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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Once you know how to spot them, they become very easy to spot. I use a flashlight. I haven’t spotted them for 3 weeks so I’m hoping that’s a good thing.
Annie I’ve had like one or two in cabinets..they were usually wedged on something that hadn’t been moved in a long time. I don’t even know why, maybe coz there was a food particle stuck on there or something. But they pretty much will go anywhere. There could be just some residue of food in the cabinets and that’s why they’re there. And it could be also that it’s dark and I think larvae like to live in the dark. So they could just be hibernating.
I actually vacuumed under the fridge and stove. I found a few, but not a lot like I thought I would. I think they were coming up through the wood floors. But I would just do it to give you a peace of mind.
I’m back…yay. I found another little larvae today, around the entrance to the bathroom again. In this time I’ve also found what I think are silverfish (they’re wayyyy quicker and more silver than the furry guys I’ve determined to be CBs) I also found what I think is a larder beetle (black on the ends with a white thick strip across its middle, in the same area. Due to money reasons I’m now moving in with someone and after today am more worried than I was about bringing them with me and also now I’m worried that perhaps the new place already has them (there’s lots of carpet and the gal I’m moving in with has cats which equal pet hair). Ugh I’m sick of this, I honestly have myself convinced bugs have started living in my bath towels and from there have gotten onto and laid eggs in my head. I know it sounds nuts and it’s probably an allergic reaction to my shampoo but ugh these things just drive you nuts and it feels like it’s all you’re thinking about. My boyfriend still doesn’t get it. Keeps saying they can’t kill you. Sigh. No but they can drive you nuts apparently. I feel like I’ll have these non-rent-paying roommates forever.
Hi everyone. Its been at least 2-3 months since I first found the carpet beetle I video taped. I went back to the Agriculture Dept for Marin Connty California and had bugs on scotch tape like we do at the vet clinic. I wonder if all the pest control and experts even know what they are talking about.
so I have Carpet beetles, many silver fish, powder post beetles, lady bugs ( green with spots or he siad cucumber beetels, I have have sprayed since my last entry with vet kem due to my box turtles. Had a company called Biopest come recommened by wildcare here. They did not see any live bugs so they would not teat and left me with 2z2 sticky traps that my pet rats ( yes I rescue rats- I know ugh but they are very smart, liter pan trained and limited to my room. I do not want them having buge on them . I found a great microscope at Tap Plastics $9.00 even the Biopest guy was impressed. it has a light and is wonderful.
My rugs are all wrapped in plastic my freezer if ull of anything I can put in it for at least a week if not more. Vet kem company suggested I use Gentrol it does not kill the larvae but if they are present they can not mate nor the beetles. they all become sterile which after a few months makes it just about o bugs with 120 day residual. I am buying it at Pest Mall .com
this is insane. my son did not see anything. my friend was thinking I was losing it until he saw what was under the cabinet / sink counter and then the holes in the ceiling. He has since gotten an hammock and sleeps outside and pretens he is back in Brazil. He told me he did nto know what to do for me.
I have a landlord who did pay me for the products I paid for . He would have paid the Biopest people.
Heres a laugh The natural company left me a service note that said ” came to inspect insect related Meyham” found lint on clothes. left traps
now for one Mayhem is willfull distruction and or tearing apart by the limbs. I do not thing these insects have that kind of will power. so I did not pay them.
called and told them I was cancelling hte check and am now on my own.
I also had scale in the house as the plum tree was dying form them dripping sap so bad it stuck to shoes and hair and clothes and in came the scale.
Do you think we can start our own company???
I do …
Agriculture Dept wanted live specimens so lucky me found them right away in the kitchen. . I have 3 weeks of no bugs and now found larvae on my guilt the tiny buggers are so small.
I have not found any more beetles but i also had stuff that wove itself into a silk scarf I wore once and to the symphony and hung it up/ they told me it was not bug related but how could it not be.
There is a rug lady in Vancouver that has great video of carpet beetles and the different types of moths
So I am ordering more vet kem( Vet Kem Siphotrol Plus and Siphotrol premise spray_ one is spritzer l and one is aerosol form Amazon or Pets.com Yyou can get yard spray as well.
then the Gentrol to make them sterile it is safe once it is dry it will not rub off just like the vet Kem So ie my cat Callie who is feral rescue likes to rub everything the cabinets, my legs the furniture etc. it will not rub off on her face. the turtles can walk on it once it is dry. no harm used it for 27 yrs now with Turt my first box turtle and my son now 28. I walk barefoot on it when spraying and then wash my feet because I do not wear shoes in the house.
My box turtles will die form insecticide.
my only problem now is that the people downstairs have not been told and the entire house needs to be treated which means I have to find a new place but at least I have a grip on it all
Do not move to a place that has any kind of wood rot, look under the drawers and check lint traps and under dryers ( i did not ) check between the stove and countertops , check to see if you have particle board and leaks etc. that all adds up to perfect place for them to breed. I do have 2 cats but I keep a very hair free house with my Dyson and due to asthma. So its all the lint , hair etc that was not cleaned since 86 that is the problem I was blown away by the piles of saw dust under the drawers
Do not know if a new person will rent to me when I start pulling draws to see if it is clear of bugs. but I will do that.
wish you all well. we are not insane. I have finally stopped crying and know this is real.
hope some of this helps you out.
by the way my girl rat got in my closet and got her tail stuck on the trap so all the traps went in the garbage no need for them.
I still have some spiders so that is good as they eat the beetles.
take care and after I use the Gentrol I will post again.
we are sane and we are stronger for going through this. hugs Annie
5 months gone by, I hadn’t seen any and sudddenly I remembered that I hadn’t seen any in awhile. The weather has been scorching, but hadn’t seen any. I’d been opening my balcony door to let air in during these hot summer nights, and the next morning when I remembered how I used to have carpet beetles, I just did a cursory glance around my room. Right next to the balcony door, I saw a brown spot and looked at it closely, sure enough it was a bug. It was fuzzy, but not as fuzzy as all the pictures of CB larvae look like. more like peach fuzz than anything. I’m still not certain if it was larvae, but when I smashed it, it barely looked like it even squished. It had a light tannish underbelly. Have not seen any more since then, but today I found a hole in one of my shirts. The hole seems too clean, so I’m thinking it’s just a bra hook that got snagged when washing. I haven’t seen any other holes in my clothing and I took a look at clothes that have been hanging that haven’t been worn in awhile and they looked fine. I’m hoping…I have not seen any other bugs since that day on the wall. I’ve looked around, so I’m hoping it was just one rare occurence or it was another bug altogether. Even after 5 months, these things still freak me out anytime i see a black/brown spot on the floor or wall or I see a hole in my shirt.
Hi, I have some info. I had posted back in March 2011. I am still w/ larvae and looking for a place to move. I just had 1 newly hatched beetle show up.
Way back someone asked what the eggs look like. They are tanish sacks with a ridge across the middle. They are about 1/4 in. You will not see all the eggs unless you spray with insecticide then the outside weakens and you can see the indiviual eggs inside. Once dry you will not see the eggs again. These critters are unbelievable , hearty , and do get into anything. look for things that are tanish or a bit yellow tan with a long white hair or thread attached . that is part of them too.
I had a CD in a walkman cd player. The player had no white trail or any signs of larvae. I opened it and to my surprise the CD had been tunneled. Not only that, my geodes ( rocks) my jade dragon and turtle statue. They do eat through soft metals, a milk crate that I used for shoes was all frayed in the back and you could see where the larvae were tunneling.
They are on the walls, the ceiling etc.
this sounds like sci fi. I had my son check the CD as he is computer fanatic. He said he would think it was chipped but it was not. When I learn how to up load the photos I will do so to this site.
Check plastic toys ,bins etc. I tend to find the white trails now that I know what to look for. but they can be any color depending on what the larvae were ingesting.
inside the ear piece of your phone the tiny holes check them out. gross yes but they go in there. my cell phone had to be traded in. I charge it on the floor.
check your phones no joke. my house phone had some gook on it.
most people go oh its food but its not I do not eat on the phone.
