Optimize Magento Server CPU Usage

My Magento store sits on a Hostinger VPS and heavy bot activity is driving CPU usage through the roof. I can’t simply block these crawlers because they are essential for our SEO, yet the spikes are severe enough to stall the entire site.

Here is the current state:

• I have already tuned the database, enabled aggressive cache management and even scaled the server resources upward; each helped for a short time but the CPU still saturates whenever the crawl rate peaks.
• Page-level caching, Magento indexing schedules and standard Cloudflare proxying are in place, so I need deeper server-side work rather than basic tweaks.
• Reducing CPU usage is my absolute priority; faster load times and 24/7 availability will follow once the processor load is under control.

What I’m looking for is an experienced server specialist who can investigate, design and implement a sustainable fix—whether that involves advanced rate-limiting, fine-grained bot throttling, Varnish/Nginx tuning, improved PHP-FPM pools, or any other method that keeps legitimate crawlers happy while protecting the server.

Deliverables (acceptance criteria):
1. A fully implemented solution that brings CPU usage to an acceptable average under the usual crawl pressures.
2. Clear before-and-after metrics (CPU %, load average, response time).
3. A short technical handover explaining the changes so I can maintain them.

If you have demonstrable experience solving this exact type of Magento-plus-bot problem, I’m ready to start immediately.