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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When I accidentally found that carpet beetle larvae in my son’s shoe box (I would have never seen it if I hadn’t taken it apart), I did some googling and read that carpet beetles will bore through cardboard. Just my opinion but I think they are attracted to it. Maybe that would explain the emery board. I also found a website where someone was selling the carpet beetles, and they mentioned that the carpet beetles bore into the cardboard and they use it for bedding as well as styrofoam and pet bedding. They use the bedding so they have a place to hide and pupate.
Well, while I was happily watching Desperate Housewives Sunday evening, I saw this dot climbing up the living room wall. It had quite a good clip to it. I hopped up, well, sorta, and there it was… my first adult Carpet Beetle for the 2010 Spring season. It was a tiny one, newly born no doubt. Oh well, I thought I had a while longer before they appeared. I guess not.
Katie,
I think you are so right. They will go anywhere.
@brava4, you live in NO VA, right? Like me? I’ve noticed a couple this week. I think it’s the fact the temps have warmed up a bit. I swear they are just flying into the house when we open the door. Clearly, there is a nest or something we can’t detect. What a pain! As for Shay, just someone peddling stuff, I’m sure! I should not have engaged her in conversation.
@Katie – yep this was a new pack of emery boards – just one missing. I don’t put the used ones back in there. It’s amazing the tiny places we can find them, never dreaming to look in such places. This is why we can’t get rid of them – I’m sure of it. LIke books – unless you turn each page, will you really find ALL possible larvae? doubtful. It’s an insidious problem!
Robin…Brava4….Yep and LOL to both of you. I was outside today playing with my son in the lovely 70 degree weather. I saw bugs flying quite a bit today but too fast for me. I was trying so hard to see if they were carpet beetles…ugh! I’m starting to feel not so crzy anymore though and just continue the fight without losing my mind over it. I still believe that many people have these things and don’t know it.
Ok everyone, lets get something straight, especially you Robin. I am not selling ANYTHING. My sister works for a pest control company, NOT ME!!! and I just thought I would be nice and try to tell everyone what I was given to use to get rid of the CARPET BEETLES THAT I HAD. Yes, I had carpet beetles myself, I am not in sales, I am just like the rest of you that had a problem with carpet beetles. Robin, I was only trying to be nice and help you and everyone on here by telling my horror story of the carpet beetles and what I did, because it WORKED!!! I AM NOT PEDDLING ANYTHING! If you don’t want to engage in conversation with me that is fine, but just remember I was only trying to HELP you. What made you think I was trying to sell you something? Is it because I asked you if you had tried the same products I had? I told you, you made a mistake by going through Orkin, because I called them about the things and all he wanted to do was try to come out and spray and make a few dollars. The products that were given to me by my sister and a client she works with (Who by the way has been doing this for well over 30 years) really worked. I have not seen a single larvae or anything for well over a month or so. No one came out and sprayed for me, I did it myself, just me and my fiance. Even though Robin, you have put me down on this website, I still hope that you and everyone else can get rid of those nasty pests, and I hope now that you realize that I am not a sales person, and I am not “PEDDLING STUFF”, as you call it. I am just another person out here that had a problem and thought I could help. Everyone else could tell you what they used and you wouldn’t think that they were trying to sell you anything, so why me? I have to say I am a little hurt that you regret having a conversation with me because I just thought we could help each other out. Well good luck to you ROBIN, and everyone here, I still hope you get rid of the beetles. I will still get on the website to see how everyone is doing with these things. Have a great day and God Bless you Robin.
Just dawned on me – how dare that beetle ruin a perfectly good Desperate Housewife episode!
Katie, my husband is like you – if he sees anything dart past his eyes, he immediately wonders what it is. Make sure the OCD we all have with this does not ruin your time with your son. Let’s try to limit the worry of these to indoors ONLY!
Hi to all my CBSG (carpet beetle support group),
I have not posted in a while as I delivered a baby girl back at the beginning of November. (We now have completed our family and we stop at 4 girls!! LOL)I was freakin’ out for a couple of months before I gave birth because I was vacuuming everyday for hours due to a major infestation in our house. It was in every room of our house. Oh that reminds me of something so funny… my newborn loves the sound of the vacuum and it actually sooths her and she can sleep right through it!… Go figure. She heard it CONSTANTLY while she was in my tummy!!!!