Mind you I rent and this unit looked clean but the dryer vent had not been done in over 10 years, nor between the stove and counter or under the fridge.
Look for fuzz. If you have fuzz you will look carefully and in the fuzz you will see a gelantin like substance. I have only seen 4 beetles since March but the larvae are everywhere.
I went to bed a few nights ago after doing my entire room and woke up not knowing they had visited me during the night. I was sickened to see clumps of matted fuzz on my shirt. The fuzz was the color of my pet blanket. I washed my shirt 3 x in hot water and hot dryer and the stuff did not come off. I had to pull it off and still some of it remains. I took it to show my doctor who had wanted me on antidepressants. Well she now understands as she had a mite problem in the past 2 months and when she saw the shirt she said ” THAT IS DISGUSTING” no mention of antidepressants that is not my problem the carpet beetle larvae is. The owner is doing nothing.
Fumigating / tenting is not as bad as I thought. Please tell me other wise but around here they say that it leaves no residual Anyone know if this is true?
As for biting. When I first moved here I thought I was putting to much soap in the washer. It is a front loader. It was the larvae in my clothes making me itch. Apparently I am sensitive or allergic to them. I have gotten sinus infections and oddly stated that I could feel the infection starting. That was before I knew I had the larvae here. I remember the last time I was sitting on the carpet.
The hairs will cause problems in some people and even rashes.
You can look up carpet beetle and dermatology.
what I see here is the egg sacks ( now that I know what they are) they are not spills or drips of food. I see white encasings ( they do not move) I see white trails that resemble stepping stones and look a bit fuzzy and feel like felt would feel. Then you know they have been around. The beetles can poop out the color of what they were chewing ie my sponges. Blue sponges in one draw and droppings blue in another draw.
wooly bears is another name for the larvae. They do have eyes which I did not know until recently. I found a larvae on the chaulking. They eat chaulking. All the caulking in my kitchen is gone almost completley. I have been here 1 yr.
They do burrow into linolium that is old.
they eat wood. they tunnel through wood
I have found them on the inside of canning jars that I put dry goods in. You can not leave anything out or open.
Books must be frozen or thrown out. When You put your garbage , vacuum bag etc please spray or put flea busters powder on them and seal in a bag then put in the garbage.
Flea buster powder is not made for the larvae or beeltes but does affect them
I have been using vet kem and Gentrol which is a growth inhibitor meaning they can not reproduce. This has helped a whole lot
In my case the house must be fumigate because they have been here so long.
As soon as I get any further info I will post
Anything with red, black and blue fibers that is fuzzy needs to go or be Ironed etc.
Ironing will kill them as well if not better then washing.
Oh you must do the underside of fridge ,oven , dryer etc not just under them
the walls , ceiling etc. that is why they come back.
The green beetles with dots are cucumber beetles their larvae is no problem
These are related to the Khapra Beetle they found in Chicago. they call them the worlds worst pest and they are like brothers to the carpet beelte.
I am going to move and nothing is coming with me. My computer, the microwave all dumped, my bed dumped. anything that can not be frozen or washed and Ironed is dumped. its very difficult for me. I threw out photos from the 1900. The freezer would have ruined them as would the spray.
The larvae can live up to 630 days there are black carpet beetles which are small, then the 2 kinds of multi colored ones. Their larvae all are very similar
Ugh I hate these little buggers. I’ve moved now for a second time trying to get away from them but apparently I haven’t thrown enough money in the garbage. I’ve thrown away so much stuff but won’t allow myself to sit and add up the amount because if I can ever get rid of these things for good it was worth it. Unfortunately the week after I moved into my new place I saw more carpet beetle larvae in 2 days than I’d seen at my old place in a year. UGH. I figure my new roommate (who I moved in with) must have had them at her place before I got there because there was no way I brought the one I saw in the living room anyway. I saw a bunch in her pet food a couple days but nothing since. I’d had two bags of stuffed animals near the food. I had opened them because the lady at the laundromat didn’t dry them long enough and I didn’t want them to get moldy on top of everything. So I’m worried those might not be clean. I tied them back up and threw them in the back room. I’ve seen a couple BIG bugs that kind of look like carpet beetle larvae but they’re wider. Like a larvae that’s had a happy full life of eating. There was one in the living room dead and another one in the laundry room. The whole apartment is carpet except for my room, the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room. Now I’ve been fired from my job and have to move back home and am terrified of bringing these to my mother’s apartment. It’s all carpet and she’s got far too much stuff to move if we ever had to fumigate there, plus she’s got a cat. Hate isn’t a strong enough word for how I feel about these bugs. I don’t know what else I can do to get rid of them. My old old apartment was fumigated twice and since then I’ve washed my entire wardrobe at the laundromat twice now on top of throwing out everything I possibly could. I feel like these things are going to follow me through life now. What I wouldn’t give to go back to the days where I didn’t know such a thing existed and I could walk barefoot in my home.
Hello everyone,
Annie, where abouts do you live again, and did you ever get your CB identified?
All that drilling into stuff sounds like larder beetles to me.
Amanda, check over the old posts to help with your move.
Photographs are sent to Tim, just reply to the emails that come to you.
I’ve been relatively free of all CB this year, yes I have seen some adults but not seen any larvae but I do know they are there.
I still have things all packaged up for the most part, I think it’s helped. B
Hi Barbara, I took the larvae and beetle s to the dept of agriculture. Yes they are carpet beetles. I see the same stuff all over the house. I thought they were larder beetles at firs but they are not. This is going to sound off th e wall but we have alot of what people call Chem trails over head here in Northern California I am wondering if there is some kind of stuff beign sprayed in that the larvae are making a more acidic saliva or what ever they do. The have caused sinus infections and skin rashes. I find stuff all over the house They leave a white trail behind that more or less has the body ridges.
I am sorting my photos and will try to upload them. This is not a normal infestation. They have been here for over 6 yrs . I have been here a year and the people before me 5 yrs. I hound crap under the draws form a long time ago. It is quite unusual to experience what I am going thfrough. They may have come in the caminets in 1986 as they used old cabinets and did not clean them. gross. all the way around.
My oriental carpets were appraise 2 months ago and since have been eaten noticeably. I am putting them in the garage toorrow. I am living out of bags that are box;s. I just read that the eggs and pupae are not affected by chemical treaatment and will hatch as if you never did anything and stat the cycle all over again. Also if you do not spray evenly they will start right back up .
just ttying to rest and stay centered. be well eveyone.
We come across these critters quite often when dealing with office clearances and house clearances.
Had an appointment with the housing advocate. She got the inspectors to promise to get the owner to come over here. I told them be warned I have been spraying and you will probably not see much. I do have photos. My son put them on a disc.
i was thinking about how to do rid the house of them. if this were a single unit even when I did the wash. If I have a shirt I have worn for over an hour and sat in a chair they are more or less on me. I now roll my pants up, I tend to steam iron almost everything I put on.
they left some hairs in the tray where I kept my comb. I went to show a friend and the hairs were gone. They were not my hairs you can tell the difference. The larvae have thick almost stick like hairs. This evening no trace of the hairs. Gee the must have come back and eaten them.
I read that they get attached to our socks by static so now I wear a pair of teva sandals in the house. its like I hardly sleep , do loads of wash, but I also have cats so what ever I do they carry them from room to room it really is a no win situation.
I am looking for a new place and will not accept even new carpet. These guys will have to evict me and that way maybe I can get reimbursed for everything that will be dumped
I thinking of getting a deep freezer so I can put more stuff in it meanwhile I agree about the eggs in the hair. if not eggs the larvae do crawl around. The biggest one I have seen was just under a 1/4 or less of an inch. I put some in a container and they are still alive 3 months now.
ugh we’ll have to leave naked and leave the shoes behind as well.
i had them in my inner soles. be on the lookout.
Getting nervous leading up to the move. Threw out lord only knows how much more stuff just because it wasn’t worth the chance there might be something on it and bringing it to mom’s. I’m going to wash my whole wardrobe here again in hot water and then throw it all into garbage bags. Mom says she’s bought some kind of powder stuff that we’re going to put in with my stuffed animals and leave them on the balcony in garbage bags over the winter. I don’t like the idea of some poisonous powder being in with my stuff but if it’s that or bugs guess which one I prefer. And what’s this about them “tunneling” into cds? Good lord do I have to throw out my dvds and cds now? I thought they at least would be safe.
