Acid Kill Carpet Beetles?

You can easily buy boric acid from grocery stores or pharmacies. It is a suitable solution that can easily help you get rid of carpet beetles from your home.

You can either use it as a powder and spread it over the infested area, or mix it with water and spray it over. Once the solution has stayed there for several minutes, vacuum the place to remove the dead carpet bugs.

When making a boric acid solution, use around two cups of hot water for a tablespoon of the acid. Spray your mixture in areas you suspect to have carpet beetle infestation.⁸

These include furniture, closets, dark corners, and drapes.

Insecticides

There are also numerous insecticides you can use to get rid of bugs from your home. For carpet beetles, ensure the insecticide has components like deltamethrin, cyfluthrin, or bifenthrin.

These chemicals are poisonous to the beetles and will work well to kill them. However, since most insecticides can also harm humans and pets, ensure that you read the application instructions carefully.

This helps to avoid any unprecedented danger.

What Smells Repel Carpet Beetles?

Most bugs including carpet beetles hate certain smells and these might help to keep them off. When dealing with carpet beetles, use smells like clover, cedar, or peppermint.

Bugs will always avoid these smells.

Does Lysol Kill Carpet Beetles? How Do You Prevent Carpet Beetle Infestations?

Keep your clothes, carpets, and other fabrics clean, store your food properly, and use bleach for cleaning. You can also use insecticides regularly to combat any potential carpet beetle infestations.

Prevention might help to save you a lot of money and the hustle associated with getting rid of large infestations.

When To Call an Exterminator for a Carpet Beetle Infestation

Sometimes, you might find that despite using these bug removal methods, the infestation keeps recurring. Also, sometimes, you may not be ready to do the removal yourself.⁵

(Image: Nick Goodrum⁹)

In such cases, you should call an exterminator. Different companies like Orkin and Terminix offer specialized bug removal services for a price.

The average exterminator prices range between $225 and $275, with companies offering different prices. If you want to learn more about the Orkin or Terminix pricing for carpet beetle removal, visit their official websites.

How Do Carpet Beetles Enter Your Home?

Carpet beetles are usually not indoor insects. They are known to love gardens where they can feast on flower pollen.

As such, they might enter your house through flower cuttings or things you bring inside from your outdoor garden.

Knowing this might help you prevent the infestation in the first place before you even start asking yourself this question: does Lysol kill carpet beetles?