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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Melissa,
How do stay on top of the larva that remain? Do you continue vacuuming with the crevice tool and if so, how often? Sigh. Every time I think I get a leg up on these critters, I find something else. I just found what I think is a larva in my bedroom. It was small and seemed to be about the right color, but the tufts were not evident. Are they obviously hairy when viewed with the naked eye?
Thank you very much!
Sam
Hi Sam,
For me, I spent nearly 2 months straight vacuuming and cleaning and washing every piece of clothing in my house. I stored them in plastic containers and sealed the lids down with tape. It was a nightmare I wish I could forget but probably will not ever forget. Just so you know, after I delivered my baby (this all happened the months before I was expecting another baby) I did not see any more larva for months. So I thought all my hard work had paid off. Then March of this year came and I was hit again with live beetles in my house. I was so disappointed needless to say. But I have only seen a few larva here and there. And since we are more aware of what is going on, I think we will get a handle on them eventually. I am sure without a doubt that I will not have the same level of infestation that I had last year. But truth be told, I have not been able to keep up the same cleaning that I did prior to my delivery. Yet I still have not seen many larva. So that is good.
All I can say to you is do the best you can to look everywhere for the source and just vacuum and dust the best you can. I would do it everyday at least for a few weeks. I did not use any chemicals in my house either. I am sure most people on this websight will agree that I tend to be a bit fanatical with these bugs.
Right now I am worried about ants. I have seen a few stragglers and I remember last year about this time I had a major ant attack. I will be calling the exterminator for that one so they can spray outside of our house.
Oh and I am pretty sure that creature you found in your room is most likely a larva… especially if it was the same color. When I first determined I had these in my house, my hubby and I disagreed. I told him carpet beetles is what we had and he said the pictures on the web did not resemble the ones in our house. It was hard to see the hairs on the ones we had with the naked eye. I believe it depends on the variety you have as to how much hair they have. Mine were not all that hairy.
And I know you are probably not saying this right now, but it will get better. And from what you describe, it doesnt sound like you had a major infestation. I had about 20 larvae in each room/ closet of my house. I can not believe I never noticed them! They must have spread quickly.
Best wishes to you and your efforts to rid your abode of these critters!
Melissa,
Don’t pay an exterminator for ants. Get TERRO, it works so well and you can put it outside your house as well.
Melissa,
Thank you so much for your help. I discovered this problem in March and have been cleaning ever since. I have decluttered an amazing amount of junk, tossed a couch, chair, ottoman, and all of my living room curtains. Professionally cleaned rugs, carpets, upholstered furniture… I even decided to have my air ducts cleaned this week & had someone walk the roof to find any bees/wasps/birds nests. I also used an exterminator on the inside of the house – not great, I know, but I felt I needed it. I have been through just about every nook and cranny (Working on the remaining ones) and the thought of finding more emerging next Spring makes me want to cry. I had about 60 emerge this Spring. I have found some live larva in the things I tossed. No idea if I got all of the hot spots or not – there seemed to be several spread between the first and second levels of the house.
It doesn’t seem like you’ve had that many emerge relative to the amount you had last year. That is a huge improvement! And without any chemicals to boot – good for you. That must have been A LOT of hard work. I think I just need to do everything I can to take care of it, and then let it go, to a certain extent. I will live differently for sure – I have vacuumed more in the past few months than in my entire life, I think! I’ll be careful with my woolens and I will live more as a minimalist. These are not all bad things. It’s just… Ahhhh… Well, you know what I mean. I’d like to reclaim my life and sanity. Maybe it’s just a conscious choice I need to make.
If you think of any more good tips, let me know!
Thanks again.
Sam
Hi Everyone,
I hope you are all winning the battle with these carpet beetles. I have seen a few small larvae in my house during the past month, but really it doesn’t seem like they are “taking over” my house like when I first discovered them last year. But I still can not stand them!
So I have 4 girls all under the age of 6 and most of my friends who have girls like to give me hand me down clothes. I love that, as it has saved us a ton of money. But I have found that people have carpet beetles in their homes and they probably do not know it. Sometimes I get clothes that already have small holes in them that resemble carpet beetle holes. I always bring the bags in right away and wash in hot water before I even let my girls try the clothes on. Well this morning I was putting some clothes I had gotten from a friend in the washer and I opened up a shirt and 2 very large carpet beetle larvae were in there. I have never even in my house had them that size! I know they were carpet beetle larvae as I am quite the expert now. I smashed them right away and put all the clothes right in the washer. I think I will wash them twice. That is probably how I got 2 types of beetles in my house. Before I knew I had carpet beetles in my house, I wouldnt wash them right away. I would leave them in my wash room and they might sit there for a couple days before I got to it. I am now wiser than that. I actually should be taking the clothes outside and shaking them out before I ever bring them into my house. Live and learn.
Anyway I hope you are all doing good and Brava4, I have taken your advice and it seems to be getting rid of the ants before they come into our house. I had used it before, but I hated it because it was so messy. But now they come in little plastic containers already. It is great.
How are things going in your house Sam?