Hi Amanda. If you have not moved yet I have some info. Anything that can be washed down with a mild like 5-10 % solution of bleach and left for 10 minutes will kill anything on your things. the larvae are so small when born we can not see them with our eyes. you need a microscope.
The Vector control person advised me to do a once over of my new place before I move. Hands and knees kind of thing with a professional. OR do it and call a professional as well. They may not have the patience to look like you would.
the pest control told me Dryer vents are the number one source of food for them, and I will add mites etc. bird mites will come down a vent if a bird dies near by.
Because I am so careful due to my pet cats and rats I have no mites but I am allergic. I mentioned I had sprayed the house but the dryer vent goes 10 ft straight up like how they expect the stuff to vent up I have no idea. Well Dodger is the first rat in 20 years that is afraid of the vacuum. I have a play area for them He escaped and ended up behind the
dryer. The second he came out when I called and was close enough to pick up I got mite bites. I was so pissed. But I sprayed as far back as possible after treating him and myself.
The pest guy is giving me the number of someone who will fumigate my few possessions before I move.
I intend to get a larvae as I believe all the sinus infections I have had this year are due to the larvae hairs , I have had a rash and took pictures. It turns out most likely I am allergic to them if they go over my skin.
The larvae can get up and under canning jar rings so throw out all your spices. They are ffond of ginger and cayenne pepper if you can believe that.
The egg sack looks like light golden pancake or batter color. with a ridge and sort of triangle shape. They will go in you shoe inner soles, bury in the outer soles. Anywhere there is a crevice. The plastic container must be water proof that is the only seal that will keep them out. if water can not get in then they most likely can not.
hope that helps. Meanwhile I urge everyone on this site that is stressed to find a way to de stress. This has really done me in . I already had Adrenal Insuffieciency. Stress can kill.
My hair has been falling out, and my body temperature has dropped as Ihave lost weight and I was trying to gain weight. I had my aluminum foil in a draw , saran wrap , baggies etc I especially cleaned and sprayed it often. well not matter. I did not for a month and went to get some saran wrap and saw an egg sack. They had been laying sacks this past 2 monthe so that is Sept and October. I lifted the the liner and there went my appetite.
I also got some stomach virus that is going around. I take an immune system supplement and have not had a cold or flu in over 10yrs.
I intend to move to a motel once I figure out all this stuff and make arrangements with the guy that will do my things. If you have cats or dogs my vet to contact your vets and find out what to use to repel the larvae. i can not remember what she told me. iI will post when I do my cats what we decided to use. I will be doing the rats as well. I will do the repellent for several days and then move to the hotel room that i will treat first as well.
I ma not sure about bombing but I do not think its against the law to spray a room. YOu may want to check with the motel or where your staying.
I have had 1 new born beetle that I found on the kitchen counter
Hello all,
I guess with the increased posts things are starting up again, I guess that is the norm as it happened last year around the same time.
Annie, yes we have Chem Trails here too, I’ve not made any connection though. You do NOT need to through out your photo’s, just put them in a Ziploc bag and freeze them for a while.
Amanda, it is not common for black carpet beetles to tunnel, it’s usually the larder beetles.
I had both, and I didn’t know about the larder beetles until about a year later.
… using ‘had’ with fingers crossed
Anything that has a hollow can carry eggs, larvae, and stage really, but usually they don’t go to CD and DVD covers. But check it out anyway.
Repeated exposure to pesticides (not to mention stress) is known to mess with you, please be careful.
Take the animals/pets away from the spraying overnight. Second time I left them at the vets and I stayed at a friends instead of the motel as it was cheaper and less stressful to do it that way.
The ONLY thing I would suggest you treat your animals with is what is made for them, like flea spray etc.
Take care, B
So am i mistaken that the larvae are all fairly similar? I have seen black and varied beetles the nelwy hatched one i found seem to be a varied. May be I have all. I also think I mistakenly say tunnel. its not a complete tunnel like a straw. its half a tunnel i have no idea what to call it.
I have no idea why such odd stuff is happening here except it is over 6 yrs worth of infestation and possibly longer.
What i find is white trails, golden triangular shaped things with a ridge that were described to be eggs sacks in one of the articles I read. I find bits of larvae skins, then the fuzz of all colors and stuck to usually a white or black fiber, some of the fuzz has a gelatin like mass in it, larvae (live_w/ hairs_) , larvae dead with most of the hair gone., some kind of crap they leave behind which is possibly their droppings. The larvae defintily leave an inprint where they have been .
They got into my shoes a few nights ago i notice the imprinted, scrapped, nibbled or whatever they do trail. i took the inner sole out and 3 holes where clogged with brown , golden , tan colored stuff.
My cell phone had been traveled across. Both my cats and rats are scratching . The powder I will be using is Carbyl and my vet is doing with me. i have used it before on my rats for mites but then revolution came out.
What have some of you done about your car? in my home vacuuming is not enough. they are everywhere.
they did not damage my leather case on my meditation device called a EM wave. I took it off and found the half tunnels side by side like 6 of them its the oddest thing I have seen Just like the CD.
I have not seen any larder beetles
All the stuff seems the same pattern and same debris
I clean it up and within a day its back. I am out of energy. have not worked for over 3 weeks now.
Pest control said he knew some company to refer me to that will fumigate what I want to keep but so far no reply with the info.
If I have them at the next place I am moving out of state or into a hospital. really can not take this much longer. I live alone and all I do is clean up bug debris , look for anything alive in the dust pan and I am sick of it. I have them in my toilet paper and paper towels. Never were in the paper towels . I use them as litter pan liners for my rats. So I would have noticed over 10 years. I would have thought it was a flea or mites or something. Never had anything woven or stuck to the towels until this place.
My oldest pet sitting client and friend is leaving for 2 weeks but now her husband does not want me over there for fear I will bring the larvae with me.
This stinks.
In the last few days, I have been getting concerned about the number of comments here that are talking about repeated uses of multiple pesticides to kill carpet beetles. Before any of you start a pesticide campaign to try to wipe out carpet beetles, I’d urge you to read and consider the article I am linking to below (it is talking specifically about excessive pesticides used to control bed bugs, but it applies to any chemical attack on an insect infestation):
http://membracid.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/bed-bugs-the-cdc-and-insecticides/
What it boils down to is this: Pesticides are poisons. They have to be. They have application instructions for a reason – when used incorrectly, they will make you sick. In a very few cases where they have been used to great excess, they have even killed people. And if the wrong insecticide is used for a particular pest, it is likely to expose you to all sorts of toxicity hazards without actually killing the insects you wanted killed. So, I would like all of you, before going this route, to ask yourselves, “is it worth it?”
Yes, carpet beetles can damage some fabrics and animal-derived products, and can seem to be everywhere in some houses. But, they do not attack living things, they do not carry diseases, and aside from maybe being a bit “creepy” they are not any actual danger to anyone. So please, please don’t make the cure far worse than the problem. Don’t poison yourselves, or let your self be driven from your home, or dispose of all of your belongings, or otherwise let your lives be consumed, over some tiny little beetle that isn’t going to do anything much worse than maybe make some holes in your wool clothing.
I totally agree with you Tim. I probably should not have posted here as this situation at my rental is not typical at all. this infestation has been here 6 yrs minimum possibly as many as 10 or more. I was told that it would be of no use to treat the place but I had moved because the other place I had the owner took possession by order of the code inspector. I spent 7 yrs with ants w/eggs which I heard from a neighbor actually turned out to be termite eggs. I did not just have scouts I was living with ants. They were in the walls and under the carpet. Caught in the carpet etc
Then i move here and get some ants the first rain and that is when I discovered the tiny carpet beetle. IT HAD JUST started moving. The shed form the larvae stage right next to it in a whole. It was so small I thought it was a piece of heishi or shell.
