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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Robin,
I have come to the same conclusion as you. I have resigned myself to having some and just continuing to do what I can. I am one person in an apt. with kitties and figure with cat hair, my hair and just shedding of dead skin… there is food for them. I can only try to keep a couple of steps ahead of them. But not sure if I am really doing that just because I don’t see any. So, I calmed down and thought… do we live together to a certain extent? I hate that thought but they are, as you say, a fierce opponent. There are many more of them than me!! So, I clean and look, look, look to kill what I can.
Lots of luck!!
I have ceramic tile and woodfloors-Julie sent info about the shop vac and I got one at Lowes today. It works great…thanks Julie!
The only problem I have is the hose is short and the cord is short and my house has considerably large floor space…but that is okay for $45 it’s definately worth it. I’ll just get an extention cord. I don’t know if it’s going to scratch the wood floors though. It works great for sucking up the baseboards, the sides and corners of door moldings, sides of crown moldings and corners of the room, window sills, attic opening and pretty much anywhere that is hard to get with a broom or your hands. I always used a rag to get this, but the shop vac makes it much easier and gets more of the dust and dirt.
I have a sliding closet in one of the bedrooms so the cracks in the bottom get dirt and who knows what else in there so the shop vac works great for that. I plan to get a smaller crevice type tool to get deeper but it helped considerably. But anyway, for now the shop vac is much better than a broom and dustbuster. I got the 6 gallon 3 horsepower and it really sucks dirt up well so I’m sure for a little more money the the others would work even better. The only thing is the attachments will probably wear down quick since it’s plastic, but like I said for now it is fine.
Also, I use Mr. Clean with febreeze multi-surface. It seems to clean better than anything else I’ve used in a long time, and smells good. I mix it with water and put it in this spray bottle (from the dollar store-best spray bottle I ever bought)and spray the baseboards and in the corners and wipe it down and while I’m at it spray the walls. Anyway, I too have accepted that I’m not going to get rid of these completely but I will work much harder on the little details to help minimize. A professional mentioned to me that ortho home defense works well(not sure if that has been mentioned before).
At least for now I can go to bed with some hope, where as before I was in complete panick crazy mode.
I may not want to know this but how does the larvae get on a wall when I didn’t see it there an hour before?
Well this is just my opinion, but it probably came from the floor near your baseboards of the wall and let me tell you those suckers actually move pretty fast. I mentioned this before, but the shop vac has made a huge difference for me. That and ortho home defense, and sparying the baseboards with mr clean/water.
In my experience they come from under/behind the baseboards too… I always hoover thoroughly around the eges of the carpet with the noozle, but there’s debris/dead insects under the baseboard and in wall cavaties so I think they lurk there and come out! Guess you can never totally eliminate them unfortunately it’s just a case of minimising their presence!
Yes, it makes sense. Actually, I think I was fooling myself into thinking that they moved realllly slowly. Haha!! I went home last night and found one and when I removed it, before killing with the tissue, it moved faster than I had imagined. Yes, they are on a lot of my baseboards and I literally scan baseboards and windowsills whenever I enter or exit a room. I agree, I am resigned to always having some of them.
Katie, what do you think the Mr Clean does for them? What is Ortho Home defense? I have pets so I want to be careful about sprays.
I, too, would like to know about the MrClean/water mixture??? I do know (Brava4)about Ortho Home Defense – just your average indoor/outdoor bug spray, purchased at Lowes or Home Depot. I’ve paid $1000 for Orkin, to no avail (begs the question – what has minimized my numbers – all the throwing out of furniture and clothing, along with constant vacuuming/sweeping for 2 months now OR Orkin?) so I’d highly recommend an Ortho product . This is taking such a toll on my husband and me. The constant worrying, moving furniture (what’s left of it) and constant searching for these things is wearing us down.
As for movement – adult beetles will fly and the larvae will move so quickly that you do tend to wonder, “how’d that get there?” AT this point, we’re pretty much only seeing them on hard surfaces which is just crazy to me. I’ll tell you – it’s good to discuss all of this here because most of us don’t want to share this with others. I told my best friend and our adult daughter. That’s it!!! Since my house is spotless, esp now since there’s little left to make it a “home”, I should not fall into any trap of stigma typically attached to BUGS. But I’m only human – and it’s embarrassing, as well as frustrating. Let’s pray someone comes along and helps us, past the support we find. How sad! I feel like I’m a member of a Carpet Beetle support group. ARGH!
Hello Carpet Beetle Support Group 😀
Not sure what that Ortho is, but if you can get ahold of DoKtor Doom … that kills anything!