I love this website. Where else can you truly commiserate with others also battling these ridiculous bugs? Thank you, Melissa, for asking how things are going. I have seen very little (2 adults) since about one week after tossing the infested curtains. However, I am not sure if that’s because we finally got “the source” or if that’s because they are not as evident because the adults have emerged and now there’s just larva crawling around.
We are currently in the process of temporarily moving out of our house to do some work on it. I have used this opportunity to go through every nook and cranny, box, forgotten shelf… You get the point! I have found a small number of shed skins in some long-forgotten places, but no larva yet. When the contractors take up the carpet and baseboards, I plan to be there with vacuum in hand:) No idea what I’ll find, but I am getting to the point where I have done all that I can. From all of this mess, I will live differently – keep less clutter, vacuum more carefully, and be more vigilante. Then I have to move on and stop worrying about it. Hmmm… I wonder if I can do that.
So funny to hear about finding beetles in your second-hand clothes. They really are common, aren’t they? Maybe “funny” isn’t the appropriate word, I’m sure you feel the irony too. These crazy bugs – I really wonder if we can ever truly be rid of them, or if there will always be a few crawling around trying to increase their numbers.
Good luck to all of you! Melissa – please stay in touch. Would love to hear us both say next Spring that we haven’t seen a thing emerge. Ahhhhh… Wouldn’t that be nice?
Enjoy your summer.
Sam
Just came upon this website and to tell you the truth I’m praying that what I have are carpet beetles and not bed bugs. I have a live specimen, though, so I’m fairly sure what I have. The Terminix guy is coming out today. Did you all have “bites” especially around the armpits? I’m hearing that the larvae “hairs” can cause “bites” or something similar. Thanks for all the postings.
Steve
I’d just like to mention that, while I’ve never had any direct dealings with Terminix, I’ve heard bad things about the general level of expertise of their employees. They are reputed to tell people whatever is most likely to scare them into paying for their services, not necessarily what is actually true. If possible, I’d suggest getting a second opinion about what you have. Your state’s equivalent of the Cooperative Extension Service would probably be a good place to check.
Thanks Tim. I think the guy came in expecting to see bed bugs but he could find absolutely no evidence of them. On the other hand, we found lots of shed CB larvae skin and he finally came to the conclusion that we have carpet beetles. I’ll be keeping a close watch, but right now I’m pretty confident we don’t have bb.
Thanks
Steve
For about three months my room has been a mess(of clothes in particular) and my mom has finally convinced me to clean it (yes I am young, but I am interested in science and love bugs… most of them). While I was cleaning the large piles of clothes, I came across my old nemesis, the only insect that has ever made me squeamish, the carpet beetle. The thing is, mine don’t have the same body shape. They are a lot more streamlined, the stripes are very clearly defined (and straight) and their bristles are half as long. I’m thinking these ones either practice good hygiene and exercise, or they are a more uncommon type of carpet beetle. They honestly are less big-exoskeletoned than EVERY picture of carpet beetles I’ve seen. Anyway, now that my room is half cleaned, I’ve noticed that the infestation is mainly under my bed. For a while, I was scared that they had infested my mattress or something; until I noticed that I have a metal bed frame and I change my sheets often (usually twice a week). I’ve noticed that these archenemies of mine have been leaving their skins everywhere, so I WILL have my room cleaned and vaccuumed vigorously. To kill as many as possible. Luckily, they don’t seem to have reached the point where they climb up walls. I’ll tell you how bad they are after cleaning.
Wow! I’m amazed at how few I’ve seen! I’ve only seen 2 alive and maybe 10 dead ones in all of my room while I was cleaning… apparently they haven’t even been here long enough to pupate. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, we have hardwood flooring and no carpets and my mom uses natural cleaners. I tore up my whole room looking for them and I was dissappointed at how few of them I got to kill.
My car is infested with these bugs. I borrowed my moms van while they were away for vacation and my car sat in the carport for 2 weeks,with some old mcdonalds bag on the floor ontop of my daughters tee shirts; The drink cup disintigrated with soda, making the floor on the carpet wet. when i cleaned the car i didnt notice them until we got home last nite and the girls were screaming that they were all over the place. I sprayed the car last nite, and was going to vaccum this morning. I didnt bring the clothes into the house yet. can they hitch a ride on peoples clothes into the house? What about good ole fashion bleach? can i dilute and add some dish soap and scrub the car floor?
/gaylen
Gaylen: While I expect they can ride into the house with you, they also live in the wild and can get in through doors and open windows, so the ones frm the car are no more of an infestation hazard than the ones already living in your yard. As for clearing them out of the car, the best approach is exactly what you have been doing: clean thoroughly to deprive them of food. And, if the bleach or soapy water come in direct contact with the larvae, it should kill them.
I’m feeling slight relief coupled with utter disgust! I have tiny, multi-legged roommates…carpet beetles (thankfully, not bed bugs)! I had my nephew stay with me this past weekend. Today, I found two animal crackers sitting on the floor near the headboard of my bed. As I attempted to pick them up, I noticed they had a few “blackish spots”…and the spots were moving! Immediately, I ripped apart my bedroom. Convinced I was dealing with bed bugs, the bed was my first focus. I found five larvae in the side crevices of my mattress. I have two dogs and cat, none of whom participate in synchronized shedding (and chronic cleaning doesn’t solve the fur problem). I’m fearful this is merely a recent discovery, not a recent problem (however, I’ve not observed any evidence prior to today).