Everyone I know told me _ Oh when you rent you need to buckle up and do stuff yourself.
Well , I saw potential here and thought maybe I could get the larvae down to a level of living with them. Got containers for all my food products. etc etc.
i did spray because they were affecting my animals and myself. I was itchy originally thinking I used to much soap in the front loader. NOT It was the larvae There were signs of larvae everywhere and still are.
i have written to the owner telling him I can no longer spray as it is harmful . I am totally aware of it. I have box turtels and they are cold blooded so I must be careful . I also have domestic rats that some of you will think – no wonder she has bugs.
Domestic rats are trainable, they give you love, joy and are very clean. They do not like dirty cages. They will cover up their poop if the they go out side of the litter pan if the pan is too dirty for them.
They make eating areas, play areas, sleep spots and toilet spots in their cage. Mine are trained to go on paper towels in litter pans. They go back to their cages to do their business. So do not think that is the cause of this I also do not leave food in the cage for the specific reason of not wanting to attract insects such as ants and larvae like these.
It was my mistake to take relief in letting what was happening to me off my mind knowing that this is an abnormal situation.
i apologize for freaking people out and will no longer post here. There has not been any other case such as what is going on at my duplex. i have spoken to vector control and the veterinarian as well as the dept of agriculture and pest control companies. vector control guy said he never saw an egg sack , had no books with photos of one nor any info on what the larvae can do. I have been told they can ot do what they do My son did not speak to me until he saw my CD and then he found them in my car.
i am a very clean person. My house never smells. The people before me were a whole different story . I never looked under the drawers or fridge etc. I get sick when I think what is under the bottom of the stove , fridge and oven Stuck tothe bottom not just the floor which I have cleaned. i refuse to do the bottoms even if i could tilt the appliances myself.
so good luck and Tim is right. I had to do what i have done and now I am moving and will have to sue the owner for negligence. This is not anything you can vacuum up . By the way I love to vacuum and have a dyson . My airfilter Sharp Plasmaclusters are now ruined s well. They are in the charcoal filters. it is a sci fi movie i am living in.
Be well everyone and good luck
Hi Tim I am really sorry that I have freaked people out why don’t you just remove my posts. As I said several times but people do not read that part as much as the scary stuff
This is an unusual infestation of many many years.
My apology and regret to have not thougth about others reactions is a bit up setting.
So very sorry. take care
It’s been quite a while since my last post. I had a very mild infestation of furniture carpet beetles that lasted for 3 years until I discovered what they were. I removed all of my wool clothes (which were few) and checked all of the places recommended by university extension services websites. The infestation occurred at the same time as an infestation of tiny wool-eating moths. At first I thought I was seeing different stages of the same bug until BugGuide.net informed me that the “egg sacs” I had found were moth casings. The moths are plentiful in this area and probably arrived first. The carpet beetles love eating dead moth pupae so they probably followed the scent from the moth carcasses into my home and then inhabited the same areas as the moths.
In the 3rd year of infestation the beetles had multiplied enough that they were beginning to spread to other rooms. In the kitchen I found a carpet beetle patiently waiting while a tiny black weevil opened a hole in a bag of wheat. I have previous experience with weevils coming home in bags of dog treats and cartons of oatmeal that I bring home from pet stores and wharehouse stores, so I know what they look like and what they are capable of. Weevils will easily bore through plastics and paper, etc., and multiply rapidly. The ones I’ve had are smaller than carpet beetles, more oval in overall shape and not easily noticed by the untrained eye. I now keep my grains in the refridgerator and do not wear or buy any more wool clothing.
Carpet beetles seem to diverge from their normal food sources only when they have become very entrenched in a dwelling and have multiplied enough to need other food sources. Once the newer generations have developed a taste for the newer types of food, it may be difficult to remove them from that product. It may take several years before the successive generations have all hatched out and died from lack of food. So finding the random beetle in successive years in the same area where they were removed in previous years should not be terrible cause for alarm. Take heart if the beetle is smaller than ones seen in previous years. It means it is probably a 2nd or 3rd generation beetle (versus ones from outside) and it has not found much food (other than what resides in dust).
For some reason, I have not had problems on my cotton clothing. There are small bits of wool on some furniture products that I cannot do without. These were slightly eaten by the moths, not the beetles. I have used cedar chip sachets on the interior of these furniture items and have not seen any further damage. The sachets must be replaced on a regular basis. Pet stores are a cheap supply for cedar chips that are used as animal bedding. I still see moths and carpet beetles outside every Spring and Summer, and they sometimes migrate into my home. I squash them immediately if I can reach them.
I’m too lazy to find my last post to this site, but I’m guessing it’s been 1 1/2 or 2 years since I got rid of most of these bugs, without using any pesticides or any other method besides removing their food sources. (Remember, it was a mild infestation, even though it lasted for three years.) These days I only see a handful of smaller than usual beetles each spring – maybe 1 or 2 per month for several months. The moths are more prevalent and worrisome, but they do not seem to be causing any more damage. I’m not a super finicky housekeeper. I never took any dramatic cleaning steps. Thankfully, I didn’t have to. I’m just writing to let everyone know that it’s not always necessary to go to such extremes to control the bugs that enter our homes. Please take the time to delve further back through ALL of the old postings on this site. They are very helpful and will give you a better perspective. Also do more interenet research. Look for websites that are university extensions of university entymology (bug research) departments. Many of them are very helpful and contain hard science about the beetles. Maybe if enough people ask enough questions from these universities they will do more research projects on these beetles so we can learn how to keep them under control better and go back to wearing wool clothing!
Woops! I can’t believe I mispelled entomology! It’s not entymology, it’s entomology, the study of insects.
Moving day is tomorrow and I’ve been doing laundry all weekend. My second load of clothes I shook a shirt and a small black beetle landed on the washing machine. Wayyyy tinier than the beetles I’d seen in the apartment I lived in when I first discovered these things exist so maybe those weren’t carpet beetles. I dunno but the larvae I’ve been seeing in my past two apartments definitely is them. I had hoped so much I wouldn’t see anything and then this darn beetle shows up. it was alive and looked like it could fly. So I continued washing and putting everything that was clean and through the dryer for an hour in garbage bags. Then I made the mistake of opening a contained I’d moved from my old place and hadn’t touched in the 4 months I’ve lived here. I’d been keeping the clothes I wore regularly in it after I realized I had the beetles again and wanted to keep things seperate from my other clothes as much as possible. There was two shirts and a few pairs of socks in there. I had opened it to see what was in there and that’s when I saw three tiny little shiny beetles (about the same size as the one that fell out of my shirt). Ugh I can only imagine what was on the clothes (which I’d grabbed and thrown in the garbage before I saw the bugs in the bottom of the container. I washed my hands for 20 minutes and was still paranoid about now somehow contaminating the clean stuff. I’m in fullblown paranoia mode now. I just know they’re going to manage to come with me again.
So, I have a carpet beetle problem. It is really freaking me out. I just found one in my bedroom today, 1st time. Anyway, I called an exterminator and they said to try drying all clothing and cloth materials for 15 minutes on high heat, vacuuming all fabric surfaces and steaming all of them with the steamer. Vaccuming wood floor and steaming them. Then if I still see them to call them back.
However, when reading about these stupid beetles online people are saying you actually have to wash clothes with hot water. Is that true? Or, will drying all cloth on high heat kill eggs and larvae?
Thanks!
Hello all,
Shira, sounds like they gave you okay advise. Yes you could try that drying all clothes in high heat, but in my opinion you need longer than 15 minutes. About an hour.
I personally washed all my clothes (in warmish water) then into the drier until very dry. After that I put it all into storage bags/bins so I would not have to wash and dry again. Since you only found one, you don’t have to do it all at once is my thought.
Remember to empty your vacuum, or tie up the open end (bag & elastic). Definitely pack up your natural fiber clothing for a bit.
Annie, all the larvae looked the same to me, and it sounds like you have a unusual big infestation of something. 2 options for cars/vehicles if cleaning and vacuuming has not worked, either let the cold weather freeze them out or have someone spray it, windows closed and no breathing being near it for several hours.
