Carpet Beetle Larva
There are no uninteresting insects, only insects that are insufficiently magnified
S_ found this little larva while cleaning out a cupboard. It was in the back of the shelf, happily chowing down on a dead ant.
So far, it just looks like your typical little thing with lots of legs. Let’s zoom in a bit:
Ah, that’s better. Now we can see that it doesn’t actually have lots of legs, what it does have is a lot of bristles that stick almost straight out, or maybe angled a bit towards the head. There are also two tufts of bristles on the tail.
On the underside, we can see the actual legs, which aren’t really a lot longer than the bristles. It also has bristles on the bottom of the abdomen that give it an amusing, needs-a-shave sort of look. Note that, unlike butterfly and moth caterpillars, it does not have prolegs on the abdomen (beetle larvae do not have prolegs, only the six true legs). We can see the legs a bit better in the next picture, where it is trying to flip itself over:
At first, I thought that this was a larva of a larder beetle, like this one I posted a few months ago. But, looking at it more closely (particularly the tufts of bristles on the abdomen), I think its actually a carpet beetle, probably genus Anthrenus . I’ve been finding these Buffalo Carpet Beetles around the house, and so there is a good chance that this larva would have grown up to be one of them. Larder beetles and carpet beetles are all types of dermestid beetles, but while the larder beetle is more into stored foodstuffs, the carpet beetles are rather keen on animal proteins that are normally considered indigestible (hair, wool, feathers, skin, exoskeletons of other insects, that sort of thing).
Carpet beetles are evidently one of those species from arid or semi-arid regions that have moved into the house environment. They are adapted to a lack of water, and so can manage in spite of the dryness of the average house. Their original environment was apparently bird and mammal nests, where they ate the bits of debris that the inhabitants shed (and, in cases where the inhabitants died, ate what was left of their mummified corpses after the flies and carrion beetles were done with them. Once the dermestid beetles finish, they leave nothing behind but the polished bones of the animals’ dry, articulated skeletons)[1]. Basically, these beetles are still living in mammal nests, it’s just that these nests are now our houses instead of a hole in the ground with, say, a badger living in it.
As I mentioned in the larder beetle entry, the diet of dermestid beetles makes them real murder on things like insect collections, taxidermy, wool products, natural-fiber carpets, and museum specimens. They are also likely to be around regardless of how clean you keep your house. Even if the carpets are synthetic fibers, there are always bits of dead skin and hair, miscellaneous organic dirt, and the remains of insects that got in, couldn’t hack the indoors environment, and died. They’re in overlooked corners, under beds, in carpets, you name it. I even found one crawling across the ceiling in a very new house downstate which has only two people living in it and no pets, and is kept scrupulously clean. Seek and ye shall find, and all that. They are there, somewhere. Count on it.
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[1] A while back, we were doing some work on the walls in the house, and found a perfect mouse skeleton. Not a trace of hair, flesh, or skin, just a complete and undamaged skeleton still posed in its original owner’s final death throes. The dermestid beetles had obviously been at it.
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I like this one. Amazing larva photos for one thing. And a cool, ominous last paragraph.
One thing I’m wondering – are the bristles tough and spiky, or soft and flexible?
The bristles are kind of stiff. I saw one person claim that, in some species, when they feel threatened they puff up the two tufts on the tail to make themselves more irritating to eat (although this one didn’t do that).
I just discovered your blog. It’s been added to my blogroll.
This was a very informative post on carpet beetles. I have run across three or four in the last few years; when I identified the first, I declared war, and cleaned every bit of organic fiber I could find in the house. It was discouraging to find one again the next year, (and 2 this year; HALP!!! a 100% increase!!! .
Any websites I’ve found are all about eradication, and none about explaining the life of these critters. After reading your post, I feel better about them. (But I’ll still make sure all woolens are properly protected.)
Oh, and wonderful pics! I’ve tried, but need a better lens for such tiny beasties.
Just discovered something about this comment form. It doesn’t take jokey inserts, at least in the format I used.
That HALP!!!… bit in the previous comment was tongue-in-cheek.
Thanks! I guess there are two schools of thought about the idea that the carpet beetles are always around: (1) being creeped out, and (2) being resigned.
Actually, looking over your blog, you seem to do pretty well photographing these sorts of things.
Orr (3) being fascinated.
Thanks for the kind words about my photos. I am having a lot of fun with them.
Another great post! I love your stuff and threw you a link.
If you really want to find lots of these, follow these steps:
-Shoot a deer
-Have the butcher cut off the part of the skull with the antlers
-Leave “the trophy” in an unsealed plastic bag on your porch for a year or two
The good part is that they do all the cleaning for you.
Just wanted to let you know we linked to this article in the March issue of Learning in the Great Outdoors. Thanks!
http://aloneonalimb.blogspot.com/2008/03/learning-in-great-outdoors-10.html
I think I am a clean person. I keep a tidy house, vacuum once a week, wash my floors once a week, wash my clothes and bedding once a week.