Anyway, I have not had a chance to vacuum like I was everyday as I have been dealing with a colicky baby and 3 other young children. I have seen a couple of them here and there… One in the bathroom on the window pane, and one near the baseboards. I was so paranoid before that I would have my husband lift our bed every night to see if there were any under there. But I have not had him do that in months. I know it doesn’t seem possible, but eventually you will get used to these pests being in the same house as you… I never thought I would say that because I am so not an insect person. I mean I screem at the sight of a spider. I guess the thing that I remember is that they wont hurt us. I am going to start back on the major vacuuming everyday again as I know spring is coming soon and I don’t want to have to rewash 40 loads of laundry. So I need to keep them at bay. If you go back to around October of last year on this message board, you can see that I had so many problems with this situation. It has been a huge nightmare in my life… but nothing compared to the post partum depression I just go out of…. OH MAN… I am so glad I detected these bugs BEFORE I gave birth. SO right there that was a blessing!
Oh and I never used insecticide and I believe I have a handle on things here. Just wanted you to know that I believe it is possible to keep them under control by major efforts to clean and to vacuum like crazy. I will never eliminate them completely. I believe that.
Melissa, congrats on your new baby girl. 4? Wow! You’re a brave soul. I only had 2 girls and that was plenty. I’m very sorry to hear about the depression afterwards. But sounds like you have things under control with that. I’ll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
Funny, but it looks like we’ve all seen signs of these things lately. We’ve shared we’re in NoVa, Texas and Canada. How about you? I think the temps impact them and that it doesn’t take much warming to “awaken” these things. So wonderful your precious girl is not bothered by the vacuum. Good you got her used to the idea of it. 😉
I think we’ll all probably continue to deal with these but I’m really going to hope God holds these pests at bay for you. With 4 little ones, you have your hands full. Thanks for sharing your good news. Well wishes.
Just to let everyone know, I am not selling any products. I am not in sales, my SISTER is for a company called Univar USA. My sister gave me some products that I listed in an earlier comment that seemed to have worked, and I just thought I could help out by telling you what products I used because they worked. I haven’t seen anything in weeks. I hope everyone gets these things under control, because when I noticed we had them I was terrified even though they don’t hurt you, I am terrified of bugs. I hope now everyone understands that I was not selling anything just trying to help. Congratulations on the new baby Melissa that is so great. Barbara, yeah the glue boards weren’t of any help, but the sprays did work. I live in a town home so not much to really have to spray. They were only in our bedroom, so I think we may have caught the problem before it became a complete infestation. Hope you have a wonderful day and God Bless.
Robin,I am living near Portland Oregon. I do love the green trees but I guess it brings its share of bugs. But I must say, nothing compares to bugs from the south as I used to live in Houston TX. Man oh man!
But in all honesty, even though these bugs do not bite, they are the worst bugs to get rid of. I am a clean freak, but as I started to have more and more kids, I found myself having less time to do the deep cleaning… you know… the move the fridge, washer and dryer, and get in all the nooks and crannies. But I found my house the cleanest it has ever been right before I delivered my final baby. When I found out I had these bugs in my house, I did not sleep for days… and I went on a rampage tearing everything out of every closet, dresser, bookshelf, and drawer in the house…. from the bathroom to the kitchen. My kids had never watched so much TV in their lives!! They went through withdrawls when I made them cold turkey!! LOL I found larvae in every room. I probably went over board, but I vacuumed every corner of my 1600 square foot home every day for over a month. I had every piece of furniture moved in my house every single day. My poor husband was so at his witts ends with me! There I was 8 months pregnant and carrying that vacuum up and down the stairs every day. And I vacuumed the stairs too! That was such a pain, but I kept fininding them in the hall way and the stairs. If I could afford it, I would rip out every inch of carpeting in my house and have wood floors put in. But that ain’t going to happen anytime soon. I told my husband now that my almost 3 month old is starting to settle in to a routine that I would have to start up with the vacuuming before I found any live beetles in my house…. you should have seen the look he gave me… like oh no… not again! LOL
Shay,
You are so blessed to have only had them in your bedroom. I am happy for you that the spray seemed to have worked for you. I have seen too many times that people who have had major infestations spray so many times and still can’t get rid of them. I myself am afraid of chemical sprays of any kind. I had an exterminator come to my house and try to sell me sprays but I was 8 months pregnant and had very little children (18 months, 3 yrs and 5 yrs) so I said no. The best thing he did for me was verify what I already suspected… we had a birds nest in our attic….and our house was built in 2005. That is because the company that did the siding didnt’ do it right and there was a pretty big gap that allowed the birds to get in there this past spring. We did get rid of the nest ourselves and they are going to be fixing the siding tomorrow. I too prayed about the bugs… and I feel like God heard my prayers and allowed the situation to get under control. Blessings to you and I pray those nasty bugs don’t come back in your home!