I agree with Tim too, pesticides as a last resort. It was about 9 months from the time I first saw them and starting cleaning until I couldn’t anymore to when someone came to spray for them. I think all the posts should be left up.
Take care,
HELP!! I can’t handle this carpet larvae infestation no longer. I’m going mad!! I’ve never seen the actual beetle, but I’m told that is what these little critters turn into. When I first noticed the carpet beetle larvae I never thought much about them. I would just kill them and thought that was it. Over the summer I noticed that I had a lot of moths flying around inside my closet, and sometimes while watching TV in the dark, I would see a moth fly across the screen. Sometimes when I tried to swat it, it would fly into the ground. When I did research on moths I found that moths like to eat wool and sometimes eat cotton, so I figured, that is what is causing the holes in my shirts. I finally decided enough is enough and called a local exterminator – When I showed him the moths he told me moths usually go after wool – when I showed him the carpet beetle larvae – that’s when the exterminator informed me that’s what was eating away at my t-shirts! I can NOT believe how much damage these little (bleeps) have caused me! By the way, the exterminator was the one that told me I had carpet beetle larvae, I was calling them paper bugs, because I would see them inside my old cardboard photo boxes.
Anyhow, I had my house fogged (my family and I had to stay out of the house for 4 hrs) I washed every single piece of clothing, took all my wool jackets and scarfs to the cleaners and put them all in plastic containers, as well as my shoes. I am sooo afraid to hang anything in my closet or put anything back in my drawers. We are literally living out of plastic boxes. All our bread, rice, cereal, food, etc. is in the fridge. I kinda knew that after having my house fogged the first time, my exterminator would most likely have to fog a second time – only because we had so much larvae around the house, I didn’t think it would solve our problem after just one spray. Although, it did get a little better, I’m not seeing as many as I used to see, they are STILL living in my house!!! Before, I would find anywhere between 10 to 15 , now I’m finding 3 sometimes up to 5, but days apart. I have had days where I don’t see them at all, but I still do my daily floor checks with my flashlight and pick, and scan through all the rooms in my house. I don’t even have carpet! I got rid of my rug because of those little pest!! I even get on my hands and knees and go on a hunt for these little creatures – I noticed they like hiding/sleeping, whatever in the crease of my hardwood floors and the bottom floor molding/boards. I take a small sharp thin object and pick out all the dust bunnies trapped inside. I actually used a paper clip and straightened it out and used the sharp edge to get in there. In the beginning, I did notice some cocoon like dust balls (very small) and in some cases I was actually picking the larvae out from under the molding. I called the exterminator back and told him of my findings. We are now on a bi-weekly plan – he comes over and sprays the inside of my house once every two weeks. He says he uses a safe spray that will not harm my family. My dog passed away in August, so I don’t really have to worry about harming my animal. My exterminator told me that the larvae is the “baby” stage of the carpet beetle. They can’t mate and they don’t lay eggs. You MUST kill them if you see them – the actual carpet beetles are the ones to lay the eggs. Now, my question is, “why haven’t I seen any carpet beetles”? I’ve seen the shed skin of the carpet larvae (gross) but not the actual beetle. I have no idea where they go or how they get in or out. My exterminator tells me that once they have passed the larvae and pupa stage they like feeding off flowers and leaves outside.
As I mentioned, everyday I do a scan through my entire house to check for any larvae – last week I noticed a bunch of tiny little black dots (look like pepper) so I called my exterminator, who is now my friend and he confirmed that I have termites!! GRRRR!!!! As if it couldn’t get any worse. Anywho, I’m going to have my house tented and I’m told it will kill any and ALL living things, so I’m hoping this will take care of my carpet beetle larvae problem once and for all. BUT, the termite exterminator did say, it will NOT kill anything that is the egg or cocoon stages, because it is protected. Will I ever be carpet beetle/larvae free, ever??? I got rid of so much furniture, kids toys and clothes, my house is practically empty. Oh! and larvae does live in furniture – I’ve found them under my leather sofa’s – I’ve even heard they can feed off of hair (GROSS!!!) What should I do, sell my house??? If anyone knows of a solution PLEASE SHARE!!!
About hot water washing vs. drying on high heat to kill eggs and larvae in clothing:
When I took a microbiology class years ago, we were told that autoclaving (heating with pressurized steam) was dramatically more effective for killing microorganisms than was dry hot air. Ten minutes in an autoclave would kill pretty much every known living thing, while a lot of organisms could actually survive for as long as a couple of hours in a dry oven that was as much as 100 degrees hotter than the autoclave. The presence of moisture apparently improves heat conduction, and I think it also keeps whatever you are trying to kill from encysting into a temperature-resistant form.
So, I would think that hot-water wash would be more effective than drying on high heat, although doing both one right after the other would obviously be best.
Okay, so then one more question. Many of my clothes cannot be washed in hot water and then dried because they will shrink to the point of being unwearable. So, is dry cleaning an effective form for those clothing items, or will that not kill anything? I have actually never seen the larvae on any clothes in my home. Just wall and counters. But, I don’t really want to take chances by sanitizing some things properly and others not enough and end up having to go through all this again.
Thank!
For things that can’t tolerate washing or heating, freezing for 10-14 days is recommended. Also, some pest control companies have fumigation vaults where they can fumigate portable items using gases much more lethal than anything that you can (or should) use yourself.
I am talking about the clothing I wear to work. I can’t really freeze all my clothes for 10 days and go to work without clothes. Do you think dry cleaning would be an effective means to kill anything that may be on those clothes?
Well, dry cleaning wouldn’t hurt, but the standard dry-cleaning solvent (tetrachloroethylene) isn’t particularly toxic (which is why it is used, after all) and I wouldn’t count on it to reliably kill anything. It would probably have about the same effectiveness as washing in warm water.
On the other hand, unless your clothing contains wool or some other animal-hair fibers, then as long as you keep it clean I wouldn’t expect carpet beetles to pay it much attention anyway.
Okay, so the last questions. Do they only eat fabrics that contain some type of animal fibers? So they wouldn’t eat cotton or synthetic materials? Or will they if they are desperate? Will they eat other dead bugs? I am asking that because there could be dead bugs in my walls. I live in a very old house.
I originally found these all over old table cloths that were stored. However, the table cloths were vinyl on one side and some type of cloth material on the back. I threw those in the trash and now am seeing the larvae around the house. I didn’t used to. I am thinking that they are trying to find a new home since being evicted.
I know that I now need to vacuum every surface and steam every surface and some how sanitize all clothing. Also, if clothes are going to be stored in storage, after sanitizing them is it best to put them in sealed plastic bins or is it better to put them in those plastic bags that you suck all the air out of? Oh, and if I have wicker laundry baskets, do I have to steam those? I have a hand steamer, but I am not sure if the bugs will live in those as well?
Thank you so much for answering all my questions. I really do appreciate it:) I did manage to get all my food into plastic sealed storage bins and I threw away a lot so I think that stuff is safe from them. Now I just have to deal with everything else.
Denise, Tim and Shira, I am not specialist but here is what the research of the past year states. this is the brotehr to the worlds worst pest. Khapra Beetle check it out
You can steam iron your clothes. What ever will not melt. Freezing must be done for 2 weeks at below 15 degrees. you can not do that in your household freezer because they cycle on and off. maybe if you have a deep box freezer that stays at one temp you set it at.
otherewise the egg sacks and 2 stages of larvae growth will survive!!!!!
As for termite tenting. Termite tenting does not kill the larvae It is a different chemical.
Also if you do tent withe the product must be labeled for the carpet beetle. the product they use and only product I have seen on 2 sites is Suluryl Fluoride commercial product not for use by homeowners , common name is Vikane
info from 2009 http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig089
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture……..
___________________________________________
Depending on Black or Varied Carpet beetle larvae can live between 90 to 632 days!
The eggs, 2 larvae stages and pupae are impervious to chemicals therefore treatment needs to be 30 days apart at least 2 times.