I have noticed a few carpet beetle larvae in my house (split level). Mostly upstairs, in my bedroom of all places. And a few in the living room.
After doing a few hours of internet research, I frantically tore my bedroom apart, and I was finding them in my dressers, closet floor, behind my bed, and in the corners. UGH! I immediately washed all the clothes (7 hours worth), took my mattress and box-spring to the dump. I vacuumed 4 times, the baseboards and floor, shampooed the carpet, sprayed carpet beetle bug spray, then headed to the furniture store and bought a new bedset and mattress set. My old bedset was a waterbed frame. I will never again have a bedset I can’t see under!
Next day I started on the living room, thankfully I have laminate flooring. I only found a couple larvae on the floor, BUT…… I saw one come out of the loveseat!!! I took the living room furniture to the dump, vacuumed 4 times, washed the floor, sprayed bug spray, and once again headed to the furniture store.
It took 3 straight days of cleaning and laundering – 12 hours each day, 24 loads of laundry, and $3,000 in new furniture. And countless clothing and blankets thrown away. I may have gone a little over board, but I can’t stand the thought of those things crawling around. I looked at one with a magnifying glass – they are GROSS!
And to know that they lay up to 90 eggs in 10 – 25 days, and that the larvae cycle is 180 – 620 days (depending on the carpet beetle type), who knows how many tens of thousands could be lurking behind the baseboards or other areas I can’t get to. The only good part is that the adult beetle lives only 2 – 6 weeks (again depending on the type).
I still found 1 yesterday, and 1 today. Today I will start the process all over again – downstairs.
All in all, I feel much better and believe I can get rid of them. But maybe not forever. I have 2 dogs and a cat (who happen to sleep in my bedroom). These little bugs are hitchhikers, much like the centipede (didn’t need that on top of all this!) that hitched a ride in on my black lab the other morning.
Has anyone had extensive damage to their clothing? My clothes feel like they have dust in them. My satins have snags and areas that look thinner and eaten away. There are yellowish and orange stains in many things that won’t come out. When I launder them (hot wash & dry) they get massive amounts of snags and lint balls. It also seems like they don’t all come out in the laundry. I have started keeping the stuff that’s not ruined in lock tight containers. Also wondering if anyone is allergic to them(I believe I am) and what do you do for it? I’ve found adult varied carpet beetles and darker colored ones maybe a black? I find little orange colored things on my bed, in my clothes, as well as blackish c shaped hard things, tiny stiff hairs, off white waxy balls and hard white salt like debris. All of these things burn my skin when it comes into contact. It often leaves open areas and itchy rashes. They get in my hair and burn my scalp. I have to go through it with lice combs and thoroughly wash every night. My sleep is disturbed as I feel like things are crawling on me. I have sprayed tempo all over the place. I think they may be in the foam that’s in my mattress. My vinyl covers have chew like holes in them. I have a dog & cat and I find the same debris in their shed fur. I have vaccummed our hardwood floors with the crevice tool and flashlight, anally getting every hair. Two days later it’s back just as bad. How do you keep clean laundry from getting reinfested when you can only fit so much in and these things are all over? Is there a way to “bugproof one room at a time once it’s clean? I can’t sit on any fabric furniture,They have even infested my vehicle wrecking the upholstery. I sit on a piece of plastic to drive. In the house I have to carefully wash a hard plastic chair to make sure no debris is on it, and that’s all I can sit on. I don’t know if they crawl or float through the air.I can’t use towels so have to blow dry myself after a shower. I’m at my wits end. You may publish my email so if anyone has advice or has had a similar experience they can write me. Thank you.
Since Julie Baker asked me to publish her email so that people can send advice, it is bigsue@i29.net
I don’t know what her environment is like, or exactly what the damage looks like, but I suspect that carpet beetles are not the primary cause of her problem. As far as I know, carpet beetles mainly eat things like wool, poorly-tanned leather, bits of other insects, skin flakes, and hair. They evidently aren’t keen on plant fibers (which are mostly cellulose), so I wouldn’t expect them to bother satin, linen, or cotton very much (if at all). They certainly shouldn’t be chewing holes in vinyl, or bothering synthetic fabrics. I’d be inclined to think that the main problem in Julie Baker’s case would be some combination of fungus and dust mites. Maybe carpet beetles are present to eat the bodies of the dust mites, but I wouldn’t think they’d be directly causing this level of damage themselves. Also, dust mites and fungus have much more of a reputation for causing allergic reactions than carpet beetles do. If the humidity level is high, this would tend to promote fungus growth and make it possible for dust mites to thrive. Maybe trying to reduce the humidity would help.
They certainly do eat plant fibers. I have just spent $4,000 getting rid of these things. They were in my dirty laundry bins, eating the food stains on my kids’ cotton t-shirts. I threw away 30-40 t-shirts (I have three boys) as well as three of my husbands wool suits, and more. I was at my wit’s end until I figured out what was going on.
