![]() ![]() Homes with pets are more at risk of carpet beetle infestation because of the accumulation of overlooked pet hair in hidden areas. While carpet beetle larvae can be feeding on woolens or even a mouse carcass in a wall void, in most homes they are found wherever hair, lint, dead insects, and food crumbs accumulate-under furniture, along baseboards, in corners, places that are often missed by vacuuming. The unsuspecting homeowner may even carry them inside on cut flowers from the garden. Since carpet beetles can fly, finding an entrance through a door, window, or vent is not difficult. Once mated, the female carpet beetle avoids light and may move indoors to lay eggs in suitable dark areas. ![]() This is why the adult beetles are now climbing walls and heading for windows, looking for a way to get outside to feed and mate. Strangely enough, the adult carpet beetle feeds on pollen and nectar and is common on outdoor plants. It’s the larval stage of the carpet beetle that does the damage-feeding on woolens, hair, feathers, and other animal materials. Sometimes you can find a pile of shed larval skins under carpets or other infested items. The larva is about 1/4-inch long, brown, and hairy. They crawl from the wool carpet, or the lint around the baseboard, or the cat hair under the sofa, wherever the larvae have been feeding. And, this year with our warmer-than-normal winter, they seem to be emerging even earlier than usual. They are all round, very small (about 1/8-inch long, not much bigger than the head of a pin) and if you looked at them up close you would see that they have calico coloration-various splotches of brown, orange, black, white, and yellow, depending on the species.Ĭarpet beetle adults tend to emerge in early spring. There are three different species of carpet beetle that are common in homes. They’re tiny and the larvae are often hidden and protected in dark cracks, crevices, and out-of-the-way sites. Carpet beetles are a common indoor pest but most people don’t notice them, except for this time of year when adults are on the move. The newly emerged adult beetles are attracted to light. At this time of year, what you’re probably seeing is carpet beetles searching for a way out of your house. Or, you may have found them dead in window frames or on windowsills. You may have seen little, dark beetles crawling up your walls lately. What Are Those Tiny Beetles Crawling Up My Walls? By Chris Williams on May 2, 2012. The most troubling type of tiny black beetles found in the home can be the grain-eating insects, which come in several different varieties. ![]()
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