Is it normal to feel like my bed is infested? Is my bed infested?! Why, oh why, did they pick my bed?! Will I ever be able to sleep on it again?
All bedding has been washed. The room, mattress, and boxspring have been vacuumed. What steps can one take to clean mattresses/boxsprings (I’m fearful these suckers are living in my boxspring)? Do I need to clean/seal all clothing stored in this bedroom (contained in closets and dressers)? I have curtains that cannot be washed on hot. Does dry cleaning eradicate the larvae/eggs? Should I expect to find these beetles elsewhere in my house (I’m prepared to hunt if necessary and I’m grateful I don’t have any carpet)?
Thank you to all contributors! I feel much more at ease after reading your experiences.
Okay I hadn’t seen any in a few months and found a larvae about one month ago. I kept it in an airtight bag and it lived for four weeks!!!!!
I am also not entirely convinced that washing in super hot water and using the dryer on high temp for an hour kills them I have one shirt that keeps gettin holes in it, even though I have it seperated, kept in an airtight bag and wash it/dry it on high heat…any explanations?? If they come back in force I don’t know what I will do!!!
Okay, I hope this message gives some of you hope! However, I have to mention that the variety of beetle I have seems to be different that what most of you have (it’s the Furniture Carpet Beetle) and maybe it’s just less agressive in it’s feeding and procreating habits.
Three years ago I began noticing a small beetle in my home, along with some small, flat, canoe-shaped sacs lying on the floor. The beetles were round and cute, but smaller than ladybugs, so I thought they were harmless. I thought the flat things were dried up pieces of paper. My cat has a paper chewing fetish, so there are often little pieces of paper lying about. Since there were no more than 6-8 beetles on any given day, I wasn’t too worried when they kept showing up for 2 years. During the 3rd year I began to worry a little. I hoped they weren’t damaging my home somehow. On 2/23/10 I finally began looking them up online. I found BugGuide.net and a number of University Extension websites posted by their entomology (study of insects) departments. On 2/25/10 I discovered Tim’s website. I became concerned that I might have to live with the bugs permanently but I held out hope that perhaps my infestation was not as bad as what others have posted.
I checked my clothes. Thankfully, most of my clothes are synthetic, synthetic blends, or cotton. Only the wool clothes were affected. In spite of 3 years of infestation, there were only 3 to 6 tiny holes on each of about 8 woolen garments in a tightly packed off-season clothes closet. None of the cotton garments sandwiched next to them were affected. My carpet is synthetic and contained no beetles or larvae. I upended my sofa and thoroughly inspected every part of it. No beetles. Again, it is synthetic. My cotton curtains from India, that are dyed with organic dyes, were not affected. There was one small wool blanket and a wool sweater – both hand woven in the UK and purchased decades ago – that had large holes in them. Only the clothes in one closet were affected. Two other rooms in the home had no infestations at all. One room had the primary infestation and by year 3 the bugs had just started to spread to a second room. Usually the beetles were sighted for 9 months each year. For 3 months in the winter they were not seen.
I threw out the wool items, found 2 beetles in my pantry and threw out the infested products. I now put all of my grain and flower products and dried beans and peas in the refridgerator and freezer. I did not use any pesticides. I did not throw out any items that were in the uninfested rooms (but I did bag up the wool items). I do not have the physical strength to do thorough cleanings of my entire house so I relied on research. Actually, I did very little extra cleaning – mostly in the pantry. After several months I took a picture of one of the flat, canoe-shaped objects next to a carpet beetle and posted it on BugGuide.net, thinking I finally had a photo of the pupae or pupal sac for everyone to see. Instead I learned that the canoe-shaped object was a moth case (Similar to a cocoon but a caterpillar-like phase of the moth actually crawls around in the thing for a while. Only the head will stick out as it drags the case along behind it. It retreats into the case like a portable motor home when it’s not moving). This explains why I kept seeing beetles after I had eliminated their food sources. The beetles were smaller, but still present in my home because they were eating the dead (or living?) caterpillar versions of the moths that were eating my wool blanket and sweater. This is why I kept finding shed beetle larvae skins attached to the canoes. When the moth cases stopped appearing, so did the beetles. This moth and its cases are very tiny – not much bigger than the carpet beetles. The cases can also be found attached to walls on one end, dangling close to the wall like an earing. I now see them outside many homes all over my area. I’ve seen hundreds of these moths on the plants outside my homes over the years. It’s possible the scent of their dead pupal carcasses are what attracted the beetles into my home in the first place. Their are the occassional spiders and other insects in my home, but the beetles did not seem to be eating them. If they had been less picky about their food, I think they would have found more food in my torchier lamps which always have something little fly or other dying in them. Instead, the beetles died in the lamps as well.
Since I would normally still be seeing the beetles all summer long, it seems that they are gone. That said, I’ve seen them on the flowers in my garden so I know the occasional beetle could still wander into my home. But at least I now understand them and what they are looking for. Here’s to all of you who have had much worse infestations, and have put much more work into ridding your home of the problem. Keep learning, experimenting and doing your detective work. There is hope that you might get rid of them.