I had exterminators come and spray cracks and crevices and I laundered absolutely everything in my house, took my three wool rugs to be cleaned and pest treated ($200 each) and 75 items to the dry cleaners. It was hell. Expensive hell. It seemed to have taken care of it. We treated in April, it is now August. But I found two yesterday. Bug guys coming back tomorrow. I think I brought them back in on a new wool rug. I can’t believe how awful this is, AND that no one else knows what I’m talking about. The first pest control company just sprayed my carpet. The next one knew their stuff. Interview your pest control company and make sure they have a specialist. And I live in GEORGIA! This is the bug capital of the WORLD!
Good luck.
This spring I started finding tiny beetles crawling on my carpet in every room of the house. My daughter and I had been finding holes eaten in our clothing (mostly undergarments and pajamas) for several months. After looking at these bugs with a magnifying glass I identified them as carpet beetles. After a few weeks, I stopped seeing the live beetles and now I have tiny black “specks” all over the carpet, things that look like old beetle parts and skins, but most troubling is now our undergarments, pjs, blankets, towels etc. are covered in “lint” and “picked” spots to the point that they are ruined. Does anyone know what is the cause of the lint and picks? Help!
I Have genus anthrenus in my house , How can I get ride of them?
Can any body help me?
We have noticed several of the same carpet beetle larvae that you have pictured above, but NOT any of the beetles themselves. Do you have any input as to how this might be possible? Also, what is the best method to get rid of them when I don’t seem to see a ‘source’ (ex: the actual beetle)? Thank you for your help!
Now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve seen the adults hanging around much with the larvae. I think that what happens is, as soon as the larvae mature and get their wings, they scatter to look for mates and new food sources. I usually find the larvae right there with food, but all the adults I’ve seen have been wandering around at random.
The best way to keep their numbers down (I don’t think there really is a way to completely “get rid of them” other than, say, autoclaving your whole house) is probably just to keep potential food items in sealed plastic containers, keep everything scrupulously dry, sweep up pet hairs carefully, and maybe have your carpets steam-cleaned. And then try to relax when you see them from time to time at a low level anyway.
wow thanks for posting that. I just found one on my wall and was concerned having never heard of or seen one before. Other than annoying for what they eat, they aren’t a threat though correct?
saw the comment you made about the tuft fluffing when threatened, this one did do that. I went to put him in a bottle and he did that.
i just recently had my carpets shampooed and am wondering if this could cause the growth of larvae? I have never had them in the 4 years that i’ve lived here. i mostly notice them under the cat bed, under a couple of the floor pillows and under the hamper in the laundry room. Additionally, since the carpets have been cleaned, I’ve been sneezing every time I enter my house and my allergies have worsened. I thought that maybe it was from the chemicals left behind from the carpet cleaning, but know I’m wondering if these larvae are the cause. can they be the cause of allergies?
thanks!
Wow! I am either heartened or depressed to hear so many versions of our story. We just had the exterminator in and they are going to treat for these suckers, but in many ways the damage is done. I can’t really afford to trash all our furniture, mattresses, etc.
To the person who said that the might survive the laundry, I can corroborate that. I saw one in the lint catcher one time at the end of the dryer cycle. I’m hoping that is a rare occurrence.
Marie: the shampooing might have had something to do with it, particularly if the carpet stayed a bit moist for many days. The lack of water is what normally keeps insects from thriving in houses, so a slightly damp carpet could easily have given them a chance to hatch out a bunch of eggs. There could be mold issues, too, which could be aggravating your allergies.
Kim: our house is an old farmhouse that is impossible to keep clean, and while we always have some carpet beetles around, they never get too numerous to deal with. I think as long as their potential food sources are kept dry, they will stay pretty much under control.
I think I also have the same pesty critters. I have found many of these bugs, and they are driving me absolutely buggy!
When I find one, I go crazy searching to find more. I think we originally got them either in a new couch or new rugs we purchased a few years ago. I do notice that they like material, furniture, and rugs. I have even found them in boxes we store seasonal decorations in up in our attic. I think they are common, but it creeps me out to think they are in my house!
We’ve even received some of the skins in a bag of hand me downs from a neighbor, so I think many homes have them.(It’s just that not everyone notices them.)
I often find these little hairy bugs crawling up our walls.(They are very delicate and pop if you squish them. I have found these skin sheds in materials, and a few times long silky worms in the carpets. I have 3 specimens in a ziplock bag, in just 2 days they are leaving black specks behind. Are these eggs or poops? I’m sure they contribute to our allergies, as my whole family has allergies and or asthma and we are always getting sick with upper respiratory infections. Does anyone know if these larvae turn to worms and can they turn to moths? I have never found any beetles in our home. Do you notice them more at certain times of the year? These past few weeks, I have recently noticed more of them crawling up the walls and have been catching a few moths over the past week.