(Contains Permethrin 0.50%)
Yes, …
clean, clean, clean, spray (q 30 days)
clean, clean, clean, spray
and clean, clean, clean, spray
I have not seen any Carpet Beetles flying or crawling for a bit.
Set up those monitors, and those have been clean for a while too.
No Carpet Beetles!
Sorry I didn’t reply sooner. That is sooo funny..carpet beetle support group! Yes it does feel like that! Really though that is all you can do is keep vacuuming and whatever else your doing to minimize the problem…I’ve excepted that. I really have not seen that many in a while, but I’m sure they are lurking somewhere. I didn’t mean to make a big deal out of the Mr. Clean. I just personally like the Mr. Clean with febreeze. It smells good and seems to clean well and I put it on spray nozzle to clean the baseboards (along with everything else in my house) and I put it on stream nozzle to get in the corners of the baseboards like where the door frames and the baseboard corners meet…don’t know if that made sense. My situation was I had a wicker basket near the kitchen area. Next to it I had a cat food bowl. I never sweeped behind the wicker basket. I picked it up one day and larvae was everywhere (shudder). So during my clean freak episode I started spraying the baseboards with mr clean diluted with water in the spray bottle and there was one of those suckers in the corner of the baseboard area and I sprayed it and it died. Honestly I don’t think it keeps them away, but it makes me feel good about keeping the walls and baseboards clean, but it might kill the ones that are already there. I probably shouldn’t have mislead what I was saying and I’m sure any cleaner would do, but FYI I don’t have carpet, so I can freely spray away without worrying about it getting on the carpet.
I really don’t know how the ortho will affect your pets. According to ortho, pets and people can re-enter the home after it has dried. It is supposed to keep bugs, etc away and kill the ones you already have. Also, I sprinkled borax all throughout the house along the edges of the walls and I’m not sure if it actually killed any of the larvae, because the ones that I saw under the basket I personally killed myself, but I did notice after that, I had one on a wall in two separate places in my house as if they were trying to escape (and I’m very observant about things in my house and hadn’t seen this before)so I believe the borax made them want to escape. Then I vacuumed up the area. But I’m sure the ortho is contributing.
If it makes you feel any better, I strongly believe that there are many people who have this problem and don’t even realize it.
Sorry if my message is ridiculously long and I hope what I said makes sense, it’s late and I’m probably rambling. I will say this..I refuse to let this control my life and stress me out. All I can do is vacuum more often and use prevention methods, etc. and not get obsessed. So let’s all just take a deep breath and relax.
From what I’ve experienced, Borax does not kill them … maybe makes them want to go somewhere else where there is no borax in your house though.
From what I was told Boric Acid/ Borax is for Roaches.
Dear Fellow Support Group(ers),
I’m going to switch gears here completely. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. We’re going to visit with friends late in the day. Before we go, I will watch parades on t.v. and then I shall VACUUM and spray every square inch of baseboards/quarter round, carpet edges, etc with Ortho Home Defense. And then I am going to go EAT, DRINK and be merry. And I’m NOT going to think about the pests I’ve abandoned for the evening. I hope each of you will do the same. Happy Thanksgiving!
Good on you Robin! I wish us all peace from these wretched little bugs!
Yes good for you…sounds like a plan! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all. I was home all day but still scanned the walls once in a while. Sadly, it has become a habit.
On Friday I braved my large wicker laundry basket, not knowing what I would find. As I walked up to it, with flashlight and duct tape in hand (I use duct tape wrapped around my hand to get the buggers off cloth) I heard, in my mind, the music to JAWS. Can’t you hear it?
I found only a couple of live ones but several shells which means I’ve been through several cycles of these little ____s!!!
I would like to join the Carpet Beetle(larvae) support group. Who knows… if we get big enough, we can one day have a convention!!
That’s so funny. And you know that is just what we are going to have to do is take this one step at a time, checking each area of our house very thoroughly when we are mentally ready and then continue to maintain and not forget about what we have in that little corner somewhere and I truly believe these things will be greatly minimized if we stick to it just like with anything else in life….but let’s not let it pyschologically take over or we will go insane!
Oh, my beetle friends. How I have laughed over our last couple of responses. Brava4, I can hear hte JAWS music and how I could appreciate what you were saying about “braving” the wicker basket. I approach every search with a bit of fear in my heart. Isn’t that awful? I’m just so sick and tired of doing it. And I pray each time, “Lord, please don’t let me find one this time.” And like you, I am very habited to looking for dots and spots that may be bettle or larvae. Is there no end?