May 6, 2010 was the last sighting of a Furniture Carpet Beetle in my home. I have found two old and musty-looking moth casings since then, but no beetles.
Sorry, I had to leave for a while and could not finish or proofread my last post. The real test of my home being beetle-free will be next Spring. If I can get through the first 3 months of the year without any beetles, they are probably not coming back. I know they weren’t in my home for the first 10 years I lived here. I would have noticed them and I would have seen the dead ones when I cleaned my torchier lamps.
Another thing I’ve changed is to stop bringing fresh flowers into my home, either from my garden or from a florist. The mature beetles use the sweet flower nectar to give them just enough energy to mate and produce the next generation.
Thanks Della….for HOPE! I have just found another larvae and both appeared near my oven..therefore I may try and do the investigative work too. ..I have vacuumed everywhere , behind the refrigerator,oven etc…all dries food in airtight containers …so am at a loss as to where the source is. I have had the apartment sprayed with insecticide also as a last resort…didn’t seem to do anything.
Can I ask you, do you put your clothes in airtight containers or have do you leave them in your closet? I really want to return to normality and quit living out of airtight containers.
I have heard also that 99% of homes have these beetles so I am just wondering then why no-one else seems to notice them. I’m trying to believe that they are in every home so that I can vacate in peace and not stress about contaminating other peoples homes.
Thanks again 🙂
Andrea-
I put all of my dried grains in the fridge and freezer because weevils can easily get into sealed containers. Sometimes the eggs are already in the package you buy from the store. If you don’t use the product right away, they hatch and infest your pantry. The weevils are very good at chewing holes in most packaging and thus make entryways for the beetles to get in. Cold temperatures inhibit the weevils. As far as I know, freezing prevents any eggs from hatching and kills most bugs.
I threw out all of the wool garments in the infested closet, and left everything else where it was. Since even the cotton clothes sandwiched tightly between the affected wool garments were not touched in the slightest, I didn’t worry about leaving them there. The 3 wool garments in a closet in an uninfested room have been sealed in plastic bags, and I am not sure I will wear them, for fear of attracting the moths and beetles back into my home. I may get rid of them as well, since there are only 3 of them. Thankfully, most of my clothes are cotton and synthetic. I find the synthetic fleeces and sweaters that I have are even warmer than the cotton and wool ones, so I am happy to continue with the synthetics. The synthetics sometimes get too warm, so I just alternate between them and the cottons, depending on the weather.
These beetle larvae prefer dead animals as food, but in a pinch they will feed off of the tiniest of kitchen food particles. I found one cooked whole grain on a kitchen surface that had been eaten by a few larvae. I found a carpet beetle waiting patiently while a weevil chewed a hole in a bag of flour for them both. Wiping the surfaces with a mild soap or bleach solution or a Clorox wet-wipe will work as a good deterrent. If your oven has a broiler on the bottom, it may have crumbs in it. Most ovens have crumbs in or under them. If there is a bottom tray or broiler you may be able to pull those completely out to look for crumbs in and underneath them. I remember checking my toaster oven when I cleaned my pantry. The microwave on my counter also tends to collect crumbs under it. You can check under your refridgerator as well. Kitchens can be very problematic, especially if you have a family, because the crumbs get everywhere. Luckily, they had only just started to notice the kitchen when I began doing a thorough sweep of my home. I would have been in for a lot more work if they had already infested it heavily.
I have to say that I am also thankful that they did not seem to be attracted to the fur from my pets. Perhaps they are not attracted to pet fur, but rather to the dead fleas or other critters that infest pet fur. This would make more sense. Neither of my pets has ever had fleas or other bugs on them. They both are mostly indoor pets and clean themselves frequently, so I haven’t had to do any anti-flea protection for them.
On the subject of leaving bugs behind for the new homeowners: When I purchased my current home I set off bug “bombs” in the attic and garage because the place was old and infested with many critters. Then I had to replace all of the floor surfaces and repaint the walls and ceiling and replace the roof. When all of the work was done, I realized that the added benefit was that all of the bugs were gone. I had a fairly bug-free home for several years. Only the ant nests from outside made my home an ant highway. When a friend gave me the mint oil tip (put a small amount on the entrance and exit holes) those were also gone.
Again, maybe my Furniture Carpet Beetles are less agressive than other Carpet Beetles. I hope these observations are helpful. Best wishes to all of you.
Can someone please help me answer this question….if I were to clean every single room in my house from top to bottom and hope that I get 90% of the larvae (I have never seen one of the live beetles), then can I hope that I wont see any of these buggers any more? I guess I dont understand – once the larvae become adult beetles, then do they keep laying eggs and creating a vicious cycle of larvae, or do those adult beetles leave/die off and new beetles come and lay eggs? If I can kill the larvae and eggs, then have I stopped the problem? Or do I need to find a source of live beetles to solve the problem???
I have spent the past week cleaning every single room and item in my house. I have the exterminator coming this week for our 6 month service, but I worry about what he will tell me. I dont want to use harsh chemicals, but I dont want these things in my house!
Anyone know the answer to this??