Tim – thanks for the answer. We had an exterminator in for a yellowjacket nest in our attic, and he gave us an invoice to “c/c” for the “varied carpet beetles” (which is how I ended up googling and ultimately commenting on this post). I have no idea what c/c is but we’re going to have him do it – we do have these little guys pretty numerously and the clothes in my closet have been getting holes.
We also have a very old house. When I told my mother about the yellowjackets, she said “did they patch up the hole they got in?” to which I felt it was appropriate to say “this house is made of holes.”
I am mainly worried now about getting rid of the carcasses. If they are in stuff like comforters or stuffed animals, I don’t know what I’m going to do… despair, I suppose.
I live in a student housing area near a university and we just found the larvae all over our upstairs carpet. Like everyone else they seem to be on the perimeter of the walls, near hair, etc. Unfortunately, I have borrowed a friends bed for this year (as she is living in a furnished apartment that did not require a bed and i needed one) so I am really freaked out that these larvae are going to ruin her mattress. Can they really burrow inside of the mattress? Is changing the carpet a solution? I am a college student and absolutely cannot afford to get all new clothes and a new mattress! What should I do?
Also, if I do need to replace all these things…does anyone know if this is somehow a health code issue that I could address with my landlord? Clearly these bugs were here before I moved in and the landlord did not competently clean before re-leasing the house. PLEASE HELP!
I live in scotland and live in a renovated flat in which is at the top floor in a block, i first noticed the little worm type things which looked like little catterpillers but brownish/black when i had my cat as i noticed them come out under the skirting board towards my cats food bowl, i dont have my cat anymore but have since then found even more here and there, i noticed when i moved my bed one time i found a family of them feeding on what appeared to be a yoghurt drink that my son had spilt and i had clearly not cleaned it properly as it had gone under the bed! I freaked out and have only now realised what they are while browsing online. I get very nervous at the thought of them crawling around my house, they always seem to be wherever i move an item of furniture. I now know why i found an adult beetle in my washing machine as i now realise they go for your laundry. I am now too scared to go into my laundry basket! Does anyone know if you can get a spray of somekind that i can use to put near my laundry basket to kill them before i empty the basket as the thought of them really freak me out! I also have been informed that my neighbour has the problem too, she lives below me, im starting to wonder if they have came from the attic outside my front door as i heard a while back there were pigeons in there that had to be taken care of and wonder if they have came from any dead ones as i now know they thrive on dead animals etc! I also want to know if i should tell my landlord as its a private company who im rented from? HELP?
One summer these things (the speckled carpet beetle looking thing)appeared in my car.
Year after year they come back in the summer.
Totally freaky they are HORRIBLE critters by sight and finally I am junking my car because I don’t want to see them ever again. Strange and thankfully they never appeared in my house. I think I might’ve gone even MORE crazy.
EVIL little bugs.
You’re website made it easy to ID the larvae that I’ve seen in several of the homes we’ve lived in. We currently live in a suburb of Austin, TX. It’s very dry here and the carpet was brand new a year ago (when we bought the house it was installed).
I’m not a cleaning psychopath like some people who throw all their furniture away when they spot an insect. I understand that bugs have their place in nature and they often take up residence with humans by mistake. My concern and question relates to allergies. We have two small children and I’m wondering if these insects are allergenic? My husband & I both have allergies anyway, so what can we do to cut down their numbers? Would laminate floors help?
Thanks!
The little hairs on the larvae are supposed to be irritating (and can cause gastrointestinal problems if you accidentally swallow them), so I would expect that they are allergens, too, like dust mites and cockroach bits. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to clear them out. And personally, I think that carpets are kind of filthy things even if they aren’t filled with insects, so replacing them with a hard, easily-cleanable floor like laminate should certainly help. We have some areas of the house with laminate flooring, and it is *way* easier to keep clean than any carpet.
I can say with 99% certainty that dermestids are allergenic. I’ve been suffering with carpet beetles and larder beetles since June. I’ve had an exterminator in three times. I’ve asked for fumigation but no one around here does that. This guy is checking with his partner to see if they can get someone to come here. I’m losing hope. My symptoms grow worse as time passes. I’ve found numerous Larvae, like the pics above and other larvae that looks different shaped and has black and orange coloring but still has the hairs. Also ones that look like the top of an exclamation point with a tuft of hairs at the end where the period would be, they’re pretty small. These things feel like a cockle burr in my washed clothing if I don’t remove them all from both sides of every garment with tape prior to washing. To my husband they just feel like a lint ball. I too, have found them in the dryer lint trap and even in the seal on the dryer door. I keep all my clothes on our 3 season porch (frozen) We live in ND.