You’ll all appreciate this. We went to WDW (Orlando) this past week, staying in hotels the whole time. I did the searching for both Hilton Garden Inn and Port Orleans/Disney. Every speck I saw, whether in our room on the floors of the bathroom, the elevator or hallways, my eyes scanned quickly for carpet beetles. I can’t help myself! They’re always on my mind. And the entire time I was there, all I could think of was the little _____s reproducing, hatching, or eating while was I was away. Today I should have surely vacuumed. But that’s quite a bit of driving we’ve done. I’m tired and it’s cold. Snow outside did not help. I stayed in my pjs and thought, “How many can there be?” I’ve seen a few things in the foyer as I’ve walked through but sometimes what I see is so small I can’t be certain I’ve found one. This despite the fact I am very familiar with what I’m looking for. Sometimes, though, I think I have found very tiny, similar looking debris – too tiny to accurately identify. I’m praying there have been none.
Anybody with seasonal issues, experience a fall off just because it is winter now? My daughter figured they’d act similar to fleas. But our house is warmer than the great outdoors? Does this make my place more inviting this time of year? Or does my thermostat set at 68* or lower make it less so? I do feel better in that I think I’ve been fighting the good fight and I’ve drastically reduced the numbers as I will continue to do. They’ve met the wrong homeowner as I’m not about to let them win. I’ve got a dirt devil and I’m NOT afraid to use it. Know that, you pesky little bugs.
I was changing my summer clothes for my winter clothes and noticed the larva on my clean clothes hanging up in my closet. I have seen a couple before, but didn’t know what it was and didn’t think twice about it. I am doing laundry now, and my sister works in pesticide so she has given me a few good bits of information. I just keep wondering if it will be a vicious cycle. Find one, wash clothes, spray insectide, find another one, wash clothes again, spray insectides. I just hope and pray that they will go away. I will also pray for all of you as well. One good thing I read on the internet is that the adult beetles actually try to get outside because they want the pollen rather than anything else. I am terrified of bugs of all walks of life, no seriously. The only bugs I like are lady bugs, butterflys, and dragonflys and thats because they are pretty and they don’t hurt you. These carpet beetles have to go. My fiance and I rent an apartment and I always say, if you aren’t paying rent, you can’t stay here, so those beetles need to hit the highway. Well good luck to all of you and God Bless.
Oh man! I was starting to think I had these things licked – a holiday gift – in part to the cold weather (I hoped). NOT! Afer a couple of weeks of not really seeing any signs (though they could have been vacuumed up before they caught my eye), I saw one adult beetle this a.m. in my foyer. I opened the front door just a day or so ago. I swear I think there’s a connection. I think they just fly in whenever I open the door. I can’t believe this goes on so long. I’m so deafeated! HELP!
Oh,bug filled holidays… here they come. I think the colder weather has slowed them down in my apt. I KNOW they are still there but I am seeing less. Hahaha! I’m a fool and I haven’t even had any spiked eggnog. Robin… you saw an adult beetle? I was hoping to not see any until spring had sprung. Geez… can’t we get a break?? Also, I would be checking other places too, hotels, other’s homes. I may need to be deprogrammed for this problem. Goodness, maybe we will need to atart a 12 Step Program
What is the true story… Tim?
I have a question… If the little bastards come mainly from the baseboards, walls etc.. How do they get across the room and under all the covers and end up at the bottom of the bed, on the bottom sheet? Uummm, I’m not aware that there is a shuttle bus service from the wall to my bed… I haven’t seen a taxi service running around the floor of my bedroom, dropping these little buggers off.
Frankly, I am learning waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much about Carpet Beetles.
May the force be with us!!!
Brava4: As far as I’ve been able to find out, the adults prefer to feed on nectar and pollen. I haven’t found any positive confirmation that the adult carpet beetles can’t eat the same thing as the larvae. But, if they can’t, then any adult beetles you see around this time of year are probably doomed. At least, they are if you live somewhere where it snows enough to knock out the flowers. The adults have to come out in spring or summer if they are going to be able to find enough nectar and pollen (or, at least, some sort of sweets) to eat that they can lay eggs.
I *think* that this means that the adults won’t be around to lay eggs over the winter, so the larvae that you have now are the only ones that you are going to have to deal with until spring. Unless you live someplace like Florida where there are always flowers, that is.
Oh, and congratulations! Subtracting out my comments, I think that you have posted the 100th comment on this page! That’s easily 4 times more than any other page on this site, and about 30-40 times more comments than the average page here.
