Because carpet beetle larvae are bigger than bed bugs you may be more likely to see the beetles themselves.
Carpet beetle vs bed bug larvae.
One big difference between bed bugs and carpet beetles that can help you determine which pest you re dealing with is that bed bugs go through an incomplete metamorphosis while carpet beetles go through a complete metamorphosis.
An important detail when understanding the difference.
Carpet beetle larvae are the form of beetles that comes between the egg stage and the adult stage of their growth cycle.
But the main difference is that the varied carpet beetle does not feed on blood.
Also once magnified the varied carpet beetle larvae actually look like tiny furry caterpillars with little spines on them whereas the bed bug larvae look like little worms.
Bed bugs and carpet beetles are both very small.
Bed bugs on the other hand don t have larvae.
If you ve found larvae it s carpet beetles.
Depending on food sources and climate larvae may take over a year to develop into adults.
The official name for the varied carpet beetle is anthrenus verbasci they are small about 3mm in length and flat in their shape.
Bed bugs it quickly becomes pests vs.
If you re not sure which you have you can have an exterminator come look for bedbugs.
The main difference is the color.
Both carpet beetle and bed bug infestations are serious matters that need professional pest control treatment.
Their food preference includes all kinds of fabrics and dead insects.
The carpet beetle and bed bug not only leave similar looking bites but there are other similarities.
Instead of carpet beetles vs.
In spring female carpet beetles lay 25 to 100 eggs which hatch into larvae within two weeks.
It s important to point out that carpet beetles have larvae.
Varied carpet beetles do have brown on their backs but they look more spotted or striped with white and light colored patches mixed with brown.
However the carpet beetle is the smallest of the two and averages 1 8th of an inch in length while the bed bug is about 1 4th of an inch long.
And the larvae are bigger than the adults.
Larvae are basically immature carpet beetles which have come out of their eggs and are now looking to feed.
Carpet beetle larvae are able to mature under a variety of humidity levels and temperatures although they tend to avoid bright areas.