Some have even survived this. I found them in the lining of my leather coat. I have gouged areas in my scalp that look like something is eating it. It burns like fire and it’s hell to wash. When I comb my hair with nit combs I get larva shaped scabs, black ones and orange ones. They are carrot shaped. Also what looks like the beetles themselves. When I vacuum them if any get on my bare skin I develop an open area within minutes. I’ll feel something and look down to see blood running down my leg. If any part of them are on my clothes or shoes I get open sores in that area and a burning sensation. It hurts like hell, worse than my open abdominal surgery. I spend hours hanging over my bathtub removing these things from my hair before washing it, crying and wishing I had the guts to off myself. I wear a shower cap to sleep and use a rubber inflatable pillow. In the AM I find little black and reddish black specks inside and out of the shower cap. Always the same shapes. Over a few days there are chew holes and slit like trails of missing fabric. One of the new holes is exactly the shape of the larva. I find them on top of my blanket every morning and have to remove them with lint roll tape. I have to do the whole bed before getting in to sleep. I have trouble eating and have lost 30lbs since July. I have bruises under the open sores. I find black things in my nose and ears. I get nose bleeds almost daily. Now I am having bloody stools. I have thrown up blood tinged food when forcing myself to eat. Don’t know if these things are in my food or if it’s all the NSAID’s I’m taking. Just found out I’m anemic too now. My allergist agrees that all the evidence points to these creatures. (I brought her over 12 bottles filled with larvae and bugs at various life stages. Labeled with dates collected and where I found them) The college entomologist ID’d them as various dermestids, including larder and several types of carpet beetles. They are in all my clothes. They don’t care what type of fabric it is.I’ve thrown tons of clothes away. They leave a dusty icky feeling to the fabric as well as thinned areas some little holes here and there and lint balls galore. I moved out of my good bed onto an air mattress on a frame and use a 100% polyester fleece blanket.I fold the end to cover my feet. that’s the only fabric on the bed. It doesn’t seem to matter. I find a granular substance that’s like salt, larval hair and tiny parts in each crack under the blanket. I find cast skins all over the house. I find all this crap on the floors and under the dog’s bed too. He had a patch of hair on his neck flap eaten away. I have patches of body hair eaten away too. Roots and all. Layers of my skin is missing in patches too. Especially areas infested clothing have had contact with. I’ll wear it out a few hours thinking it’s safe and come home to find areas of skin eaten away and flakes fly all over when I take the garment off. They’re even in my socks and shoes. I have to clean them with tape before and after wearing them. These bugs like adhesives too. I find them on my clear tape, lint roll tape and I found varied carpet beetles on the sticky side of the tape holding a sign on our screen door. I’ve been to my PCP several times, many ER visits for the severe burning pain (body will burn too) have to take clothes off. torso will be really hot to touch while feet cold. Sometimes I run a temp. I’ve seen 6 shrinks thanks to ER docs thinking I’m nuts and not bothering to examine me or treat my pain. An internal med doc, two allergists and a dermatologist. This last allergist is the only one who knew about this stuff. She wanted to do an antigen test followed by rush immunotherapy, but no lab has the antigen or immunotherapy serum or the bugs to make them. I have plenty of the bugs, but the labs say they can only accept them from approved suppliers, and the suppliers don’t have any either (Allergist and I have both phoned all over USA) and her office isn’t licensed to make the stuff. (cdc site has antigen prep recipe, I gave her) We are going to try an IgE test and if it’s up she’ll give me xolair treatments. It’s something.Don’t know if it’ll help but I sure hope so. The antihistamines and steroids haven’t helped. I’ve tried going to hotels but that only works in the summer as I have to wear only a sundress and flip flops and put everything in locktight containers. When I got to the door I’d take off my shoes and put them in a locked container. The second I got in the room door, off with the dress and into another locked container, then straight to the tub to wash the outside of all the containers so what’s in the vehicle didn’t get on them. Then a bath and hair wash with lice killing shampoo. I’d soak in the hottest water I could stand for several hours to be sure they were dead. I’d bring new clothes that I’d buy and place in the lock boxes right in the store. That’s the only way. Other times I just brought the bugs with me. It really sucks. I don’t even know what to do anymore. Since I’ve tried cleaning and local exterminators.(the entomologist said tent fumigation was necessary as they get in upholstery of all furniture and even the crawlspace insulation) If I moved I’d have to go nude and ditch everything including husband, vehicles and pets. Can’t really do that. I’m very desperate and will travel anywhere that they can help me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. You may email my private address if you wish. Thanks.
