Carpet Beetles

Carpet beetles normally live outdoors, where they feed on pollen and nectar from flowers. They’re problematic when they enter the home, usually by way of flying through an open window or being accidentally brought in on cut flowers, clothing, or pets.

Aside from laying their eggs indoors, adult carpet beetles are generally harmless. All of the damage that these pests cause is done by their fuzzy, voracious larvae.

Carpet beetle larvae feed on carpets, clothing, upholstered furniture, and anything else made from animal-based materials like wool, fur, silk, and feathers. Long-term exposure to larva-infested fabrics may lead to carpet beetle dermatitis (rashes or welts caused by hypersensitivity to the tiny larval hairs).

In addition to damaging fabric items, carpet beetle larvae occasionally also infest grains and other stored food products.

Common pest species found in New York:

Black Carpet Beetle
Varied Carpet Beetle
Furniture Carpet Beetle

Black Carpet Beetle (Adult)

Attagenus unicolor

Black carpet beetles are the most common and most destructive species of carpet beetles, particularly in New York and the northeastern United States.

Size: 1/8–3/16 inch long (3–5 mm); about the length of a highlighter tip

Color: Black or dark brown

Shape: Pill-shaped body with a hard shell, short antennae, 6 legs, and 2 pairs of wings

Legs: 6 legs

Antennae: Short antennae that appear thicker at the tips (3-segmented club); may not be visible if tucked under the pronotum

Body: Pill-shaped body and hard shell that’s solid black or dark-brown; undersides are white

Wings: Black or dark-brown elytra (forewings) that meet along the mid-line of its back; large and membranous hindwings underneath; capable of flight

Black Carpet Beetle (Larva)

Attagenus unicolor

See Black Carpet Beetle (Adult)

(Photo: Jim Moore)

Size: Up to 1/2 inch long (13 mm); about the length of a Skittle

Color: Light and dark reddish-brown

Shape: Long, carrot-shaped body with with alternating light and dark stripes, short bristles, and a tuft of long hair at the back

Legs: 6 short, stubby legs; not visible from above

Head: Small, reddish-brown head

Body: Elongated body with reddish-brown stripes of thin, horizontal plates (tergites); covered in short bristles (setae); tapers towards the rear; look for a tuft of long, thin hairs on the tail end

Varied Carpet Beetle (Adult)

Anthrenus verbasci

Varied carpet beetles are another common species found throughout the world. Their larvae are sometimes referred to as “woolly bears” due to the characteristic tufts of hair on their bodies.

(Photo: Barbara Cooper)

Size: 1/12–1/6 inch long (2–4 mm); about the length of a sesame seed

Color: Brown or black with mottled white, brown, and dark yellow patterns

Shape: Oval-shaped body with a hard shell, short antennae, 6 legs, and 2 pairs of wings

Legs: 6 legs

Antennae: Short antennae that appear thicker at the tips (3-segmented club); may not be visible if tucked under the pronotum

Body: Oval-shaped body and hard shell covered in brown and yellow scales with 3 zig-zagging bands of white scales; undersides are greyish-yellow

Wings: Mottled elytra (forewings) that meet along the mid-line of its back; large and membranous hindwings underneath; capable of flight

Varied Carpet Beetle (Larva)

Anthrenus verbasci

See Varied Carpet Beetle (Adult)

(Photo: André Karwath)

Size: Up to 1/5 inch long (5 mm); about the length of a pencil eraser

Color: Light and dark brown

Shape: Cigar-shaped body with alternating light and dark stripes, long bristles, and 3 tufts of hair on its rear

Legs: 6 short, stubby legs; not visible from above

Head: Small, light-brown to orange head

Body: Elongated body with dark brown stripes of thin, horizontal plates (tergites); covered in long bristles (setae); slightly broader at the rear; look for 3 pairs of dense, backwards-growing hair tufts on its last 3 abdominal segments

Furniture Carpet Beetle (Adult)

Anthrenus flavipes

Furniture carpet beetles are more common in the South where the climate is warmer, but they can occasionally be found in heated homes and buildings in New York.

(Photo: Udo Schmidt)

Size: 1/12–1/6 inch long (2–4 mm); about the length of a sesame seed

Color: Brown or black with mottled white, brown, and dark yellow patterns

Shape: Wide, oval-shaped body with a hard shell, short antennae, 6 legs, and 2 pairs of wings

Legs: 6 legs

Antennae: Short antennae that appear thicker at the tips (3-segmented club); may not be visible if tucked under the pronotum

Body: Wide, oval-shaped body and hard shell with symmetrical spots and patches of white, brown, and yellow scales; undersides are white or yellow

Wings: Mottled elytra (forewings) that meet along the mid-line of its back; large and membranous hindwings underneath; capable of flight

Furniture Carpet Beetle (Larva)

Anthrenus flavipes

See Furniture Carpet Beetle (Adult)

(Photo: Golda Falk)

Size: Up to 1/5 inch long (5 mm); about the length of a pencil eraser

Color: Reddish-brown with brown or black hairs

Shape: Cigar-shaped body with alternating light and dark stripes, long bristles, and a vibrating bundle of hair on its rear

Legs: 6 short, stubby legs; not visible from above

Head: Small, reddish-brown head

Body: Elongated body with dark, reddish-brown stripes of thin, horizontal plates (tergites); covered in long bristles (setae); slightly narrower at the rear; look for a long bundle of hairs at the end that vibrate continuously