I do see things have slowed. In the past week, I’ve seen 2 adults, which I promptly flushed. Oh, how that gives me pleasure. The slowing has made me a tad lazy about the daily vacuuming. Plus the holidays keep me busy with other things so I’m too tired to vacuum that often. I’m just disappointed I didn’t wipe them out with all our effort. I’m assuming we have them right outside the door and just no clue where they’re nesting there. I will get back into my routine with daily or every other day vacuuming. For now, I guess we’ll all have to enjoy the break we’re getting. Because of these pests, I think we’ll all find spring coming much faster for all of us. Curses, beautiful flowers and things of nature.
I’m glad that I found this website because I found this little bugs every where in the home that I want to purchase. I’m wonder if I get a better chance to get rid of these bugs before I move in. If I do, what method should I use? any advice? Please. Thanks in advance.
Karen:
Before you move in is probably the very best time to knock them back. The best method would probably be a thorough housecleaning, with particular attention to baseboards, carpets, and the floor underneath major appliances. And a look at the attic and basement would give a good idea of the level of carpet beetles you can expect living in the walls.
If you were considering replacing the carpets anyway, now would be a good time to do it. When we moved into our old house, the living room carpet was in kind of bad shape, and when we replaced it there was about half an inch of sand and dirt on the floor under it. Wall-to-wall carpets are filthy things.
I completely agree. If you can, replace the carpet. Maybe even consider hard floors. It won’t keep them away though, as I have only hard floors, but it’s something to consider and might eliminate alot of the problem…hard floors or carpet-hmmmm. And if you get hard floors I recommend a canister vaccuum thanks to Tim and others on this website. I swear this shop vac (although it’s not the most attractive piece of equipment) it has helped me so much. Tim if there is a carpet beetle problem in the attic, would it be fairly obvious? I have lived here for about three years and I have never been in the attic. I know I should investigate up there but I just don’t like attics they creep me out and would never ever store anything in an attic.
Also Karen, try to limit cardboard boxes in the house. Bugs of all kind love cardboard boxes.
Hi Tim,
Thanks again for your advice. I was afraid to give any offer when I see the condition of the whole house are covered with all these little bugs that I have no idea what’s it. My concern is after thorough cleaning and replace the carpet to hardwood floor,I will still have them around like others said. Do you think I need a exterminator to come out to do the job too? or even with that I will expect to see one or two around when the chemical substance have subsided? Are there any home sprays that I can use to save some money? I went back to see the townhouse for the second times, this times was less of them around but still about 60-70 of them. I was afraid to move the kitchen appliances or the attic to have a good look due to the filthy of the townhouse. Should I give up on this house? or I do have a better chance to clean this up before I make this my home?
Hello all,
Happy New Year!
I read the first email/post from Karen and thought…there is going to be oodles of posts.
I was wrong. Is no one going to say anything?
You are just gonna just let her buy a house with bugs in it?
Karen, have you read all the posts here?
No one is fibbing … or stretching the truth at all.
I have not seen any beetles in a few weeks at my place, but I know I can’t ever really get rid of them. EVER!
… well maybe if you knock the house down, and rebuild across the street, around the corner, and up the hill!
… and then I won’t promise they won’t have packed themselves in your very CLEAN underwear and moved right along with you
I would not have moved in here if I would have known there were bugs.
I’ve never had bugs before and it has been a nightmare.
I hired out to spray … twice, and sprayed in-between on my own.
This place is sooooo clean now, and I know they are hiding in the walls waiting for spring, or for me to leave a crumb on the floor that was not vacuumed up immediately,
… or I forgot to put the whole vacuum outside, after getting the crumb.
ALL food sources are locked up tight.
All my clothes are in Ziploc bags.
So are all my sheets, towels, tableclothes, etc.
My books and papers are in Rubbermaid sealed totes, all over the house.
All food, wet dry or otherwise is stored in hermetically sealed containers.
I had to throw out all my plants, because they were in there too.
I’ve throw out furniture as well, … just in case.
All soap and cleaning type things are in Ziploc too, as they are food sources for them.
Anything that has glue on it, is stored away.
I don’t even own a cardboard box anymore.
If I were you, I would turn around and run.
… it’s not worth it
I realize this all sounds pretty crazy, but oh well!
Barbara does have a point: if (a) this place really is that filthy, (b) you are seeing that kind of beetle numbers, and (c) you aren’t sure that you’ll be able to keep them knocked back to a level you are comfortable with, you might want to consider just walking away from this house. Or, if you do want to go ahead with it, go for a lower offer to account for the cleaning and carpet replacement costs, and be explicit about why you are offering less.