Over the last several days my 3 year-old son has awoken each morning with what appears to be some kind of insect bite on his beautiful little face. AAWWWW! HE recently fell and scuffed up his mouth so at first I just thought the red spots by his mouth were from drool or something. Then they showed up by his eye. At that point I thought it was a spider so I striped off and washed his linens. I thought I was in the clear but the next day, more red spots. At first I thought they must be chicken pox because I’d washed his linens but then later I noticed a couple of small red streaks coming from the spots. Clearly an insect bite. Now I was really serious! I had to figure out what was biting my baby! His bed doesn’t have a headboard just a frame and is pushed up against the corner so I striped his bed layer by layer and pulled the bed away from the wall to investigate. Saw some dust and one small dusty webbed area. There is a foam pad between the boxsprings and the mattress and upon closer examination I noticed what appears to be foam dust at the edge of the boxsprings. When I came back to take a closer look with a flashlight I noticed bugs on the boxsprings under the bedskirt that goes over the boxsprings. I captured 3 of the little creatures for further study and started my online investigation. My first thought was bed bugs but these didn’t look anything like the images of bed bugs I was seeing. I did a search for “bugs in bed” and started seeing possibilities. I couldn’t decide if it was a warehouse beetle larva or carper beetle larva though, they look so similar in many pictures. (I’ve seen the occasional bug in some old dried goods in the pantry so that threw me off.) Then I found your website! Thank you, thank you, thank you! The pictures are amazing! They are definitely carpet beetle larva! Now of course, I’ve got to thoroughly clean the entire room but at least I know what I’m doing battle with. After cleaning and vacuuming, will a bug fogger finish off the job or are they too embedded for that to be effective? What’s the best way to rid the boxsprings and mattress of the little buggers? Also, except for Julie’s comments no one else seems to say anything about these things biting people. I’m almost positive these are what’s been nibbling on my sons face. He likes to sleep with his face up against the wall right at the edge of the bed. What else could it be?
Thanks again for the great pictures that helped me identify the little creatures I found under my son’s mattress. I was going out of my mind trying to clean everything and protect him from these bugs that seemed to hunt him down even when I moved him to another room to sleep. No matter what I did, every morning he still woke up with more bites. I cleaned his room meticulously and then used not one but two bug foggers (not at the same time)in my futile attempt to save him from these bugs. At my wit’s end, I finally took him to the doctor today. Turns out what I thought were bug bites are impetigo so he’s on amoxicillin for the next 10 days. It all started when he fell and scuffed up his mouth. Anyway, I just thought I would let everyone know in case I can save someone from pulling their hair out from frustration. The bonus is we nipped a carpet beetle infestation in the bud before they could do too much damage. Thanks again!
Thanks for the follow-up, Brandy! It’s good to find out how these things are resolved. Bug bites are fantastically easy to confuse with a lot of other skin problems – after all, one raised red spot on the skin looks an awful lot like another. A surprisingly large number of “insect and spider bites” turn out ultimately to be some type of skin infection or small splinter injury.
Oh me god :/
Think I’m infested too
Thanks for the great info!
Thanks for the pictures and information. I started finding the “nymphs” a while back and have been scouring the internet for months trying to figure out what they are. I only saw them sporatically so I didn’t really worry. I am not super creeped out by them. I have 2 small dogs and vaccuum once a week. I keep a pretty clean house. Anyway, today I was cleaning out a drawer and found what I think may be our “source” and it had larger ones on it. That’s how I finally solved the mystery. I bagged up the source, threw it in the trash, cleaned out the drawer really well, and feel better. I also recently sprayed around the house with a dryspray called Bengel Gold. After that I stopped seeing the nymphs, too. The stuff kills/sterilizes everything. I have dogs and they aren’t bothered by it when I spray in the house even though I keep them away while spraying. After I sprayed, I did find quite a few dead ones but once I vacuumed them up, that was the end. Hope this is helpful.
Where did you get the bengel Gold spray? What are the active ingredients? The sprays I’ve used so far don’t seem to work. I used Tempo Ultra SC (Cyfluthrin) and Ant killer that has carpet beetles on the can as being controlled by it, and the exterminator used Bifenthrin 0.06% with an insect growth regulator. I found Ortho Bug Max Pro at the hardware store and the active ingredient is Bifenthrin 0.05%, so I wasted 75.00 to the exterminator for something I could buy for $8.00 and do myself- it didn’t work anyway. Recently I found case making clothes moth larvae. All were cast cases and the larva moved on somewhere. Also had a tiny bug on the back of the bath tub a few nights ago, when I tried to get closer look it either hopped or flew away. We had collembola springtails all over the outside of our house (many inside too) this past summer so I’m wondering if a few of those survived. They apparently love fungus and we had mold under the wallpaper where the roof leaked. My biofeedback lady sent me a copy of a book page that described a case where a woman had a fungal infection and these bugs laid eggs on her head and ate her skin and hair. She thought they might be what’s bothering me because of my candida syndrome which is a systemic yeast infection. The doctor treated the lady in the case with essential oils, so I’ve purchased these and plan to try, but would love to kill the dermestids that I know for a fact are here based on this site’s pics and entomologist id. Cover all my bases. Thanks. julie
We have been infested with these little blighters since before we moved in …. ie. they were here before us…
They didn’t actually come out of hiding until the summer after we moved in, and by then they were everywhere.