Ann,
I encourage you to read all of the Older Comments for Carpet Beetle Larvae on this website. They go back many months and are very informative. You can learn from other people’s attempts at solutions. Be a detective in your home. Remember that you are much smarter than the beetles. Figure out what is attracting the adults to your home. The adults prefer to eat flower nectar outside so as to have the energy to mate during their brief lives. (Who knows, however, if some of them manage to mate without going outside for the nectar. Most of them will try to get out, heading for light sources that might lead them outside.) They come into your home to lay eggs on deceased animals or food particles. The larvae will eat large carcasses down to the tiniest of dead bugs, such as fleas and tiny gnats. They will also eat wool or sweat-laden or food-stained cotton. In warm climates the eggs probably continue to be deposited and hatched over many months. In the winter the eggs lay dormant and hatch out as soon as the weather warms up again.
Personally, I only use poisons as a last resort. Bug poisons are much more dangerous than pest control companies would have us believe. Years ago, a pest control company owner admitted that they really should wear hazmat suits when they spray homes, but it would scare off the customers. Also, it was quite apparent that after 4 years, he was already being affected neurologically by the poisons. These poisons can affect your brain and nervous system. Children, babies and the unborn are affected more strongly by pesticides than adults. So be very cautious with the poisons and with where they are used.
Hello all,
It ‘s been a long time since I have been back here. I believe my carpet beetle have established themselves so well that I am having a second spawning for the year. Much to my dismay, I am finding many larva. I ma finding them mainly on the floor boards, no doubt coming up from under the floor. I am finding them in any of the rooms and just kill as I see them. I am off from work this week and decided to have a huge laundry day and POW!! there they were in the laundry hamper. Wow, I must have killed a couple dozen that were happily crawling about the sheets and winter covers. Needless to say, I was grossed out by it all which surprised me as I had come to accept that I would have them to a certain extent. Seeing them and so many in one place was too much. So, somethings I threw out and others are getting washed, well. When I emptied the laundry bag in the complex laundry room I literally shook all the sheets and covers and the floor had at least a dozen of the just crawling around the floor. So, gross. Interestingly, I check for holes in things but saw none. I buy only 400 and over thread count sheets and I wonder if the tighter thread is a better fight against holes. I am just grasping here.
Not sure what else to do. How do they get under the hamper lid? Doesn’t an adult beetle have to get in there and lay the eggs?
Brava 4,
I had the same problem. I found the larva and beetles in my washing basket. Before this i remember seeing one beetle on my jeans and just threw it out thinking that it was just a normal bug, little did I know then! I think the beetle could have laid the eggs on the clothes that were out in the room and not noticing, I threw in the washing basket where they happily bred!. That was about 5 months ago and i did a very thorough clean at the top floor of my house and washed all of my clothes in the wardrobes. After 6 weeks I didnt see anything. But I have to say just last week I found some more lava that were a bit older behind my sofa on the 1st floor. They were feeding on biscuit crumbs that my little ones hadsneeked up. I counted 10 and sprayed them with insect spray in a jar. They died in a minute. I think they can spread quickly as these were moving fast. Some were bigger than others and some were tiny specks moving along the skirting boards.
My sister in law had a lot more two years ago and she did a very thorough clean, spraying insecticide in the corners and she hasnt had any since. I keep thinking of that, although it gets very disheartening when I see them again. Lets hope though that with persistence, we will catch em eventually!
What kind of insecticide did she use? I had the pest control guy spray the type that is the least dangerous. That was 2 days ago, and I am still seeing some, so I dont know if it works or not. I did look up the brand that he used and it can be ordered on Amazon, so I might get some just in case. He said it is used for bed bugs, fleas, etc. However, it is not hazardous to our health.
Hi Ann, she used one from the local store, we’re in the UK, it was called ‘Vitax Nippon Ant and crawling insect killer’. It is ok to use in the home, when dry its not harmful.
LOL @ all the people completely flipping out over some bugs. You guys are OCD get help.
Jesse: I think that most people commenting here know that their dislike of these beetles is not entirely rational, but expecting everyone to just live with them is like telling somebody who is bothered by heights that they should belly right up to the observation deck at the Empire State Building and look straight down. If something bothers you, then you want to avoid it or get rid of it, regardless of whether the dislike is rational or not.
If you don’t agree, then I can make up some nice pancakes for you from some flour that is infested by meal moth larvae. Want some? They stop wiggling once they are cooked.
And as far as that goes, the dislike of carpet beetles does have some rational basis. If you read all the comments here, you will see that a lot of people were actually having certain items, particularly wool, being physically destroyed by these beetles.
Great comment Tim…I just couldnt find the right words to say :). I would also add that maybe you would enjoy seeing your son or daughter (if you have any) snuggle up to a favorite stuffed animal that is infested with carpet beetles! OCD Jesse???? I think not…
Thanks Nikki for the info. Unfortunatly they dont seem to sell that brand in thee US. I am finding that the spray put down by the bug guy did absolutly nothing…What a let down. I am surprised because it is supposed to work for bed bugs, so why not carpet beetles. UGH! I am still seeing a lot of bugs. Most of them in the kitchen. I have a feeling that they might be coming up from the floor behind the stove. UGH!!!
Re: Jesse.