Melissa,
I hear you about the deep cleaning. But truth be told, you and I (and probably others here) are among the few who have ever done that type of cleaning. I’m a clean-freak (a true VIRGO – OCD). Our situation was simiilar to yours – big house – just two of us – spare rooms, never touched because the doors were closed, only opened when guests visited. BUT we actually never saw real signs in these spare rooms. Good thing – one is our little grandson’s when he visits and another is where our deceased daughters things are stored. Now THAT’s a blessing! BUT – I made sure to go through those rooms, much like the others, in the same crazy way you did. We threw out anything we could part with . The rooms with the signs were the rooms we live in. We do have a cat and now that I vacuum every couple of days again, I’m shociked to see in my bagless vacuum cleaner how much cat hair and carpet fiber comes up. It’s disgusting. The other rooms, with the doors closed, never have that hair because he doesn’t go in them. When he passes, NO more pets.
I’d like to also replace our carpeting but can’t afford to do so. But now that I’ve minimized these pests and rarely see the larvae, I find the beetles most often in the crack of the hardwood floors in our open foyer. Now that you and I are being more careful, I think they have fewer places to call home. WE still continue to find ways to better store things in our closets to prevent another infestation.
Melissa, hoping His peace will keep you and the little ones.
Thanks for the reminder Robin and don’t worry there is no way I’m letting these things cut into my quality time with my boys. They come first! I think I’ve always paid attention to bugs because we have so many!! Just like you said Melissa…I live southeast of Houston in “swampland” and we’ve got lots of them. I don’t know if it’s still the same, but last I read our county has the highest number of species of birds in the nation. My heart goes out to you and your family and colicky baby. My second one was colicky and it was one of the hardest things to go through. It’s already 78 degrees here. It’s really nice. I was looking out the window today and there was a lady bug sitting on my blinds….that can only mean one thing…..carpet beetles ahead! I’m doing the best I can as far as vacuuming and everything else. Like you said Melissa it’s hard to be perfect when you’ve got kiddos so we just have to do our best! 🙂
Robin,
How long ago did you start to notice you had a carpet beetle problem and how did you find out it was carpet beetles? It took me days before I concluded that was what I had. I am just so thankful that it is not bed bugs or something like that… Now that to me is totally gross! And I know what you mean about how much the vacuum picks up and how dirty a house can get just in a few days. When I was vacuuming everyday, I still saw a lot of dust and dirt in my canister vacuum. I am so glad I didn’t have a bag vacuum… I was emptying my vacuuming everyday as I heard you have to empty it right after vacuuming to get the bugs in the trash where they belong instead of back in your house.. and I was doubly safe and stored my vacuum in the garage. And I too am always finding better ways to store things too. I have spent so much money on plastic stotage bins.
Katie,
Yeah I know what you mean about the colicky baby… daughter number 2 was colicky too and I kept thinking to myself…. no way that I can have another colicky baby… yeah right. I spoke too soon. But she is getting better so I see and end in sight. Now if I can just get her to sleep through the night. But in all honesty, having a baby has forced me to think about other things instead of constantly thinking about those nasty carpet beetles. But I know I can’t ever forget them… Here it has been a very mild winter in Oregon… High temps have been in the 50’s which is very warm for Oregon standards… not sure if that is warm enough to make those larva move on to adult hood. But I have not seen any live beetles for months. I am just hopping to maintain until spring time hits. I havent seen any larve either… oops I shouldnt say that… you know…. I am going to find some tomorrow now! UGH
Melissa,
We went MONTHS before I identified my beetles. The online pictures (magnified to show details) just didn’t look to me like what we had, maybe because we came across more larvae pictures than that of adult beetles. WE have lady bugs in our area (big invasion but completely harmless) so my husband thought maybe these were younger versions of them because of the spotted look. Only after I started seeing them EVERYwhere did I realize I had a problem, locked them up in a ziplog bag and took them to my local extension agency to get a professional, unbiased identification. By then, it was way too late because of their habits. Our delay caused the infestation. WE’ve paid a very high price for that. VERY hard lesson learned. No telling how many are under the carpet yet, just waiting to hatch out and start the cycle all over again. I pray we can sell and move some day without taking them with us. I really should call the agency again and see what else they can offer in the way of advice. Like anything else – no magical pill.