This is why I am not taking my chest bed even if i do the storage container. Unless the landlord here will pay for all that time. I need to check that anything going in does not have egg sacks which I did discribe as a tannish thing with a ridge down the middle. many times I find a fiber attached. These bugs somehow can make or seem to make fibers as well. I find sheddings, pieces of larvae with a few hairs, sacks they came outof with hair attached, white, red and black fibers kind of looking like fiber optics more then a cotton or hair
There are about 2 weird shapes that i have found which are part of the cycle and also a pile of black egg looking things not sure if that is their droppings but for sure they will move along and over everything I own They leave a white trail of some substance . I use a magnifying glass and got a microscope at Tap Plastics for $10 that is great. its small about 3 inches high and has like 2 adjustments and led lights The adjustments go through more then 4 vision adjustments.
i also was given an Intel Play microscope. its for kids but you can take it off the hlder and put and extension usb to it and check out things just with the main shaft. it is basically a toy so its hard get it to focus right it goes up to 200x , 60x and 10 x.
If you find your clothes are pilling or fuzzed when out of the dryer you still have them Dryer should be treated and vent replaced and cleaned often.
Also if you own. tilt your refrgerator, oven and applaiances and clean the bottoms of them
You can not see these larvae until they are getting ready to pupate and turn inot beetles they are 3mm or less during their lives
The beeltes are born small. i found a varied yesterday while going over the dust pan. i went oh wow but when i took the microscope from Tap plastics away I had not idea what was what . The is why the great guy at teh dept of agriculture took my “debris ” and threw it out not even trying to look at at. He only knew what the normal eye can see.
he tought my original beelte was a bed bug. There is no similarity . Told me had to do a few test comparisons and would let me know if 10 minutes if it was a bed bug. Jesus.
Dept of Agriculture??? The vector control guy said in school or up to the present he never saw or heard what the egg sacks look like
This is what makes me crazy.
Tim I do not like PESTICIDES In the early 60’s my first cat dies of ferti.izer poisoning So i never used sprays Then my cat in the early 80’s got leukemia before there was a preventative. He had to have his corneas scraped and stiched the lids closed to heal for a month In which time I was not to use any flea products or pesticides. He lived another 7 years after the stitches were out I found Vet kem premise spray at the vet its the only sray I use as once dry it is non toxic to me , the cats, and my turtles who are cold blooded and die from insecticides like a bug.
so i am very careful
i would hate to see anyone get fooled by a pest control that was saying they can spray and rid you of the problem not true.
Dermatis and larvae — yes they can cause a rash and boils I have just gotten a blister shapped just like a larve. i felt something in my jeans and shook my leg but even with boot cut it did not fall out i suppose. I did not have my glasses on and thought oh i got a scratch or a sticker was in my jeans no it was a blister shapped like a larvae or slightly curved carrot. its 5 days and I still have it now with a red ring around it not a good thing but see the dermatologist tomorrow you find photos on penn state site if you google
penn state university + carpet beetle dermatis + photos
Dont forget to treat and clean your ducts if you own your house. anything and everywhere needs to be treated and cleaned. Some of us are having major infestations.
Check your combs and brushes Look for frays at the tips of the comb combs do not normally fray, I look for the white trail it is usually thicker at one end then the other
i hope this helps BARBARA thanks for saying you thought my post should stay.
I really have it bad here i just thought everyone else was like this but apparently not.
The worst part is not wanting to carry them on me anywhere else.
I have become ocd and paranoid about these critters The worst part is they are not so bad when you see them with your eyes kind of like a catapillar , they do not bite but they are in everything they were in my almond meal thea was in the fridge in a canning jar. I must have had it out and not put the lid on immediatley .
so the jar went in the garbage.
I hope the guy from western exterminator knows his stuff and is not saying things just to appease me. actually ha s not called back since i gave him the cu ft to the container.
enjoy the day I have my wild scrub jay Dewey calling for his peanuts what a joy and how blessed am i??? that is what life is about. He eats off my hand , has had 5 babies in 2 different clutches total He was here my first walk through the gate! I moved in last Aug.
We shall overcome! I sure hope so . t
ps just saw you can freeze at -20 degrees yes MINUS 20 for 3-4 days so there you go!
Thank you Annie, I appreciate your reply. I’ve been on several sites and it seems carpet beetle/larvae is more common then I thought. Unfortunately, I have yet to see anyone say that they finally got rid of the carpet beetles/larvae, etc. Maybe they just don’t follow up with the sites. I really do hope if anyone reading this email thread will help out by giving us their success story….if that is even possible without having to demolish my house! =(
One quick comment about washing clothes, and dry cleaning. I took all my coats to the dry cleaners and left them at my mom’s house until the cold weather. I pray that they were properly cleaned. I don’t know what i would do if my mom went through what i’m going through. I would feel awful!!! As for my clothes, since I’ve had them in boxes and keep only a limited amount of clothing in the house, I have not seen any new holes or any larvae in the plastic. At first I was feeling very itchy, but i’ve been itch free for awhile. Since I’ve de-cluttered my house, it’s been easier to spot them. The kitchen is the ONLY place in my house that I have yet to thoroughly clean. I will need to hire someone to carefully move my stove and turn off all the gas to properly clean that space, my kitchen cabinets are mounted and there is no way for me to get under.
Anwyhow, again, thank you for sharing your story and I do hope that IF anyone has heard or has finally conquered these nasty little pest, PLEASE share your story.
Thank you everyone!!
D
Denise, I guess I haven’t made myself clear enough. Yes, I HAVE gotten rid of the infestation in my home. Please read my posting on 8/31/10. At that time I think I listed 5/6/10 as the last time I had sighted a carpet beetle in my home. It has been over a year since then. I waited to see if they would come back after the winter. All I found, starting in February, were 1 or 2 strays each month for 3 months this Spring. One was a very tiny one in the room where the original infestation was. Its size indicates that its larva form did not get much food. The other beetles I found were already dead, stuck in my carpet. Perhaps I had not noticed them last year, and I only found them this year because I was checking for any new ones. I found 1 or 2 larvae – something I had not seen in the previous 3 years of infestation. I had only seen their shed skins before, not live ones. During the infestation I saw more adult beetles than anything else, and they were often feeding on the dead pupae of wool-eating moths. I think these few stragglers are just leftovers or ones that have flown in from outside. I have not seen any more beetles or larvae or anything related to them since April of this year. I do not expect any sort of reinfestation because I’ve eliminated the moth infestation and the primary food sources for the moths and beetles: wool (for both), and dead moth pupae (for the beetles). I do not expect to NEVER see a carpet beetle again because they are everywhere out there, just like the ants and moths and spiders and crickets. Every once in a while a few will migrate into my home and I’ll just squash them or carry them back outside. If I start seeing 6 or more for 2 or more months I’ll consider that a possible reinfestation and I’ll let you know, but I’m sure they won’t show up until Spring, if they do.
I am almost embarassed to admit that I don’t have time to dust that often, and I did not scrub all of my surfaces or wash or dry any clothes in hot water, or scrub the walls where I found the critters. I have carpet and pets. The primary part of the infestation was in a room that had a tile floor. Please read my 8/31/10 posting to see what I actually did do.
I had a mild, 3-year infestation with a variety of carpet beetle (Furniture Carpet Beetle) that may not be as aggressive as the variety most of you are dealing with. I, too, suspect that most others simply stop bothering to check in with us once they have solved their problem. I hope that some of those who finally conquer the bigger infestations will eventually post their solutions for us.
Denise, please make sure the tiny black “pepper” particles you saw are really termite droppings before you tent the house. Termite droppings are usually smooth and roundish or oval in shape and the color of the wood they are eating. Carpet beetle poop looks like fine grains of pepper and is not round or oval.
Shira, I would throw out the wicker laundray baskets – it would be too easy for them to hide in cracks and crevices. Get some plastic baskets or tubs. Also, they usually don’t eat cotton unless it has food or sweat stains on it. None of my cotton clothing was affected, even though it was tightly sandwiched in with my eaten wool clothing. Luckily the beetles never made it into the room where my laundry basket was.