I have come to expect these bugs and their creepy, creeping larvae. I guess I was just a bit taken aback by the numbers that I found. (in my previous post) Like last night… when I got home from work and found about 8 of the larvae hanging around the kitchen floor. I just squish them but it is now getting annoying and not terribly creepy anymore.
Hey everybody, it’s nice to see that people hate these stupid carpet beetles as much as I do. Unfortunately I have a lot of carpet beetles and larvae slithering around in my bedroom. I tried to not let it bother me, as I just tried to vacuum them up. Unfortunately last night I awoke in the middle of the night with my right eye burning. It felt exactly how your eye feels when an gnat flies into your eyeball. Well, unfortunately I freaked out because I knew these stupid larvae were on my carpet. I told myself not to worry. Well, after 2 hours I still couldn’t fall back to sleep because I kept feeling as though it was one of those larvae that slithered into my eye ball. Very, very unfortunately I was correct in my assumption. A few hours after awakening I felt something come up from my throat and onto the tip of my tongue. I ran to my bathroom to see what it was, and it was a dead larvae. This is the most disgusting thing that has ever happened to me. I couldn’t fall asleep last night, and I immediately called Terminix this morning. I am currently awaiting their arrival as I type this message. I don’t care what they have to do to get rid of these motherf*ckers, I just want them gone forever.
I’m also kind of freaked out because I wonder if this has happened before without my knowing about it. I set up an appointment for a doctor to make sure that nothing is wrong health wise. I have a spare room where I have never seen larvae before. As soon as my house gets hit by a nuclear bomb I am going to switch rooms. Not to sound overly dramatic, but this experience has freaked me the you know what out.
Anyway, if anyone cares I will keep you all updated.
Scotty, I cannot believe that happened to you. How awful. Good luck with the pest control people. I am curious to find out what chemical you decide on using and whether or not it works. I went with the “healthiest” chemical which was called sterafab and it doesnt seem to have worked much. He said there were 2 other choices which were a lot stronger though. If you have luck, please let us know, as I am starting to feel like I need the stronger chemical. I just cant seem to get rid of these disgusting bugs. I swear I cleaned the house from top to bottom, cleaning every single corner, moving every piece of furniture. There was not one room that was bug free. I found it quite interesting because the pest control guy wasnt really excited about it. He said unless I see 50 or more in one spot, then I should get upset.
Just when I think that maybe I have killed the last one, I see more….UGH!
Scotty – I forgot to mention the health aspect. I am curious about that also. I have come across a few websited which say that there could be health issues related to these bugs (besides the obvious allergy issues from them). However, I could not really find specifics. I also saw one sight that said Anthrax???? But you do have to take these websites with a grain of salt, because you dont know who the people are who write them. Let us know about that factor also, please!
Thanks Ann for your response. The exterminator left a few hours ago. I have the receipt in front of me right now. It says they used:
Cyfluthrin 0.1%. Amount: 1 oz. Living Areas.
Cyfluthrin 0.05%. Amount: 17 oz. Baths, Kitchen, Living Areas.
Lambda-Cyhalothrin. Amount: 28 Gal. Exterior Areas.
Overall it cost me $130, but hopefully it will be worth it. The exterminator didn’t seem too concerned at all about the carpet beetles. She even said, “At least it’s not anything bad.” I told her what happened last night, and again she didn’t seem concerned. I asked if they were harmful and she said no. That made me feel better but I am still going in to see the doctor just in case.
She did tell me not to sleep in my bedroom tonight as she sprayed quite a bit in there.
We’ll see if it works. I’m not too hopeful considering a lot of these stories on here continue in frustration.
OMG! after 5 months of no activity I again am seeing holes in my shirts!HELP
Your website may be the best thing I have stumbled upon. I never even knew what these little critters were called, but I recall having issues with them when I was a kid growing up in my parents home. Every so often they would visit our cabinet where we kept the spices and pasta.
Now I am living with my fiance and we are packing to move to a new home. We have a huge stuffed animal collection, plush animals that is not real stuffed animals. Anyway, while packing tonight we saw the empty shells of what looks like carpet beetles or carpet beetle larvae. I am so freaked. We do not even know what to do. I would love to throw everything out, but a lot of the items have sentimental value and some of them are event collectors items. We would even be willing to cut off tags in order to wash them, if washing them is an option. what is out next step, we do not want to bring anything into our new place
Lori: If the stuffed animals are not washable, then sealing them in a baggie (to keep them from picking up frost) and freezing them for a week or so ought to take care of it. Followed by storing them in a bone-dry place.
I looked for boric acid for a long time and finally found it at the hardware store in pesticide department look at ingredient list on front of bug powder bottles most are boric acid powder so I’m trying that today against the larva
I too am so happy to have found this site. We just moved into a new townhouse – were so excited, got a great deal, it was really clean, etc. Of course, now everything is starting to come out of the woodwork…literally. From the research I’ve done (online and through friends, one friend is growing two of them to observe their phases), I have come to the conclusion that carpet beetles have somehow wandered into our house.
We also discovered that when our new next door neighbors were helping us with a massive piece of furniture that our carpets are actually not a soft grey, but beige, and that there were eight people living in a 2br/1.25ba house. We’re stuck in the whole catch 22 of already moving in and trying to now clean/tidy. Of course there are a lot of clothes scattered about from the move and we also have a two year old.