Robin,
I too had “lady bugs” in my house. I kept seeing them and the girls thought they were so cute! We would play with them and then let them loose outside! I can’t believe it. When I found out they were carpet beetles, I was shoked! I am no lady bug expert and had no idea what size a lady bug is, so naturally I thought that is what they were. They looked just like a lady bug! Now I tell the girls if they see a “lady bug” then they are to let me know. I will squash it sooooo hard! It is pretty ironic and funny… but around halloween time (which happens to be the time that I was going crazy here trying to get rid of them) I saw a little lady bug costume… I was like “now wouldn’t that be appropriate for my little one to wear to our church’s harvest fest”. LOL
Anyway I did think to myself when I kept seeing lady bugs that it was pretty weird… but it was spring time and I just kept thinking they were getting in from outside. I had no idea they were originating from inside my home!!!! So I did nothing about it…. I didn’t realize I had an infestation until fall time when I kept seeing those larve around. By then I had a massive infestation throughout the whole house. I am not looking forward to spring. I like to leave my windows open, but I know my screens don’t fit tight as I have seen bugs hanging out between the glass and the screen just waiting to get in. I think I might have to duct tape them around the edges…. any suggestions on that topic would be appreciated… other wise I will be living here with the windows closed tight….
I too would love to sell, but we are upside right now as we only bought a couple years ago.
Hey Tim,
I have a question. I bought a shark steamer to clean my house with and I thought it would maybe work if I used it along the baseboards of my house… you know steam those nasty bugs to death. What do you think?
It probably depends on just how hot the steam is, and how long they are exposed. According to Wikipedia, there are some claims that a proper steam cleaner can kill dust mites, so they could probably do the same to carpet beetle larvae. However, this would probably only work reliably if they came in direct contact with the steam, and even a shallow crack would give them a lot of protection from the steam. You would probably have to go very slowly to make sure that the hot steam penetrated fully into the cracks, so I would expect it to take a long time.
Hello everybody,
Wow, lots of posts over the last few days!
I’ve been looking at using heat to get rid of these bugs for a while. Here is a really good temperature chart, on how high the temp needs to be to kill: http://www.thermapureheat.com/pdf/heat_chart.pdf
From this web site: http://www.thermapureheat.com
Article on beetles: http://www.thermapureheat.com/wood-boring-beetles.php
I found this company when I was doing research, they are a US company with lots of businesses using their technology. They even have some in Canada 🙂
One of the things holding me back is the expense. I’m not in a single family dwelling, so it would be silly to get my place done, and the neighbours still have them.
But once I find a place to move to, I think I’ll do this and then run like he+double hockey sticks!
… and just so there is no confusion I’m not associated / affiliated with any business to do with extermination etc.
Melissa and Robin, you say your carpet beetles look like ‘lady bugs’? I’m going to have another look at what the ones that live here look like. The health inspector and the exterminator told me that is what they were, but then I never took my glasses out to really look at them. Without glasses they were black last year. Last I read, those would be Larder Beetles, still part of the dermestid beetle family … and probably not treated any different than carpet beetles. But I’m not an expert on any of this.
… they have a post page here too I see, but not anywhere as good as this one!
From what I heard, carpet beetles and such like to get out in the spring, I don’t know b/c of where you live (Texas) if ducting the windows is such a good idea … it would be a way out. But from what I remember about living in Arizona, there is other stuff that could come in too.
Robin, I’m a Virgo too … I thought the OCD stuff was just me, thanks for sharing! I’m going to get out my shop vac and do all 3 floors again with that, they are due and by what I’m reading it’s going to be an early spring with some problems.
Tim or anyone, I’d like to know what the eggs look like?
please!
Thanks,
Barbara
PS colicky babies … slippery elm bark as a fine powder works very well, found at your local health food store or herbal shop
I think everyone undertands but just to clear up any confusion for newcomers. Ladybugs and carpet beetles are indeed two VERY different things. Ladybugs are those cute little things we see every time the weather changes and are the cutesie things we see in kitchen decor and in Halloween costumes. They are very large and are orange-red vs the black with lighter spots of a varied carpet beetle, which is microscopic in comparison. Our first thought, early on, was that perhaps what we were seeing baby ladybugs, only because of the shape. We were really just thinking out loud. AGAIN – these are two very different things.