All we’ve been told to do by our local environmental health is to hoover them out…. basically we’re into our 3rd year of sending boxes and bags to the dump and hoovering every crack and crevice almost daily…
We seem to have rounded them to our bedroom, but still every day we go into the upstairs with hoovers and hell do we work…. every piece of furniture is moved daily… and the carpet is pulled up weekly… every crack and corner is hoovered…. bedding and clothing is washed on a hot wash were possible and badly contaminated clothes or those we can’t hot wash get bagged up and frozen…. before defrosting and washing…. apparantly high and low temperatures can kill them.
It’s hard and thankless work… but hey… if we get to our 5th year the council will move us to an uninfested house… although I have a feeling we’ll take them with us in the furniture..
Anyways back to hoovering.
I have lived in several apartments where carpet beetle larva were a problem. I have now moved into an older farm house with my twin 8 month old boys and have started to notice the redish, brown, striped worm like larva around baseboards. I have completely freaked out by this which over the years has grown into a carpet fobia of mine. Has anyone treated their carpet beetle problems with small infants in the house. I am afraid to use some sprays and cleaning products because of my children. Please I need some advice before my fobia makes me move again.
Great site, and photos. I have had carpet beetles twice now, in two different houses. They are awful to get rid of, but my personal feeling is that many people have them and just don’t know what they are. They think the adult beetles are “baby ladybugs”! My teenage daughter saw some adult beetles on her closet door last week, and, because we have had carpet beetles in a previous house, I knew immediately what they were. Our house in general is clean, but her room has always been very messy. In fact, I had not seen inside her closet in two years… Indeed, the larvae were in her closet clothes, and we even found some adults inside her dresser drawers. So the good thing is that she emptied her room, I washed every article of clothing she owns, she threw away a lot of “stuff”, we bought a new mattress which she needed anyway, and we even repainted the room from an awful pink to a nice green. She has renounced her slob-like ways, and I think carpet beetles are a small price to pay for that! I had some success in the past by giving everything a thorough cleaning, vacuuming the crevices in all dressers, spraying bug spray along baseboards, and then putting cedar sachets in the drawers and closets. I hate the larvae, but at least they are mostly harmless.
what do u do when u buy new furniture with bug in it and they bit and make u and your dog very sick now they r all through the house please help i dont know what to do i bought it at value city in pa
Carpet beetles don’t bite, at least not as far as I have ever heard. If something is biting you, maybe you have something else — my guess is that it could be bedbugs? I would call an exterminator to get a positive identification. Good luck!
Why can’t in this day and age a remedy for getting rid of this pest be found? My closet and dressers are infested and my clothes are clean! I am afraid to buy any woolens anymore because of this, they eat through wool and cotton the most.
Wow I dont feel alone any more . My house is being taken over by carpet beetles just as everyone has described. And they are in my scalp..tried everything to get them out. I have had Truly nolan here to get rid of them 3 times but to no avail, I have a dog and 2 cats and I see the lettle balck shells left were ever they lay down there in the beds clothes …I am ready to knock this house down and move..I had extensions in my hair I think thats how they got in my head i was itchy and removed them and was left with bumps under my scalp and my hair keeps getting shorter,I am going to my skin Dr this week…also having a different bug company come out ..I have gotten rid of good rugs , bedding, clothing,I have done everything they say washing, cleaning,everything is in plastic i cant live like this.. these things are horrible..how do we get rid of them and in my head…and the house ..ready to move and start new with everything…over it in florida Lois..
I have these little black bugs ALL over my house. I don’t know what they are but they seem to go on my bed and blankets and into the bathwater. When I was little I called them my friends lol 🙂 and they don’t bite.
Hello,
We recently moved into an apartment in New York City and have since then been battling black carpet beetles. When I first saw these, I got the building exterminators to come in and spray specifically for these insects. This flushed out more larva and adults. Basically in the last 3 weeks, our apartment has been sprayed thrice by exterminators and I’m still seeing adult beetles (these are small though so they may have just hatched) and larvae.
I have been vacuuming regularly and I think I flushed out the ones in the kitchen and bedroom. I am careful to not leave any crumbs/food outside.
My question is this: should I get the exterminators in again or is this slow flushing out normal? Also, there is a gap between the floors and the baseboards in this apartment – will caulking it help?
I appreciate you taking the time to read this and would be grateful for any advice – I fell like I’m under attack and have no idea what else to do – I can’t sleep and have lost weight due to this problem. Both my husband and I have also developed sinus problems – I don’t know if this is a related issue.
Thank you very much.
Best,
PS: I have nightmares of being surrounded by beetles while sitting on my sofa (too much TV)and have been cleaning it regularly – is there a way to check if it is infested? Without ripping the whole thing apart I mean 🙂 Also, is there something I can spray on it that’s safe for humans?