In terms of the beetles, I have only noticed them in the upstairs bathroom – there have only been 2-4 every other day – and they seem rather sluggish. Is the slow moving behavior normal? They seem to becoming out of heating vent and I blasted the heat out of it the other day. How hot does hot need to be to kill them? I also heard that Borax worked as a safer, non-toxic remedy. We cleaned the middle floor and stairs with HOST, a new dry-carpet/scrubby/cleaner system (of course we didn’t realize there were these creepy-crawlies until after we’d returned the rented scrubby thing).
After reading all of these posts, I am itching all over and am thinking of the fact that if you see a few you can bet that there is an exponential amount unseen. Scotty, I was SO grossed out for you. I hope everything got cleared up.
I guess the few questions I have left are: 1. What do the eggs look like? 2. Where are these beetles most prevalent? I’m in the damp, Pacific Northwest – but Nikki, seeing that you’re from the UK, I’m sure I don’t have much hope to rule out climate. 3. Do I just bag up all of my daughter’s plush toys or wait to see if there’s a problem?
I haven’t seen the pantry moths yet, thank heavens, but I did hear from another neighbor that the last people who lived here also used the garage as a cooking place; of course that’s where everything’s been stored and is waiting to come up stairs. Found an enormous millipede last night. Ewwwwwww.
This is a great site. Really nice to read other people’s stories here. My case actually started with me finding them in a utensil drawer… not sure what they were doing there. I thought they were grain bugs, but nothing was in my dried pastas or flours. Long story short, I have carpet beetles. I’ve turned the house upside down cleaning, vacuuming, and de-cluttering. I’ve taken a quarantine-sanitize approach. I completely clean a room at a time, and clothes and articles that I’m washing are going on hangars in clean rooms. Unless they’re scaling walls or descending from the ceiling, I’m hoping this’ll at least make it harder for them. They also shun light, so I’m leaving closet doors open or closet lights on of cleaned rooms.
I’ve also decided to pay a professional, because I have a basement carpet (yes, terrible). They nestle themselves within the fibers, and I don’t think vacuuming is going to get them. This went from surprise to disgust, to now just plain annoyance. I’ve also ordered a Roomba, to help me out with cleaning. I’m only a one man show here.
Really like the idea of storing grains and dried beans in the freezer, I’m going to start doing that.
Overall, this is annoying. However it could be worse! At least they’re not bed bugs. I’ve actually decided to leave one wool garment on the floor, in hopes it’ll attract the remaining larvae, making it easier for me to kill them.
I am glad I found this site. I too have been finding a few of these little guys around my base boards… I have no carpet in my house and so am postive we can get rid of them. I just wish I knew how they got in and why! Argh…
One other thing I’d like to add about these guys. They hide everywhere, and they eat a lot of different things–not just carpets. They can snack on a crumb, a human hair, some old food residue stuck to a pot, petfood… you get the idea.
I’ve been turning the house upside down. I’ve found them on the underside of drawers, in between shelving, and in the most obscure places imaginable. You will not find them all. I highly suggest you call a pest control person and have them spray a residual spray that gets tracked through the house, and when a beetle (or whatever) comes into contact with it, they will die. It is harmless to humans, does not stain, and has no odor.
These guys hide about as badly as bed bugs. I’ve even found a few carpet beetles wedged between my box springs. You need to check everywhere. Every forgotten cupboard, piece of clothing, dark corner, and under every heavy object. Even synthetics. My couch doesn’t have an ounce of natural fiber in it, but there they were, nestled under the cushions. It’s really quite ridiculous. I’m just happy it’s not bed bugs.
Carpet beetles also take average of one year to become fertile adults. You should research them further and their life cycle. So the good news is that you have about a year (maybe a little less), to find and eradicate them all.
Good luck.
Scotty, wow I can’t believe that happened to you! That’s terrible. But I hope that since you’ve updated you haven’t seen too many larvae lately!
I’ve had larvae in my old apartment and my current one. At my current place I’ve been seeing probably about one or two larvae a day just in the bathroom (my teeny, tiny bathroom) in the same general area. I don’t know where they could possibly be coming from! I don’t see them anywhere else in my apartment and I have a really small studio to begin with. Is it weird that I’m seeing them just in the bathroom versus near my bed and my closet? Or are they in my living area and then migrating to my bathroom??? I’m definitely grateful that they’re not bedbugs, but I’d appreciate not seeing random little brown dots on my bathroom wall.
Scotty. I’m sorry, but that is impossible. There’s stomach acid, and peristalsis involved. Not only are bedbugs not attracted to humans in any way, but the mere notion that one crawled up your throat, and was still intact, is insane. Your body would have attacked it like any other foreign object. The larva are extremely delicate and would not survive a trip through your tracheal system. I think you have another issue, possibly psychiatric, at and that you need to deal with.
Not even bedbugs will crawl inside of you.
Good luck.
