Can carpet beetles get in your bed

In our coverage area of Maryland and Northern Virginia, we have three primary species of carpet beetle that can cause trouble in your home. They come with cryptic names like the varied carpet beetle, the common carpet beetle, and the furniture carpet beetle.

It isn't necessary to learn the differences between these three species because they all pose the same dangers. Here is what you can expect if you have carpet beetles in your home. You decide if they are bad.

Carpet Beetles Will Crawl on You

Carpet beetles like the essential oils in your hair, this will cause them to get in bed with you and nibble on your hair while you sleep. In doing this, they will walk across your body, which can leave an irritating rash for some people.

As Annoying As Bed Bugs

Often the carpet beetle is confused for bed bugs because people see the adult carpet beetles crawling in their bed, and then wake up with a rash.

Since bed bugs tend to feed multiple times in a row, the rash from a carpet beetle can have a similar appearance to bed bug bites, complete with irritating bumps that you'll want to scratch until they start to bleed.

Clothing Moths or Carpet Beetle?

One way to determine if you have clothing moths or carpet beetle larvae is whether or not you have one big hole or several random smaller holes. Carpet beetles tend to eat in one big section.

Carpet Beetle Larvae

These little buggers get their own sub-heading because there is a lot to say about carpet beetle larvae. These are the caterpillar-like children of the carpet beetle. Here are some unsavory things they can do in your home:

⭐ Larvae of the carpet beetle feed on natural fabrics.

That means clothing, carpets, ornaments, and blankets are a prime target. If you have not seen adult carpet beetles in your home and are finding clothing with holes in them.

One way to determine if you have clothing moths or carpet beetle larvae is whether or not you have one big hole or several random smaller holes. Carpet beetles tend to eat in one big section.

⭐ Carpet beetles like the essential oils in your hair, this will cause them to get in bed with you and nibble on your hair while you sleep. In doing this, they will walk across your body, which can leave an irritating rash for some people.

⭐ Let's talk about that irritating rash.

Often the carpet beetle is confused for bed bugs because people see the adult carpet beetles crawling in their bed, and then wake up with a rash.

Since bed bugs tend to feed multiple times in a row, the rash from a carpet beetle can have a similar appearance to bed bug bites, complete with irritating bumps that you'll want to scratch until they start to bleed.

⭐ Carpet beetle larvae feed on dead insects, hides, milled products, pet food, crumbs, lint, felt, soiled clothing, and more.

This strange variety of food sources makes carpet beetles hard to control with natural Integrated Pest Management methods.

They Are Hard to Control

Carpet beetle larvae feed on dead insects, hides, milled products, pet food, crumbs, lint, felt, soiled clothing, and more. This strange variety of food sources makes carpet beetles hard to control with natural Integrated Pest Management methods.

Should I Worry About Carpet Beetles?

So, what do you think? Are carpet beetles bad?

Adult carpet beetles aren't bad if you don't mind inhaling tiny insects or having insects crawl all over you while you're watching TV or sleeping.

The adult carpet beetles are the insects that are flying around your house.

They feed mostly on pollen and nectar but can get into pantry foods like cereals, rice, and flour. If these foods are in sealed, hard plastic containers, you don't have anything to worry about. But if they are unprotected, you might get a mouthful of something undesirable.

Treatment and Prevention for Carpet Beetles

If you're dealing with these frustrating pests, we can help. Our team knows how to treat carpet beetles and their larvae in all the strange areas they feed and breed.

Give us a call or fill out this form and we will make every effort to get a certified technician to your home on the same day you call.

Carpet beetles are bad. Get them out and keep them out with expert service from American Pest.

04/15/2021  |  Bed Bugs or Carpet Beetles? A Look at the Differences

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Bed bugs leave a trail of panic and anxiety wherever they go. But what about their often-confused doppelganger the carpet beetle? Carpet beetles are one of several bugs that look like bed bugs - they’re roughly the same size, have similar habits and can even cause welts.

If you’ve found tiny beetle-like insects in your furniture, bedding, fabrics or skin, it’s worth reading on to identify which pest you have. While neither is desirable, bed bugs pose a significant health threat and can cause major damage to your home.

Bed Bug vs Carpet Beetle: The Differences

The most significant difference between the bed bugs and carpet beetles is that carpet beetles don’t bite, and bed bugs do. Bed bugs need blood to grow and reproduce. Like a mosquito, a bed bug will stick its elongated nose into your skin and extract your blood. This usually leaves red bite marks that can itch.

Instead of blood, carpet beetle larvae eat organic matter in the form of wool, fabric, carpet, leather and feathers. They are voracious for their size and capable of damaging rugs, garments and upholstered furniture. Their path of destruction continues until they are able molt enough times to become an adult. Once a carpet beetle becomes an adult, it shifts its diet to pollen.

In addition to dietary differences, bed bugs and carpet beetles look different:

Bed bugs are small, oval-shaped and reddish brown or tan in color. Their bodies are flat and about the size of an apple seed. The don’t have wings and are not able to fly. They are nocturnal and prefer quiet dark areas like under mattresses.

Carpet beetles are also oval shaped but are black, brown, white or orange and often have a molted

Signs of Carpet Beetles vs Bed Bugs

Here are the most common early signs of bed bugs or carpet beetles you might see in your home:

Carpet Beetles

• Beetles flying or climbing walls
• Damaged carpet, upholstery, clothing
• Hairs falling out of trophy animals
• Larvae and larvae skin sheds
• Dead beetles in windowsill

Bed Bugs

• Bites
• Blood stains on sheets or pillowcases
• Rust colored stains on bed and furniture
• Egg casings
• Skin sheds
• Musty Odor

How You Get Carpet Beetles vs Bed Bugs

Bed Bugs and carpet beetles often travel in similar ways. Both are hitchhikers that latch on to

Bed bugs are notorious for travelers. They crawl into suitcases or purses and then spread through airports and hotels, ultimately arriving in your home. They will lay eggs and produce nymphs (baby bed bugs) that continue the cycle of feasting on your blood and creating more bed bugs.

Carpet beetles sometimes hitchhike. They also lay their eggs in food sources like carpeting and blankets. An adult might fly in through and open window or door and deposit the next generation in your bedroom. Carpet beetle nymphs will devour your carpets and fabrics until they reach adulthood and then fly off in search of pollen.

If You Think You Have Bed Bugs

If you’re concerned that you may have bed bugs in your home don’t hesitate to call a pest control professional. Diagnosing the problem as soon as possible can save you money, furniture and peace of mind.

We’re happy to identify your bug infestation and discuss with you the possible courses of treatment. We even have a K9 bed bug unit dedicated to sniffing out bed bugs in any location.

Bed Bug Treatment Options

Bed bugs don’t like extreme heat or extreme cold. If you want to quickly kill the bed bugs you find

If your infestation goes beyond a few tainted items, there are several options for full home bed bug treatment:

Conventional treatment involves a combination of steam treatment, HEPA vacuuming and pesticide injection for cracks and crevices.

Thermal treatment is a completely non-chemical green option that essentially “bakes’ the bed bugs in your home by using forced air heaters to raise the temperature to an uncomfortable level.

Offsite fumigation is an option in which we take your contaminated items to our offsite facility for treatment. It allows for a more efficient method of removing bed bugs from personal items.

A pest control professional can assess the size and nature of your bed bug infestation and then recommend the appropriate method of remediation.

New York Bed Bug Identification and Control

We have an arsenal of tools and a crew of experienced professional to deal with your bed bug or carpet beetle problem. Call or contact Assured Environments today to make sure your home is pest free tomorrow.

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