Hello everyone, I have been seeing carpet beetle larvae for a while. My fiance and I lived in an apartment and thats where I first saw them, I didn’t even know what they were until I lived there. We lived at the apartment for 3 years, and have since bought our first home. I took every precaution when moving that I could. I wiped everything down all my furniture and vacuumed it out and washed our clothes then put them in garbage bags and immediately took them out of the apartment and into the car to transport over to the new house. When we moved in to the new house, we cleaned very good, and I found some actual carpet beetles, but they were dead, so I was hoping that everything would be ok, but to no avail. I have found a few in our second bathroom, and only one in our kitchen. Of course, as soon as I see it, I kill it. My sister works for a pest control company and she had one of her best clients call me so that I can have him come spray my house before it gets bad. He did tell me that carpet beetles are attracted to crepe myrtle trees, (sorry if I botched the spelling on that) and you will never guess, but I have 6 in my front yard alone. I have one on each side of my drive way and then 4 leading down the right side of yard at the driveway. So….. I’m guessing since they were so close to the house, one got in and called it a day. I asked the pest control guy if he thinks its even possible to get rid of these things and he encouraged me that yes it is possible, with multiple treatments done fairly close together, not spread out over weeks and months. He also told me that he needs to treat my yard because thats where they come from is outside. I know its difficult, and time consuming, but we all have to realize that 99% of homes have them, just not everyone is as lucky as us to have come across them ( said with total sarcasm!). My fiance gets irritated with me because I get frazzled about them sometimes. He says they aren’t going to hurt me, and I realize that, however I am a female and its in my DNA to not want to live with bugs. I will be on here posting updates and glad that I have other people to talk to about this, because my fiance, as wonderful as he is, doesn’t understand my frustration with this whole ordeal. Well have a great day and God Bless.
So is now the season to see them reappear? I moved into my new place in March, and found a ton in my room. The exterminator came and we found maybe a couple stragglers and then for many months did not see any more again. I think when I thought about them, I thought maybe I found some…but I wasn’t really entirely sure. But today as my roommate and I were cleaning, I found 4 larvae. 2 of them were dead, and I think saw a casing, another was still alive — I found 3 of them in the cracks of a step of our staircase. Then as I was doing laundry, I saw one right in the middle of the tile floor. It makes me nervous because I had never seen the larvae before..they were always adults. I feel like I only find them when I’m thinking of them. But finding 4 larvae makes me wonder if there is a more. We did a pretty good cleaning of the house but it makes me paranoid to find more since we hadn’t seen them in so long. I will continue to look for more, and if I do I guess I’ll have to alert my landlord again that there might be a possible infestation. No one else in my house is worried, but I don’t think they’re as afraid of the bugs as I am. Sigh….seems like we can never get away from these bugs. I’m sorry Annie that your case is so much. I hope you can find a better place.
Hi, I have not had internet for a week, moving finally , still not sure if I will dump the entire house or find a fumigator. The pest control freaked out and said they have no idea or have never seen anything like the damage occurring here. that is why I keep telling people this is not the norm but a case of minimum 6 yr out of control situation.
They painted right over larvae and a few beetles.
That was at least the last tenants who were here 6 yrs.
Cynthia. Here is the problem. The egg sacks and pupae are impervious to chemicals. Univ of Florida has an article on how to treat. You must treat every 30 days for a minimum of 2 months preferable 4-6 months with both a kill and growth regulator to get them when they hatch. 1 egg sack will be a minimum of I think 60-90 larvae.
Same if you fumigate because that also does not get the sack or pupae but does go into cracks and crevices so the kill of larvae and beetles more thorough.
http: //edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig089 uni of fl.
http://www.bugspray.com/articles98/carpetbeetle.html
also look up Khapra Beetle , Los Angeles, Chicago and us customs
It is a relative and boy looks the same pretty much to me. “worlds worst pest”
I did have a print out on each type , black and varied and their egg amts. larvae life, etc
they are different one larvae can live up to 630 days. I forget which but I have at least 2 the black and the varied. I think the third is varied but different color then the other varied.
Lucky me have the longer living one. egg deposits vary on type as well.
sacks etc all look almost alike from the scant info I have found. not one pest control has known what the egg sacks look like in my area north of San Francisco. unbelievable.
Wish all of us luck in this I have been so worn out, I actually am not becoming allergic to them. MY immune system is shot.
After my move I will let you know if I left everything or not. The new owner is going to bomb the place before we lay flooring. Thank the powers that be no carpets. I have checked my orientals. Three absolutely clean. the other 3 I am not positive. if need be will treat before the move and then store them so I can treat every 30 days. I just had them appraised and besides them I have 4 pcs of art, a very old cloisonne vase that was my grandparents that has been damaged and jewelry , printer and computer tower and monitor. the rest will go in the garbage . That is what it seems to be looking like. the computer may go as well just get another one my son built it for me. maybe I can take the printer in under warranty my cell phone had to go back 3x as they got in it somehow as well and now my new one is not working people can not hear me.
so I guess they or droppings of something clog the speaker or ???
then there is my car treating and cleaning it tomorrow morning. will do again every 30 days I guess I thing if we fumigate in the garage we can put the car in as well the gas is contained but not sure. it seems it should be as if it were in the gas pipe line but up to the pest guy
In San Francisco there is a bed bug guy that does fumigation in a uhaul but you can load it up all the way you need to have alot of air flow for the fumes to get to everything so depends on how much stuff you have
hope this helps
ps Gentrol growth regulator is very good but a bit hard to spray. great for crevices.
It was the only product that once dry in residual but not toxic to my turtles who are cold blooded like insects they are fine
I also read that if you spray it must be a flat spray and you must cover every inch if you miss an inch and larvae are there they will keep on living keep that in mind.
Had a major infestation over a year ago. Exterminator believed some were brought in from a shipment I had from China a few years ago. They infested my basement without me knowing it and ended up in my living area. After tearing my house apart, taking out carpets, washing, drying, etc. clothes, blankets, etc., and having the exterminator for $1200.00, I am happy to say I have been CB free since last February. I vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, deep clean everything. It is a lot easier now that I have wood floors cause I have two cats and they leave a lot of hair. Easier to clean now. It was quite a fight and extremely stressful while I was getting rid of them but all my hard work seems to have paid off. I haven’t used insecticide for almost a year and intense cleaning seems to do the trick. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
help I have dealt with this prblem now for 4 yrs these larva are eating all of my shirts I’ve done everything! duct work cleaned x3 whole house heat treatment x2 pest control spraying poision powder placed in all outlets ‘electrical sockets by removing plastic covers and placing the powder in the walls holes drilled inside my home above all baseboards and poison placed in the holes activity is definetely diminished but still occuring! does anyone know if electronic bug and rodent repellers work?
So, wanted to update on my infestation. I washed and dried all clothes. I put clothing in my garage until my home was sprayed. Luckily I have mostly wood floors. They sprayed whole house, floors, furniture, etc. Saw a few after they sprayed, then I didn’t see any larvae. Saw about 4 a couple of weeks ago. They came and resprayed just this past week. Haven’t seen any since. I now have linens stored in airtight plastic containers and have clothes that are stored in those vacuum sealed bags. I am so far happy with the outcomes. I am hoping I don’t see any more larvae. I have a year contract with the pest control company now, so they will spray next month if I see any before then. So far so good. Hope everyone else doesn’t have any more bug issues during the new year. Good luck everyone:)
Michelle asks:
“Does anyone know if electronic bug and rodent repellers work?”
The answer appears to be no, they don’t. A number of controlled tests of various ultrasonic repellers have been carried out over the years, and all of them have shown that these units are completely worthless in getting rid of pests. Do not buy them. They are a waste of money.
Hi everyone. First can not believe how much this small larvae/ beetle has affected my life, my physical, emotional and mental well being. Not sure if I will ever be the same.