This site is great. I am new to this problem although from the infestation I have I must have had them for years. Found them by accident. As the exterminator said, the more you look the more you find. I have two cats and understand they eat pet hair. Well, I had my carpets taken out and I am in the process of digging into every nook and cranny in the house. I am trying to look on the bright side and figure this cleaning and sorting and throwing out is not a bad thing. I am going to have my floors taken up and replaced with new wood (not because of these but because they are not in good shape) and in the other rooms I am going to have the floors refinished. I think the poly finish should help to get rid of them. I found a website that sells breathable clothing bags and after cleaning all my clothes, I have them stored in these bags. Even my shoes. I am constantly vacuuming with the crevice tool. I find my best friend these days is a lint roller. I was using the lint roller when I found problems with ants and you can get a rid of a bunch of them with one sweep of the roller. Well, when I found the carpet beetle larvae, I went around the house with the rollers (bought a whole bunch of them at Costco) and you would be surprised what you can pick up. I found them in very room and closet and even though I found a lot of larvae, I only found 3 dead beetles. I have no idea where they go. I am almost finished with the living area and now have to tackle the basement. I went around with my flashlight and found dead beetles. I don’t think they are carpet beetles though….they were brown. My shop vac is going to be very busy.
I took my drawer out of the bottom of the stove and almost fell over. There was a dead black beetle and TONS of larvae. I vacuumed them up (gross) and washed the floor with boiling water then sprayed. I then put double back tape on the floor in front of the stove and one crawled out and got stuck on it. I am declaring war and determined to win!
Exterminator coming tomorrow………they are doing the whole house, basement, attic and garage. Can’t wait.
i live in a floorboard flat and have a white carpet 2m x 2m in my living room.
today i found 1 live larvae and a cb skin at the corner of my carpet.
a minute later i started my cleaning. i used one of those lint rollers like Arlene and i ended up picking up another skin and another live larvae. gross..
i have been in shock eversince i found silverfish on my bathroom floor but this one
is more disgusting… i probably have walked on it barefoot cuz i cant spot them….
no hairs were visually observed on the larvae but i think its the same one thats been bugging you guys. thank god i found this site, for i would just be crying alone
im not sure why but i havent seen the adult bug in my house. there is a similar bug (brownish) but it doesnt fly and feeds on paper. does anyone have any idea what this is…?
Sophie:
Get on top of them now……the secret is cleaning around the floor molding with the edge attachment on the vacuum. Empty the vacuum right away. I had the whole house exterminated for $1200 but it was worth it. I found them in September and tried doing it myself but it was too hard, I had too many. The exterminator even gassed my walls. They put a very small hole in the wall and gas it then plug it up. I have blown in insulation so they said it might be harder to get them. Well, they started on Dec. 1st and my last visit with the exteminator was yesterday and he said I can start putting my things back. I have not found anything in 3 weeks and prior to that after they sprayed I found only 6. They sprayed my house 3 times. They will come back as many times as I want, just in case I find any.
I had a very big infestation and I found only 6 beetles. When I took the bottom drawer out from under my stove, I almost got sick! There were so many larvae (most dead) I couldn’t believe it! I had to brace myself to clean them up. Also found a dead black carpet beetle there. They said I have two kinds of carpet beetles, the black and varied. I can see the difference in the larvae. They found an awful lot of the larvae in the basement. They sprayed the heck out of the basement also. Before I had the exterminator, I bought Raid Maxx, Bug Barrier and sprayed all around the edge of my bedroom, between the wall and floor. I also used it to spray inside my furniture after taking the drawers out. Even sprayed the bottoms and backs of the drawers. Well, the exterminator said that spray kills the beetles and the larvae. Good to know!
I asked how we can avoid having them and they said the good old-fashioned way of cleaning will take care of it……..Spring and Fall cleaning. You have to thoroughly go through everything twice a year, emptying closets, drawers, etc. They said it is the only way you can be sure of not having them. You have to be careful in the Spring because that is when they come in.
Don’t know what the brown bug could be that eats paper…….the only brown bug I know of that eats paper is the firebrat, which is another verion of the silverfish.
I haven’t been here for a while, but I promised to keep checking in. If you read my post dated 8/31/10, you’ll see that I managed to rid my home of my “furniture carpet beetles” without chemicals or pesticides and without extensive, whole-house, cleaning. I mostly just eliminated their food sources. Since then, I have encountered single individuals at the average rate of one every two months. As before, they are usually adult beetles, or a shed larva skin. However, a month ago, I finally encountered my first live larva! It was all by itself on a bathroom countertop. I always find these lone individuals near a water source. As I think I have mentioned before, they must have a very good sense of smell, so they might enjoy the smell of water in the air.
There have been no new full-on infestations — just the single occassional individual, like one might find of any other bug in one’s house. However, spring is coming and I’ll be watching. I’ll let you know what happens.
My infestation was so great, they had to be exterminated professionally. I must have had at least 200 larvae under my stove. They were stacked on my basement window sills. The exterminator thinks they reproduced for a long time in the basement, possibly coming in from a shipment I had from China and went undetected. Then came up the walls into the living area. Made sense because of the large amount in the basement. This was something they had to tackle. As far as them being near water source, I asked the exterminator why I find them on my shower wall. He said we don’t realize it, but our skin is shed in the bathroom shower and sink and they feed on that. They are not attracted to water. They hide so well and are so small so they can escape detection. I have had my fill of them!!!!