Bugs in the carpet are beetles

Q. I retrieved black insects from my carpet cleaner. Can you identify them?

Debbie from Boardman

A. After viewing the sample of the insect you provided from your carpet cleaner, we have determined that you have “The Beetles!”

No, not the iconic rock band, but carpet beetles, which is also an awesome name for a rock band. Giving that particular identification to a type of bug living in a carpet sounds almost as simplistic as telling you who is buried in Grant’s tomb.

This insect, however, is one of four types of carpet beetles. The OSU factsheet on carpet beetles shows us that this particular guy is Anthrenus verbasci – or adult varied carpet beetle – from the family of beetles known as dermestids. They can be identified by size (1/10” – 1/8” long), shape (nearly round) and markings (gray with a mixture of white, brown, and yellow scales and irregular black cross bands).

Finding this is the culprit in the carpet and not some other problematic insect, such as a tick or bed bug, is somewhat relieving. But the carpet beetle can be destructive.

Adults fly readily during warm, sunny days and feed on flower pollen. They are attracted to light, fly into homes and may be found on windows and screens. All carpet beetles pass through the egg, larva, pupa and adult stages. After hatching, larvae do the most damage by feeding on animal and plant substances such as wool, fur, hair, silk, felts, bone, seeds, grain, cereals, flour, cotton linen – almost anything.

Carpet beetle larvae prefer to feed in dark, undisturbed, protected places, so detection is not easy. A few adult beetles found in the house shouldn’t be a cause for alarm. If you find larvae developing in fabrics or find cast skins of larvae in abundance, a management program should be implemented.

Eliminate the source of food by cleaning rugs, draperies, furniture, baseboards, air vents and other hard to reach places.

According to the OSU Extension factsheet on carpet beetles, cedar-lined closets and chests help, but are not 100 percent effective. Use naphthalene flakes and balls or paradichlorobenzene (PDB) crystals in closets space for limited protection.

To learn more about these recommendations and to see images of the beetles, visit go.osu.edu/carpetbeetles.

Rick Patterson is an OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteer in Mahoning County. Call 330-533-5538 to submit your questions.