Ladybugs cause NO harm whatsoever in a home. No need to fear them at all for any reason. And no reason to worry about how to get rid of them. They will die shortly after entering your home all on their own. You’ll see them here and there, often belly-up. 😀 The only possible connection between the two is that carpet beetles will eat any protein based item – hence the reason they gravitate to certain things. Clear up your dead ladybugs so as not to offer a HUGE meal for your greedy carpet beetles. 😉
Hello Everyone!
So yes Robin, lady bugs are different than carpet beetles but can be so similar that a trained eye can only differentiate them. The ones I had in my house looked just like them… I mean in color and apperance. There are way too many varieties of carpet beetles. So one person might have the black carpet beetle variety and one might have to varied carpet beetle. Mine were of 2 kinds… I know… I wasnt even lucky to have just one type! I had some that were yellow color with black spots and I had some that were red with black spots. I found that out when I was doing my major cleaning a few months back. I have not seen a live beetle for a while… and I think it is still too cold here in Oregon for us to see any right now.
Barbara…. thanks for the info on the colic baby. I wish I had met you a couple months ago when I was tearing my hair out of my head!! LOL She is almost 3 months and has greatly improved in the crying area. It is funny though… she will start crying around 9:00 PM and cries straight bloody murder until 10 PM when she goes to bed. I am hoping in a couple weeks that will go away too. Also I have not been able to find pictures of the eggs either. I searched for days on the web for some and I was unsucessful.
I love lady bugs…I always gently pick them up and put them back outside.
Melissa,
Thank you for replying to me months ago. I am sorry that I did not respond, but I did not check this website again until recently. I appreciate your comments and suggestions. Also, congratulations on your new baby! (I read the postings from the past few months).
Since I posted my problem, I actually hired a new exterminator. I did this at the end of October. My husband was not happy to spend $1300, plus the $700 we already spent on the previous exterminator. Also, I have thrown out clothes, toys and rugs in my home. In addition, like many of you, I have done countless loads of laundry. All in all, I figure that I am out several thousand dollars from carpet beetles.
The new exterminators took a different approach. Of course, I had to wash everything in every dresser and closet. I had to repeat what I had done starting in April (with the previous exterminator) and pack up the whole house again to prepare for the spraying. The exterminators gave me a prep sheet about what to do. It is actually the same preparation that people do for bed bugs (washing everything in every closet and dresser and placing all throw pillows in a dryer for 25 minutes. This includes bagging all clothes after they are washed.) The new company explained that the beetles had gotten into my wall voids and that is why they went through my entire home (basement all the way up into my actic). They had to drill small holes in my home to put in chemicals in order to get to the carpet beetles in my walls. They also took off the outlet covers and placed dust in them. Chemicals were also dusted in open cracks everywhere in the house. They used a “cocktail” of chemicals including one that makes the beetles sterile so they can not reproduce. The company explained that bombing a home for these bugs is not effective. The previous company I had used bombed my house twice. This current service includes a 90 day warranty. The company has been very nice and knowledgeable. They were the only exterminators that would help me after I called several about my problem and explained that I had used a previous exterminator. No company wanted to touch my case after I told them I bombed twice and then sprayed my home 7 times. The new company said that many exterminators don’t like to take carpet beetles cases because they are very hard to get rid of. The new exterminators seem to have more experience with carpet beetles. They removed panels from my drop ceiling in my basement and saw a trail through dust. This means that the beetles were eating dust in the ceiling as well as in my walls. The previous company had only dealt with several carpet beetle cases in the past 10 years. I realize now that they did not know enough about carpet beetles even though the owner had 50 years experience. He kept telling me how rare it was to have them and that my infestation was the worse that he had seen in his career. The new company said that my case is not unusual and they have seen beetles throughout homes like mine. So far the new exterminators have come 4 times (the 5th will be on Monday). I call whenever I see one alive and the come back and spray (the dusting was only involved in the first treatment). Now my 90 days will end soon with the copmpany and I am not convinced that they are completely gone from the house. Although I have seen a big decreasse and I feel this new company has a handle on the problem and seems to know what they are doing. So I signed up for a one year treatment program. For $95 every three months, the company will come back to spray my home (including closets so I will have to empty the closets every three months). They will also return anytime to spray when I see the bugs. The exterminators will set up a monitoring system in the home to track where the bugs are mostly being seen.
