Life Cycle of Carpet Beetles:

Phases from Eggs to Adults

Your familiarity with the lifecycle of these beetles will come in handy in their early detection and control. So, it is important that we have a look at the series of their developmental changes.

If you live in a warm place, for instance in a southern state in the United States, then you are likely to encounter carpet beetles at your home or workplace. 

These insects tend to hide in cracks and crevices and upholstered furniture. They feed on textiles made of plant or animal products such as fur, hair, dander, silk as well as feathers.

Why Carpet Beetles Are A Concern

Although they don’t bite people, carpet beetles are not friendly to have around at your home as prolonged contact with their body fibers can result in bumpy, itchy, rashes. The rashes share some resemblance with bed bug bites. 

Therefore, you ought to be on the lookout to spot these pests as soon as they get away into your place. Your familiarity with the lifecycle of these beetles will come in handy in their early detection and control. So, it is important that we have a look at the series of their developmental changes.

The Life Cycle of Carpet Beetles

Carpet beetles undergo full metamorphosis which includes going through the egg, larva, pupa as well as adult stages. Depending on how cold or hot the surrounding environment is, a carpet beetle takes four months to a year to develop from the egg stage all the way to the adult stage.

Eggs

A female carpet beetle lay many egg batches at a time, each having about 20 to 100 eggs. The eggs are white in color, oval in shape and each is approximately 0.35mm wide while its length is around 0.75mm. The pests can thrive outdoors, but sometimes the mothers decide to lay eggs indoors for proximity to food sources. 

When laid indoors, the eggs take about 5 to 21 days to hatch but the period is dependent on the prevailing climatic conditions as well as the involved carpet beetles species.  

Upon close inspection of an area with a carpet beetle infestation, the eggs are likely to be found in hidden spots near baseboards or dark closets.

Larvae

Carpet beetle eggs hatch into larvae within one to three weeks. A carpet beetle larva is 5mm long, oval and has a brown hair covering. They feed on dander and hair fabrics, among other plant or animal product materials, as well as packaged food such as flour and cereals. 

The larvae undergo molting, but the number of instars of each species is different; it ranges from 6 to 12. It takes a larva two to three months before it pupates. Interestingly, at this stage, a carpet beetle can stay go for several weeks without eating anything.

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“A carpet beetle larva is 5mm long, oval and has a brown hair covering. They feed on dander and hair fabrics, among other plant or animal product materials, as well as packaged food such as flour and cereals.”

Control Exterminating – NYC Exterminator

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Pupae

At the pupae stage, young carpet beetles develop in a skin that looks like a cocoon to a maximum of 20 days before becoming adults. They pupate near or on the items that they were eating during the larval stage. They are white.

Adults

Once the pupae period is over (two to three weeks), the young carpet beetles mature and become adults. An adult carpet beetle is approximately 2 to 3.5 mm long. It may appear molted with black, brown, as well as white or can be solid black. 

The color depends on the species of that particular beetle you are seeing. Adult carpet beetles are less harmful than their larval counterparts. Although they feed on flower pollen, the adults don’t damage flowers.  

You can see them flying through open windows or doors as they are attracted by light. One week after joining adulthood, female carpet beetles start to lay eggs, leading to a rapid increase in the population of the pests in the area they have invaded.

Hopefully, you are now more familiar with carpet beetles than ever before. Watch them out at your home or workplace and eradicate them as soon as you find them to avoid the damages they bring about.

If you have a carpet beetle infestation you can’t handle by yourself, don’t wait to call Control Exterminating Company. ***

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