I think your ability to keep them knocked back will depend somewhat on the climate. In northern regions like Michigan, the beetles stay fairly well controlled with just standard cleaning, probably because the indoor humidity gets so low in the winter while the cold knocks back any reservoirs of beetles outside. At the other extreme, a hot, humid place like Florida might make keeping them under control very difficult.
Yes Barbara this is true…you’re right. I’m glad you spoke on this. Yeah the truth now that I think about it is since I have had to go through this in my house (and I don’t think I’ve even counted 70–I take that back the wicker basket I had was full of them), and I were to buy a house again and saw carpet beetles/larvae honestly there’s-no way would I even buy the house. It just wouldn’t be worth it to me. That’s just my opinion though.
Hi all,
Thanks so much for your input. Now that I had read all of your previous post, it convinced me to past this townhouse and look for next ones.
Evnthought I did offer 10% lower than the bank asking, I don’t think it worth the effort to go thought all these trouble and still have those bugs hiding some where waiting to remerge
Geez! Miss just 2 days and all things break loose. Just now getting here on this one, Barbara. But I’m with you. Don’t buy it!
Despite the fact it is so cold in this area, I still managed to see a stupid beetle 2 days ago and couple 2 weeks prior. ARGH! I am sick to death of this. My thought is this – relative to Tim’s post – if we/any of us have these things in walls and air ducts, we’re up the creek without a paddle. There’s no hope of elimination under such circumstances!
I have virtually NO furniture left, Karen, and, like Barbara, ALL my stuff is in plastic ziplocs of ALL sizes. I’m no longer LIVING in my house. I’m doing watch here. And it’s really no longer HOME, the reason I use the word HOUSE. I feel more like I’m in a prison with beetles as jailers. I hope not to take the little darlings with me if/when I sell this place. It’s crazy how they continue to show up despite the vigil I keep.
As for professionals, Karen – I paid over a $1000 to Orkin – no success! I think the use of Orhto’s Home Defense would have done just as well. I believe the real progress has been in what I’ve gotten rid of and how much I’ve vacuumed up. I’ve worked very hard. And continue to do so.
I posted on this subject way back in April, and have followed all the comments with interest and sympathy. To recap: I have had them in two different houses (years apart), and most recently found them in my daughter’s closet. We did the purge/wash/disinfect, but still see the odd one, and still mostly in her room. She recently found a mother lode of them in her forced-air vent, so maybe they are breeding in there. I’ll have the vents cleaned just in case. The upside? My daughter used to be a slob, and now she isn’t!
Mainly I decided that, although I hate them with a passion and have a habit of scanning any clothing before I put it on, I still won’t let them run my life! I just kill them if I see them. I don’t actively look for them in seldom used areas more than once every few months, I vacuum often but not too often, and spray the baseboards once in a while, mostly inside carpeted closets. I already store unused linens in bags, but I also have a lot of cardboard boxes. I’ve never seen one anywhere near the boxes. I rarely see the larvae in rooms that don’t have carpet (which is most of our main floor), and I have never seen them in the kitchen or pantry. I vacuum under our couch cushions regularly anyway, and have never seen them (but I have seen them under the couch cushions in our basement suite, where my mother lives).
We live in British Columbia so it doesn’t get too cold, although the weather probably prevents any new adults coming in. As long as they don’t bite, then I can live with the knowledge that they are probably always going to be present to some extent. That said, I would still not purchase a house if I knew it already had a carpet beetle problem.
Hmm thanks JB. I have a 14 year old son. He’s a wonderful kid-smart, popular, very athletic, outgoing, I could go on and on, BUT he is a SLOB too! I stay on top of him as much as I can and I realize that this is sort of “normal” for teenagers. I helped him with a book project using a cardboard shoebox from his closet. I dismantled the box and what do you know…a carpet beetle larvae in the folds! I have always noticed especially in my previous apartment living, silverfish and earwigs hanging out in cardboard boxes. But then again I live in Southeast Texas and GOODNESS KNOWS we have ALOT of bugs around here!! Maybe it’s just me-I just hate cardboard boxes!
I’m like you I’m not letting it control my life. I won’t activly look for them or I will go insane. I just vacuum more than usual and stay on top of things much better than before.
Is a forced air vent the ones in the floor?
Happy New Year to All!
Hi Katie: Yes, the forced-air vents are in the floor. They are covered by a metal “grate” and of course the ducts are connected all over the house. I think it probably gives the larvae a good way to travel if they are so inclined.
I have just never seen any in a cardboard box, but I guess it doesn’t mean they are not there! Mostly I have seen them on fleece clothing, inside my mother’s silver drawer (lots of them there, go figure), inside my mother’s couch, and inside my daughter’s room. The formerly slobby daughter is petrified of them, and will spend a lot of time scanning her carpet with a flashlight. I think I probably downplay them a little because I don’t want her to get TOO obsessed with them.