The exterminator told me several things. Since it is cold now and heat is on and the walls can be cold and hot, carpet beetles move around alot in walls during this time of year. He said they sometimnes can be in insulation in homes especially, old ones where horse hair used to be used to make insulation. (This is not my case, although I have an 80 year old home, I had my house gutted several years ago and redid the entire home with new insulation). He also said to cover up as many openings around my home as possible in order to prevent them from coming in. He said that it is possible to completely get rid of carpet beetles, but it takes time(around 6-8 months with an exterminator) because you have to break down the reproductive cycle. My situation has been going on for longer because I originally used a company with little experience with these bugs. The new company explained that you have to find the food source, so once you locate it, the problem should be better. In my case, I threw out everything they were found on and/or had them dry cleaned and washed at home. It was frustrating because I kept seeing them and I couldn’t figure out what the food source was after I removed everything I found them eating. Now I know that they are eating dust and dirt in my walls, so they still have a food source. I signed on for the yearly service because they said that with carpet beetles you really have to do this in order to keep on top of them and eventually get rid of them.
Thank you for reading this long posting. I just wanted to share with everyone some things that have helped me. I feel confident that I may get rid of these bugs eventually, but it will take some time. It is nice to know that I am not the only person with this problem. I don’t know anyone who has this problem and none of my family or friends have ever heard of carpet beetles. I didn’t until I was told by an exterimator last year that I had them. I wish everyone luck on their quest to rid their homes of carpet beetles.
Hello everyone,
Ladybugs are cute indeed, I would not want to confuse anyone!
… and are often used for pest control in the garden
You are right Robin, I’ve never heard of ladybugs being a problem for anyone, never mind being a “somethings” crawling in my hair! Here is a pic: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/ladybug.html
Read some of the posts, and looked. Larder beetles don’t look cute at all, here is a pic: http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/natural/insects/bugsfaq/larder.htm
Went to look for pics of Varied Carpet beetle too: http://www.abellpestcontrol.com/pests/carpet-beetle
I guess there are loads of bugs around!
Just learned how to make a winky face too 😉 … thanks Robin!
Melissa, around 8:55 pm hold both of her hands in yours, with one of your thumbs in the palm of her hands, at the same time, it’s just a very soft holding and a gentle rub if she likes … it is very soothing … You probably do it already!
Eileen,
Thank you for all of that info.
Good to hear, and hope it works!
Where abouts do you live?
Thank you, Barbara, for the post of those pics to help folks actually SEE the difference. “A picture speaks a thousand words.” Lady bugs are plenty big enough and much different than these tiny pests we’re dealing with to ever be confused with one another. And, thanks alot for adding the larder beetle to the mix. 😉
Eileen, I’m worrying about the amount of pesticides going into your home. Are you sure you want to go that route? I would encourage you to check with your local cooperative extension agency. They are an UNbiased source of entomologists – experts on bugs.
Most of us here have gone through this extensive cleaning and discarding you spoke of. While I feel confident I can say I no longer have an infestation in my living space, I can’t be positive there is not a huge family reunion going on in my walls. And, as explained by the extension agency, since the beetles come in from outdoors, we’re as likely to have them come back in much like we might find the unwelcomed gnat, mosquito, ant, etc. That’s where the vacuuming comes in to play.
Here’s a blurb I found on the site of an extension agency:
“Carpet beetle larvae resemble small hairy caterpillars but the adult stage is a beetle. These insects are scavengers that feed on a range of materials, particularly natural fibers – cotton, wool, processed grains, and animal matter, such as leather, feathers, and hair. Sanitation is the main way to deal with them but it is difficult to remove all items on which they can feed. Small amounts of crumbs in carpet and dead insects in wall voids are examples of out-of the way development sites. Thorough vacuuming and cleaning is the best way to deal with them.”
It is our frustration after great effort that has been in vain, that brings a few of us here time after time to our little support group, as I’ve named it, to encourage one another. That, and the hope one of us will come up with something new. So far, that’s not happened. We just keep spinning our wheels. 🙁 At the end of the day, there is not enough CALGON to “take us away” from this.
As for colicky babies – luckily little ones do grow up. Hang in there, Melissa. Our firstborn had it and it went away after about 3 months of it. Not much longer now. Hope you can get some rest.
Robin and Barbara,
Thank you for your responses. Barbara, I live on Long Island in New York.
Robin, I have been very concerned about the amount of chemicals in my home. I have 3 small children (18 months, 3 and 6). We leave the house each time for a few hours when the exterminator comes and we wait until the chemicals dry. I am torn about using the chemicals, but I feel that I have to do this to get rid of the carpet beetles. I only have one room in my home with carpeting (the basement). Even with vacumming, they managed to get throughout my entire house.
