What Carpet Beetles Eat

Their feeding creates large isolated holes in the fabric.

What carpet beetles eat. You may occasionally find carpet beetles in your pantry feeding on grains. You ll be able see damage on bed sheets linens clothing drapes and of course carpet. Clothing furniture wool sisal jute carpets leather blankets pet food pet hair crumbs dead insects. Carpet beetles have a wide variety of things that they eat and interestingly enough sometimes they won t even eat carpet.

Typically they like to feed off of animal based products. Unlike other species like wood beetles that only eat wood carpet beetles will eat almost anything. Today s carpet is made from synthetic materials that carpet beetles won t eat. These are solid or splotchy black with specks of white tan and yellow.

Carpet beetles don t usually eat cotton linen or other plant based or synthetic fabrics but they may eat fabric blends or fabrics stained with animal products. Carpet beetles like to gather in dark low traffic places in your home like closets storage areas your attic in air ducts and of course underneath your carpet. And almost anything else they might encounter. These beetles may also eat synthetic fabrics if they are soiled with food or oils.

They love to eat away the material that carpets are made out of i e. Carpet beetles can actually eat any animal product that comes into its contact. Carpet beetles can also thrive on lint hair and debris accumulating under baseboards and inside floor vents and ducts. Unlike moths carpet beetles typically feed on one portion of fabric at a time.

Verbasci was also the first insect to be shown to have an. Carpet beetles are the most dangerous type of beetle to most homeowners. Carpet beetles are found in almost every part of the world however they are basically european based. Additionally carpet beetle larvae leave cast skins while molting which may cause allergic reactions and dermatitis in some highly sensitive individuals.

For example fur feathers wool silk leather and bed. Common carpet beetles that eat clothes are the variegated black and common carpet beetles. They all are destructive towards fibers and only differ slightly in their appearance and lifecycle. Obviously carpet beetles will also eat through the fabrics in your home.