The only piece of furniture I have thrown out was her mattress, and that was mostly because it made her feel better: we didn’t actually find any on the bed. We actually completely emptied her room, sprayed and thoroughly vacuumed, washed every article of clothing, sprayed the dresser, and repainted her room. And they still appeared again a month or so later! So at some point you have to throw up your hands and just take out your frustrations on the ones that you DO see!
OK thanks for the reply JB. Awww your poor daughter! Well at least she learned early on how important it is to clean up! I think that’s really good downplaying the situation too.
Hello all,
I have become a bit laxed with the freezing temps and not seeing any larvae around. I did see 2 larvae weeks ago, alone, so I figured they were straglers. No adults at all. Yes, I always know they are still there. I have to admit also, that putting all my clothes, books and anything else in bags, containers is not going to happen. I can’t see living like that, just me. I’ve gotten to the point that these things don’t creep me out anymore, they will be here and I can only do what I am doing. I kill as I see them and will continue. I am thankful for the freezing weather as it is a nice respite.
Regarding Karen and the “house of bugs”. I personally would never buy any house that (sounds like) is infested with bugs or a house with mold. Those would be deal breakers for me.
I anticipate the spring onslaught and am grateful for websites like this as now I know what I am dealing with.
I wonder though… due to the freezing weather… I sometimes think when spring hits I will walk into my apt, and see a larvae the size of an ANACONDA!!!!!
OOOOMMMMGGGGGG I AM OFFICIALLY FREAKED OUT. I take back everything I said about remaining calm…at least for now anyway. I just found two larvae in a glass baking dish in my kitchen freakin cabinet. It really sucks to be so disgusted in your own home. 🙁
In a baking dish? Ugh, that’s horrible. Not the kind of protein you want in your meals…
If it makes you feel any better, I jinxed myself last week: I found one where I had never seen one before, in a non-carpeted area! (Either that, or they’re learning to read this forum and are conspiring against me.)
LOL protein…Yeah I’m not happy. That is the first time I have seen them in the kitchen. Under my kitchen sink I had a leak. Now the entire cabinet underneath needs to be replaced and we have no idea how to do this or how much it will cost for someone else to do it, so we have been procrastinating. They are probably attracted to the moist area I guess, plus we already live in a very humid environment. JB if it makes you feel any better I do not have ANY carpet in my home. I have ceramic tile and wood floors with a few rugs that I clean regularly.
We moved in about four years ago and we don’t even have alot of stuff because we started everything from scratch. I used to complain about not having enough kitchen stuff, but I’m sooooo fine with that now cuz now I have to attack the kitchen!
I sure do wish my cat liked to search out and eat these things…..that would be sooooo niiice.
Katie, any chance the baking dish was one just not used for some time, one that may have been missed in previous inspections/cleanings? I think we were all getting a false sense of security with this incredibly COLD weather. Seems with every slight warming we have (we’re in high 40s today), I see them again. Today I saw one – a beetle.
From everything I’ve read online they only slow in the winter, really active in summer. I’m dreading spring now and it used to be my fav time of year. But I’m with you ladies – we’ve learned alot. From here forward, all my furniture pieces will be as high off the ground as possible. Everything that is stored in closets will be cleaned and then put into ziploc bags. As for NOT having kitchen items – I agree with you, Katie. The less we have the better; less to look through and clean. We’re getting in a habit here, much to my husband’s disappointment, of pulling out appliances once a month. This means fridge, dishwasher, washer/dryer will be pulled out so I can vacuum underneath. And I’m trying to stick with vacuuming under bed and in every crack/corner every other week with the standard vacuuming once or twice a week.
At some point, we just have to be “o.k.” with these pests. I’m not giving up but I can’t vacuum every day like I was. And I need to start LIVING in my home again, instead of staring at chairs up on tables, and rubbermaid containers sitting everywhere.
Hang in there, Katie. Don’t panic! Just go through the kitchen a bit and look for other signs. Guess every month or so we should all be checking cupboards and drawers. ARGH!!!
P>S> Where does everbody live? Just curious about weather conditions everybody’s in. We’re in Northern VA – snow most winters -not mild but not harsh either. Summers are hot and sticky.
Hello everyone!