Unfortunately, I have sprayed so much because the first exterminators just kept spraying. They did not know how to solve my problem. The spraying lowered the number of bugs, but they were not completely gone. By inserting dust throughout my walls and outlets, I am hoping to get to where they are living (my walls). Also the chemical, Gentrol, which makes the beetles sterile, will help to prevent them from reproducing. The previous exterminator did not use this chemical.
I think when you have a severe investation like I did, it is hard to get rid of these bugs by yourself. I think it is very important to find an exterminator who really knows how to get a handle on carpet beetles. The owner of the current company I am using is an entomologist. He and his staff are very knowledgable about carpet beetles. I learned from my experience that not all exterminators really know what they are doing when it comes to these bugs. Although I don’t want to spend the money and expose my family to chemicals, I feel that I don’t have any other choice.
Thank you for your input and support.
I hear ya, Eileen. When we had our house sprayed/treated (twice) for this, we stayed in a hotel boht times. It’s just the two of us but we did worryabout our cat. It is scary! And very hard to know what to do. Thinking about you and your little ones.
Good luck! And hang in there. Worst case, we all MINIMIZE our numbers with our efforts. Most of us have seen that. It’s better than what we started with. They may be behind the walls laughing at us, doing a little jig all the while. But I do a dance myself when I catch one and flush it down the toilet. 😉
Robin,
I laughed when I read your posting about flushing the bugs down the toilet. I do the same thing when I find one! The exterminator came today and set up a monitoring system throughout the house. He will come back in a few weeks to see if there are bugs on them. Hopefully, they will be empty!
discover blog search for info crawling & flying carpet beetles + larvae pupae eggs huge infestion last year treat 6x numbers reduced but still problem beside larvae we have black things that are not crawling there is so much that i think its pupae look for picture not find any body here now? we clean almost every day we have white stuff that maybe eggs stuck to ice cream bucket and under closet shelves any one here have? would apreciate help thank you
i have been dealing with carpet beetls 4 2 years! theyre eating all my cotton shirts i have speant thousands of dollars i also had my house treated with heat 4 3 thousand dollars and it didnt work! in the two years ive seen only 3 adult beatles cast skins behind my dresser which were positvely identified by an entamologist and cast skins in my furnice filter which also have been positively id in these 2 years i have not seen a larvae yet all my shirts are being ruined i did have a mouse infestation which i believe is wthey originatd the are now gone and openings where they were getting in have been sealed with concrete i too need a carpet beetle support group! help!
Eileen,
I know how you feel about not wanting to use chemicals in your home due to your children. I too have very small children and am afraid to use them. But everyone has different situations… and different degrees of severity of these bugs. It is hard to get rid of them completely by just cleaning if you can’t get to the source. My source was a birds nest in our attic that got there because the builders who built our house did not do the siding properly and left a gap in the attic. We finally go rid of our birds nest, which was a very long story on what happened with that. And I think I managed to bring the levels down to minor in my house after having a major infestation through out my house. I mean I probably squashed or sucked up hundreds of those larvae. It took me over a month of vacuuming everyday every corner of my house before I started to see results. I have not seen a live larvae for months. But I know they are probably still here. The reason why I did not spray is because I could not afford to and because I read so much that even though people had their houses sprayed the problem did not go away. But it sounds to me that you have an exterminator that knows what they are doing. I hope this works for you. Please let us know how it goes and if it ends up working for you. We all could use new info on how to get rid of these bugs.
Robin,
You are so funny about the flushing them down the toilet… for me I had to squish them hard…. to make sure they were actually dead. I could just imagine the ones in my house haging on the bottom of the toilet and refusing to get flushed…. I think I have super bugs in my house.
Here is something you will all get a kick out of. I was dealing with the carpet beetles right before I delivered my baby. And do you know that when I was in the hospital get ready to have my baby I was scouring the room for bugs and I made my husband investigate a black spot on the wall to see if it was a carpet beetle. And on my way to the hospital I kept telling my husband that while I was in the hospital he had to keep up the cleaning and vacuuming… he just looked at me like RIGHT!!!!!
