Dead Carpet Beetle Larvae

These skins as well as a lack of webbing are usually good indicators that carpet beetles are the perpetrators rather than clothes moths.

Dead carpet beetle larvae.

Carpet beetle larvae will feed on the dried remains of dead animals. Carpet beetle larvae eat a varied diet that is composed mainly of animal hair silk plants feathers natural fibers wool cotton and other dead insects. Cleaning out collections of lint hair dead insects and other debris by vacuuming helps remove the food sources of larvae and may also kill any beetles already nesting in carpets. Carpet beetle larvae aren t dangerous to people except for the occasional skin rash because of their bristles but are known to damage personal items because of their feeding habits.

After exclaiming oh my god you think there s a dead rat under my cabinets the customer agreed to let us remove the facing on the front of the cabinet bottom to see if my theory was correct. Also carpet beetle larvae leave brown shell like bristly looking cast skins when they molt. Checking window screens doors and vents for durability and removing spider webs dead animals in vents and attics and various nests inside and around buildings. The varied carpet beetle anthrenus verbasci is a 3 mm long beetle belonging to the family dermestidae they are a common species often considered a pest of domestic houses and particularly natural history museums where the larvae may damage natural fibers and can damage carpets furniture clothing and insect collections.