I live in Alberta, Canada. … it was -40 C/F outside this past November. Right now it is warm, the snow is melting (+4C/40F). Normally about -20C/-4F. But it is nice and warm inside were all these living ‘things’ live. I also have seen a few larvae this past week. 🙁
Since I needed to put something on my lino floor so that all the snow from boots would not leave dirty puddles to clean up, I brought in a cardboard box, and cut it up. I was not about to spend any money on any carpet like things! Well guess what? While I was vacuuming the other day, I found 3 larvae had made themselves a home. Yes, brava4 I think there is a shuttle bus, or taxi service going to beds etc.
I also can’t keep up with daily vacuuming either Robin. I also (in the spring) found larvae on my indoor cats.
I would like to move, but have not figured out how to do that without moving these things with me! Spraying poison does not seem to work at all as a permanent solution.
I was thinking of maybe having one of those heat treatments done, that are supposed to kill everything, pack everything up again, and store it all in some outside storage unit to freeze for a winter.
Does anyone know what eggs look like? Maybe very tiny whitish things?
Ziploc and Rubbermaid should be giving all of us a volume discount!
Barbara
I live in Northern Virginia too!! I have gotten to the point of knowing I have to live with these things. I lived on a higher floor and knew nothing of these bugs. I then move to a 1st floor apt and I am finding all kinds of bugs. Stink bugs, ant, and carpet beetles.
I just realized I had to let go of some of it. I can’t possible vacuum every day. Why would they be in your kitchen cabinet? Is it a warm place? I thought that the larvea were the culprits that really ate fabric. So, having them in your glass dish seems weird.
I found one on my bed and took it over to the windowsill. I put it on its’ back and you know that little ___t righted itself up straight and over it went on to it’s belly. It was kinda amazing to see.
I love spring but I really am not looking forward to it for just this reason.
Be strong!
Robin I had a few spots of burnt oil that I had missed. I’m thinking maybe that’s why they were there. I really don’t know. brava4 I don’t know why they were in the kitchen. Whoever posted the pic above (tim?) found that larvae in the cupboard so..I dont’ know. It does seem weird to have them in my glass dish. Especially since I have not seen them anywhere else in the kitchen.
We have had much colder than usual weather here, but otherwise our weather is quite mild (however for me 65 below and I’m c-c-c-oooolddd)! I live in Brazoria County Texas near the Gulf Coast about an hour away from Houston/Galveston.
The weather here is perfect for all kinds of bugs. I knew the cold weather wouldn’t “get rid” of them at least in my area…I just didn’t want to say anything LOL and be Debbie downer.
I meant to say 65 and below not 65 below…:p
If I’m not mistaken the habits of the larvae and beetles is to seek out dark places – to live in peace and munch away. They don’t know when they enter a dark cupboard with glass dishes they may not find food there. They are mighty but I don’t think they’re particularly bright. 😀
I just went to a desk drawer to get an emery board out of a partially opened container. I think I had taken one out ages ago. Anyhow, as I pulled the cardboard backing further away from its plastic front, I saw a larvae there. I have NO clue if it was dead or alive. I took that desk apart right there on the spot. This is evidence of how easy it is to overlook an item where they may be hiding in wait for their next meal. But they will eat just about anything. Crazy bugs! What’s to enjoy in an emery board meal? Curse these things – it takes just ONE opportunity of not being detected. ARGH! They’re like rabbits.
Brava4, in your case I’m thinking your hands are tied in an apt complex or condo building. NO matter what you do, the adjoining walls to others’ homes are going to give them a way to come/go.
Tomorrow is our day to do our in-depth search and destroy mission. Hang in there, everybody!