Melissa, you wouldn’t by any chance be a Virgo, would you? I am. YOur suggestion to have your husband keep up your effort while going into labor is something I’d do. Very funny! Poor guy! He’s on his way to have the next baby, probably worrying about any number of things with baby #4 on the way and this is what you come up with. Childbirth is a piece of cake compared to this, right, ladies?! 😉
Robin,
No I am a Cancer. Not sure what cancers are notorious for. But I do have OCD. But over the years I have seen my OCD tendacies reduced until this carpet beetle situation arose. And then it was on…. my OCD was back full force… the worst I have ever been. I am not looking forward to spring time. My house needs to be vacuumed detailed and I just have not had the time to do it. I told my husband that I am really needing to get started back on it before spring comes and from my understanding spring will be here sooner than expected because of the El Nino year we are having. It has been a very mild winter for us here in Oregon. I wish it would snow all year long… keep those bugs at minimal levels.
mmk so I don’t know if this will make ya’ll feel better but I’m staying at my mother in laws right now and she lives alone in a gigantic two story house in a super fancy neighborhood hardly even goes upstairs which has a nice den area, bedrooms, office, baths etc….well in the corner of the bathroom what do I see? Yep that’s right…..carpet beetle larvae…
Katie, tell her to start spending more time up there. Hand her a vacuum cleaner and box of XXXL ziplocs. 😀
yep I should shouldn’t I haha….for some reason that’s easier said than done!
Katie, I had to laugh when I read your posts … and harder when I read Robins’
but maybe it’s just me, but I wouldn’t say a word except maybe to your husband
And you know what to do when you get home
Michelle, sorry to hear about all of that
where abouts in the world are you?
do you have any wollen scarves, skirts, etc?
they LUV that stuff!
Mike, can you explain a bit more please?
re: “black things that are not crawling” … and “white stuff” what does it look like? exactly?
… and could you please use punctuation ie: .?!
I had a heck of time trying to figure out what you were saying. I do not know about anyone else here but I don’t blog, text, or do too much shorthand thank you
Yep Barbara that Robin’s a funny one! And I think I’m gonna have to agree with you Barbara, and believe you me my husband’s already been informed!
I live in ohio and had a major mouse infestation a year ago solved that problem no more mice and cleaned up everything we found but couple days ago found an old mouse nest made with 3 of my socks and saw a carpet beetle cast skin . nest located above duct system in the basement cleaned that up but completely impossible to get all the mouse droppings!ew! I had my air ducts cleaned 2x $395 each time I’m having it done again and I bought tempo 1% with a duster online recomended by an entamologist I’m going to dust inside every light switsh cover outlet cover and lihgt in my house one room at a time an exterminating company drilled small holes above baseboards all along outer walls of my house 8 inches apart and put insecticide dust in all the holes because the mice run along outer walls of house so thats probably where the beetle larva are. I vacume every day also these suckers are eating all my cotton shirts now i”m to the point wher I’m just angry with the situation I am determined to get rid of them I cannot live with these forever I’m not giving up I will try everything ang anything that might work I did do the heat tx as I said $3,ooo in trash (it didnt work) not to mention the damage the heat caused to my floor etc. still determined. so glad I found this web site with others that know exactly what Im going through I stopped talking to peoplr about it because they dont believe me and think im crazy.what I really dont understand is why they are set on eating my clothes. Ihave pleanty of mouse poop (which I heard they feed on not to mention pet hair I also read they feed on the poision they use in mouse baits) why do they have to go after my clothes and not all the other food sources I seem to have
Michelle, when they did your air duct cleaning, how did they go about it? I’m envisioning a HOOVER beyond my wildest dreams. And who did it for you? We were fortunate in that we never saw evidence of them in or around our clothing. But I always look. And of course every time I have an itch (plenty of that in this frigid weather) I automatically assume they’re in my clothes. “Pants on the ground, pants on the ground….” 😀 Hey, if we lose our sense of humor, then those little buggers really win.
just had my air ducts cleaned for third time in two years. had mighty ducts do it this time wouldn’t go with anyone else the others were a waist of money.I dusted under all baseboards inside every outlet cover every light switch plate and every ceiling light as recommended by an entamologist also having my exterminating comp come monday to dust undr air duct system inceiling of basement we’ll see what happens I’ll be watching for any bug activity
Are we sick of snow yet??? Heavens to Betsy!!! I am. I have already killed about 8 adults, crawling up my walls. I hope the freezing weather staves them off for a while. Please!
We finally had our air ducts cleaned (after my daughter found a bunch of larvae inside her floor vent), and they also sprayed the inside of the ducts with a disinfectant. Fingers crossed that will take care of any lurkers. Interesting note: when we had our house built a few years ago, the construction workers thought it would be a good idea to dump garbage down the (then open) vents. That might explain our late-night fast-food cravings… but it might also explain the origin of the carpet beetle problem.