Mansi;
Well, first of all, I would recommend just taking a deep breath, and relaxing. Carpet beetles are harmless, aside from maybe being allergenic to some people. It sounds to me like the main physical harm that they cause to people’s health, is stress-related problems due to worrying about them. They can physically damage some things like certain clothing items, but I believe that has been addressed in the earlier comments. I personally would be much more concerned about the stuff the exterminators are spraying around, than about the beetles.
In an apartment situation, I expect that you are always going to have some beetles coming in from other apartments. Also, if the building is not new, there is probably enough stuff accumulated in the walls, ceiling, and floor joists that the beetles are living off of that. If you ever have a chance to see someone doing a remodelling job, have a look at what is in the walls and you’ll see what I mean. I would recommend just vacuuming regularly in the places that you see them, and try to come to terms with their presence.
Regarding the small ones versus the large ones: all beetles are adults and have stopped growing by the time they become beetles, so the small ones are not just-hatched: they matured from larvae just like the bigger ones did. I expect that either they are another species of beetle altogether, or their growth was stunted, possibly due to a lack of food. If they are stunted, this would be a good sign for you: this could mean that you have been successful in depriving them of food sources. Once there is no longer enough for them to eat, the adults will go elsewhere to lay their eggs, and your numbers should drop.
To check for infestation in a couch, I’d just look underneath it. If there are larvae living in it, they would be falling to the floor, so they would be easy to spot. The way most couches are designed, I wouldn’t expect them to be inside the cushions, they should be on or near the surface (where skin flakes and food crumbs would be), so they should be easy enough to vacuum out.
As for the sinus problems, you’ll have to talk to your doctor about that. When it happens to me, it is usually because of dry air.
Thanks Tim – I appreciate the reassurance. I’ll try to practice some deep-breathing to calm down 🙂 I guess I am over-reacting because I’ve never seen bugs anywhere I’ve lived before. And just when I thought I was winning the battle against the larvae, there’s another generation of adults hatching!! Aargh!! I’m going to try boric acid and vacuuming before I get more chemicals in my home.
Thanks again!!
Tim – A few people mentioned the carpet beetles/larvae got into their scalp. What is your reply to this – do you think it’s likely? I’m asking because a few months ago my scalp started itching and we didn’t find any indication of bugs/lice in my hair. I had 3-4 scabs on my head that continued to itch more than dry scalp (I have very sensitive skin so that could be the problem too – it’s just never been so bad as to get scabs). I’m a very clean person and thought maybe I was using too much clarifying shampoo. My local health store (New Seasons) recommended I use coconut oil on my scalp and that stopped the itching and soothed my scalp. I’ve recently found a few larvae around my bed. Do you think it’s likely the carpet beetles/larvae could actually get into your scalp? By the way, I’ve found your site very helpful. I have exterminators coming tomorrow.
I think that, if carpet beetle larvae were actually infesting the scalp, they would be impossible to miss. While they aren’t huge in absolute terms, they are absolute monsters compared to actual parasitic arthropods like fleas and head lice. I think the diagnosis of excessively harsh shampoo is far more likely.
The ones around your bed would be after hair and dead skin flakes in the dust. I personally have never seen any evidence that they molest living creatures in any way.
Oh, My god!!!! I have been going insane. I have never, ever, in my entire life ever lived anywhere that had a bug problem. Other people had problems but I have usually only had one or two a couple of times a year and thats it. For the first time I am renting a three bedroom house and everything was fine until about a month and a half ago. OH MY GOD!!! I had some visitors from Arizona, I live in Utah. First my cousin and her kids, a three day break and then some other friends. The house is usually pretty clean. when my cousin left I noticed this weird looking thing I thought was a water bug. I flushed it and didn’t think twice. After my second set of friends left I went to do a through cleaning and saw tons of these beetle like bugs. I vacuumed up and thought nothing more. The next thing I know they are EVERYWHERE. The entire house is carpet except small areas like the kitchen and two bathrooms. I have been scrubbing and cleaning and scrubbing and cleaning and spraying and spraying. I even put down some boric acid all along the base board. I am going insane. I can not get rid of them. We have gotten rid of our furniture, all the food in the pantry, and most of our clothes. Nothing is working. I am one person trying to do this entire house on my own and going crazy. I can’t sleep. I see bugs everywhere. Luckily it is a rental and we gave notice. However, we still have to stay here for the next couple of weeks. half my sons toys are thrown out all his stuffed toys, some very special ones, only a couple made it into the freezer for safe keeping. Every morning and night I launder whatever we are wearing before we put it on. I am exhausted. Threw away all his books because I hear the larvae can get in the book bindings. I have gotten rid of everything practically that I own. A three bedroom house has been dwindled to barely a room full of stuff. And yet I am still afraid we will carry more with us when we leave. I was going to get the carpet cleaned but now I am having second thoughts after hearing all the stuff about moisture. I have no desire to have any more hatch or to bring them with me….. there has to be something I can do to ensure they do not follow. Short of turning up at the new place naked with nothing at all I have no idea what to do…… HELLLLLLPPPP!!!!!!