I have been seeing comments after comments and just wanted to let you guys know that I had a problem with carpet beetles myself. My sister works for Univar USA, she sells pesticide for them. I called her and she gave me some sprays and then sent me to a guy that she has worked with that lives in my town and he gave me some dust to put down. I used these products and have not seen one since, well I take that back, I saw one and it was dead. One thing you should do is make sure you do not have any bird nests or bees nests in or around your home as this is a natural habitat for carpet beetles. We had a birds nest on a water spout outside our bedroom window and had an ac unit in the window. We knocked the birds nest down, took the ac unit out of the window and my fiance went outside to grab the birds nest and looked at it under a light and saw about 3-4 carpet beetle larvae in the nest. He threw the nest as far as he could into the woods. Check your basements and check your attics for nests too. We washed all of our clothes and let me tell you I have enough clothes to open my own clothing store, lol. We vaccumed, put down the sprays in baseboards and along the windows. They were only in our bedroom. My closet is closest to the window and I had quite a few on my clothes hanging up in my closet. My fiance could not find a single one on his clothes in his closet. The guy that my sister sent me to was 99.9% sure that the birds nest is where they were coming from. I have been so blessed and relieved that I haven’t seen anymore. The guy my sister sent me to also gave me some glue boards to put down in my closet and other places, so that if I saw them on the glue boards the problem was still there. I put a glue board down in my closet about an inch away from the baseboard and left it there about a day or so and there was nothing on it, I moved the glue board to another side of the closet, left it there for a day or so, and still no signs of them. I put the same glue board under the window where we suspect they got in, left it there a day or so and the only thing that happened across the glue board was a tiny little spider, no larvae or beetles. I had not actually seen any beetles just the larvae, and now nothing, and its been about mmm, 3-4 weeks maybe longer. We sprayed the whole upstairs just to be safe and thankfully have not seen anything since. The sprays that I used are as follows: Intruder HPX, Microcare (Prescription Treatment), Borid Turbo (Insecticide with Boric Acid), and Boractin (Insecticide Powder). You can only get these from a professional, you can buy it from a pest control company. They aren’t very much, but I am sure we would all pay considerable amounts to get rid of these things right? Also use glue boards to test and see if it is working. I strongly urge you use these products, as I have seen dramatic results from them and I am so thankful and blessed. I also prayed about them, I asked God to help me get rid these things, and with the products and the power of prayer you to should see great results from them. I hope this helps you all, and I will pray that your pest problem will go away as well. Please try this and let me know how things are turning out. You can email me at dream4u101@aol.com if you have any other questions, I can always call my sister and its free to talk to her. Have a wonderful day and God Bless you all.
Shay, thanks for the info but we’ve all “been there, done that”. The glue boards you mentioned revealed no beetlers in my home either (only a gnat) and yet we would see them elsewhere in the house. The baits are not helpful so don’t let this be your measuring stick for success. As for nests, we’re familiar with that as well and I’m fairly confident that’s how my problem startedd. Undetected for some time, though, they had a chance to run loose in my home. NO nests now – at least not close to the home – but I have 4 acrs of property, nests are bound to be somewhere out there. These beetles exist outdoors so there will always be the potential of having them enter our homes. Sadly, because of their habits, they are extremely difficult to get rid of once in and an infestation has occurred. WE’ve all used and continue to use pesticides (scary stuff). I actaully paid ORKIN to treat for these. I consider it to have been a waste of my money. That they came twice and I still see the beetles is an indication that pesticides must be used with great care and only with small level of hope for complete elimination.
thanks for sharing your experience, though. Come back to visit if you find them again. HOpefully, you won’t have the problem we’ve all experienced.
Hey Robin, Your welcome for the advice, I hope I am rid of them pests. We may have seen the problem early and have been able to eliminate them becoming an infestation, I hope. One mistake you did make is going to Orkin for help, you should definitely try Univar USA. I am partial to them yes, because my sister works for them and has for many many years, but the difference between the two, is they really want you to be happy and pest free, they don’t try to sell you other products, and they really do care about their customers. Wow, 4 acres, that is a lot of land, but as long as the nests are no where in or around your home, that can give you a little piece of mind. Have you actually tried these products I suggested? If not, please do, you may be surprised. Well good luck to you and everyone else on getting completely rid of these beetles, (if its possible). Hope all has a wonderful day and God Bless.
Good luck with selling your sister’s product, Shay!
Hello everyone,
I had to check my kitchen out, after I read the posts here and didn’t find anything new there. But it got a good scrub down anyway.
Curiosity got the better of me and I looked at what Shay was selling.
Intruder HPX Contains: 0.10% Cyfluthrin, 0.05% Pyrethrins
Microcare contains: Pyrethrins 0.3%, Piperonyl Butoxide 2.2%, N-Octyl Bicycloheptene Dicarboximide 0.336%
Borid Turbo contains: ORTHOBORIC ACID (BORIC ACID) 20.000%, SILICON DIOXIDE 5%, ETHANE, 1,1-DIFLUORO- 35-45%, C8-C9 ISOPARAFFINIC HYDROCARBONS 35-45%
BorActin Insecticide Powder contains: Orthoboric Acid…99%
… so nothing new there unfortunately!
Shay, whoever sprayed your place should have set up at least one glue-board in every room. They are cheap, cost less than a dollar. Having said that:
Glue boards, I have found really don’t work. I had found adults in various traps (in the summer), and went back the next day and the trap was empty! I thought I had stayed in the spray too long :-), but it happened again, sooo I put the next trap I found with an adult in it, in a plastic bag. When I went back, the thing had managed to crawl out of the glue board, but was still in the bag.
re: emery boards Robin was it a new one?
if it had been used it would be the dead nails tissue it likes
If not maybe Tim knows more on that!