Carpet Beetles are a fairly common pest. We receive many
calls us about this insect. Though these insects will do
damage to fabric, they may be a pest in food products as
well. Carpet beetles occur naturally outdoors and come into
building from there. They may enter through improperly
sealed or improperly screened doors and windows.
There are two basic groups of Carpet Beetles: the Black
Carpet Beetles and Varied, Common and Furniture Carpet
Beetles. The adult Black Carpet Beetle, as the name
suggests, is black in color and oblong shaped and ranges
in size from 1/8" up to 3/16" in length. The other three, though about the same size, will have a variety of different wing color patterns and are somewhat more oval in shape. Carpet Beetles go through complete metamorphosis which includes egg, larvae (crawling stage), pupae (cocoon) and adult (beetle).
Larvae of Carpet Beetles are fairly distinctive. They are quite hairy and are striped tan and white in color.
There may be tail bristles (hairs) visible at the back of the insect as well. Inspection commonly reveals either live larvae or sometimes cast skins of the larvae. It is this stage of the insect that actually ingests the fabric or food.