Since last report I went to a motel for a month and a half. Not a sign of anything in the room which surprised me as they allow pets. My 4 cats , 3 rats and 2 turtles were there for a month and half. I had floors installed in the rental apartment I was moving too. Floors came out great but the owner took me for a ride of sorts. I keeep asking for the original receipts but so far I am here , things still arent done by him and no receipts. My friend lay the floor and did an amazing job and I am pleased with that. For sure there were larvae in the old carpet here. I found 1 beetle deed and 1 larvae dead in the bathroom. old signs of stuff on the wood doors I thought was paint until I moved in and the owner had not painted. Then I began looking so far nothing alive. I havc my fingers crossed.
aI got my car fumigated in San Jose California and AAA paid for it. The car went to Cost less Fumigation if anyone is in the area in San Jose on Earle Ave. They were honest and did not charge me for my rugs, 3 framed pcs of art, 1 vase that was my grandmothers very old cloisonne, 4 wood animal carvings done in the 30s by my great uncle Leo, my moms gold jewelry and some silver. Not a dime misssing I did not tell them what all I had i threw it to the wind I was so worn out. they packed my car back up on Monday so neat it was unbelievable. I could see damage on the after market tint and other areas of the car . m
we need to remember these rittera are near invisible when hagtched or they are and we transport them with out knowing it.
I c ould see all gthe spots that I had not seen as they fell right off of areas they were on if touched them dead dead dead. so fumigation does work,.
they usually do temites during the week and use the warehouse on weekends for certain things like tables cars etc.
My friend in S san FRanciisco has an infestation in his apt building. the pest control came and were going to do only the one room I told him do the entire unit he read the links and agreed with me. the little boy has had rashes and blisters , lucky not the baby so far.
so please try to remember that they can be anywhere on anything and leave eggs anywhere.
tilt your fridge and clean the bottom of it not just under it etc etc.
I still continue looking and I hate doing it but maybe one day I will be sure they are not alive here. I vacuum constantly and feel like I wish the old place burned down and then I would not have anyone to blame for the loss of all my stuff. I moved to the hotel w/ new pants and shirts and sweatshirt. threw out the new cages, cat box , pants , shirt etc when I left got new shoes again and started with nothing when I got here. its horrid how mjuch it cost to replace basic necessities but i did not bring any bugs with me
i would take a lint roller over the entire motel room daily and never found a speck not even flea droppings. amazed.
hope you all get a grip and we all get some peace soon.,
annie and her crew of animal companions.
ps i did not bring dishes or anything looking for a good price on AIRTIGHt containers for food if anyone has a link. everything edible is bagged and in fridge or freezer including the baggie box themselves. I trust nothing anymore even got new phones , eye glass case you name its been dumped. i have 2 pair of socks even dumped the laundry soap etc.
all my meds are new or have been repalced its been a hassle and half.
went to home depot and got depressed realizing i did not even have a screw driver anymore.
good to de clutter i do not even want furniture though I prpobalby will get some.
I was getting holes in my shirts for four years now only in front at belly button area just did experiment turned my shirt backwards and rubbed against my granite counter and got holes in my shirt!!!
Michelle I was happy for you when I read your post yesterday.
How I wish my story were the same. I knew it was only a matter of time. Sure enough I let myself be semi-comfortable for maybe a day and they’reeeee baaaaack.
I’m sitting here freaking out and crying and my mother’s upset at my reaction and says it’s nothing to be worried about. Obviously she’s not grasping this. This is now 2 and a half years dealing with this and 4 apartments I’ve gone through. I found this one along the baseboard in the bathroom. A really skinny one so maybe it was a baby baby. Surely it has parents somewhere. Mom says “it’s only one” yeah right. I tried to tell her “there’s never just one” but she doesn’t get it. She says we’ll just kill them when we see them. Great they’ll get worse that way. I can’t stop washing my hands. When I first poked at it I tried to tell myself “it can’t be. It’s just a piece of lint like the others.” But it moved. Frig I hate this. There’s not strong enough words to express what this is like. I wouldn’t wish this hell on my worst enemy. I’ve washed every piece of clothing in hot water. I’ve gotten rid of everything I conceivably could. I haven’t even been able to bring myself to wear any of the clothes I moved even. I’ve only been wearing the three new shirts and two pairs of pants I bought since I moved (I don’t have a job so it makes it pretty easy.) I love my old clothes but dread what might be living in them or what kind of breakdown I’d have if I put them on.
OMG- I am literally living in hell with these things!!! Please if someone has a positive outcome let me know. After reading this blog I feel completely helpless. Now I have shared these things with a friend and her house is infested. I don’t even want to leave home, except I hate it here now.
I vacuum like a fiend, wash our clothes constantly, we have exterminators every two weeks but I still see them. We found them in the couch should we just dump it? I used boric acid in the dresser because I heard this help. I haven’t slept through the night in over a month and now that I pass these little beasts to a friend I am paranoid that I have passed them onto my family. Reading this blog because now I don’t feel all alone. I am feeling very dirty and I feel like everyone I know thinks we are gross. Ugh
Well here I am again Googling pictures of black carpet beetles and trying to convince myself that’s not what I just found crawling on my bed. I hate my life. Just this weekend mother went through some of the stuff I had stashed out on the balconey when I moved in and have put off going through. There’s still so much more but I just can’t bring myself to go through it. I got her to throw some things out, among them 2 of my favourite coats but well there’s no point keeping them when I can’t even bring myself to touch them.
She keeps getting upset with me for being afraid of these bugs but I really think she doesn’t understand what a big deal they are. They’ve followed me through now 5 apartments. I woke up one day last week to find a beetle crawling up the side of her bed skirt. They’re in the bedroom I just know it. I have clothes from my old place in the dresser (I haven’t worn or touched any of it.) Plus she’s got tonnes of clothes hanging in the closet and the whole apartment is carpet. We’re screwed.
I know how you feel Dyell. Wanting to be anywhere but home but being too worried of bringing this plague to anyone else.
Ugh I’m sick of this (and that’s an extreme understatement.) I found two more beetles in the bedroom today and another larvae in the bathroom last night (that got away before I could kill it.)
The cycle has started again. After moving into the new apartment I had the usual few months of wondering when they would appear. Hoping they wouldn’t but knowing they would. Now we’re back to inspecting every piece of lint and dirt.
I haven’t pet my cat in 2 days because yesterday she was laying under the bed where I had seen the bug on the weekend.
I’ve been unemployed since I got fired from my last job and today I was thinking about how I probably couldn’t even function enough in a new job with all this on my mind. I don’t know what else I can do. I’ve thrown out so much stuff and moved 4 times and they’re still with me. I spend all my time inspecting pieces of lint and dirt praying they won’t move and searching the few clothes I can bring myself to wear for holes. Since finding the one on my bed and the bunch in the bedroom I’m now worried what they could be doing while I’m sleeping. When you have bugs in your house suddenly you become very aware of all the holes your body has that they could crawl into. I know I’m driving my mom nuts with this but I just can’t take it and these are the places my mind goes. I’m constantly itchy now and swear I can feel things in my clothes and hair. Now I can’t even pet my cat? What’s the point of being alive.
Amanda I know how you feel! It is so frustrating we live out of plastic bags and containers. We have spread them to at least two family members and a friend’s house. I became as obsessed as you are. Every time I would feel better BAM I find a hole in something. I hope your situation gets better soon.
Hey Amanda been thinking about you. Hope things are getting better.
Thanks Dyell. I find myself thinking about you too and hope things have been getting better. I started my day this morning to wake up and find two beetles on the carpet between my mom’s bed and my cot. God I hate when they’re in the bedroom. Last week I found one in the bathtub so now even after I shower I don’t feel clean. I threw out another pair of underwear because there was a suspicious hole in it. Is nothing sacred with these things? I haven’t seen anything in my drawers but I haven’t gone looking either. I’m paralyzed with fear of looking because I’m afraid of what I know I’ll find. Denial’s not going to make them go away but it appears neither is moving 4 times and throwing out most of my belongings either.
Last night I went to go over to a friend’s house and oh the process that involves to reduce chance of transmission. As I was changing out of the pair of slippers I use after getting out of the shower when I’m going to his place, and putting them back in their bag soles facing outwards and trying to balance my way into my outdoor shoes (after taking them out of their bag) I said to my mother “I wish I didn’t have to live like a crazy person.”
I hate this. Hate’s not a strong enough word.