Carpet Beetle Bugs Mistaken For Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are usually found on mattresses or close to your bed and carpet beetles live close to their food.

Carpet beetle bugs mistaken for bed bugs.

Bed bugs and carpet beetles are both very small. The carpet beetle is referred to as the anthrenus verbasci that grows from 1 7 mm to a maximum of 3 5 mm. Unlike bed bugs carpet beetles have wings and can fly. There are many other varieties of carpet beetles that will vary in color and can have brown gray or even yellow markings.

While carpet beetles don t bite or feed on humans their larvae can irritate the skin. The most common bed bugs lookalikes are. The most prevalent and popular one is however the carpet beetle. What are the bugs mistaken for bed bugs usually.

They typically have shiny black bodies with brown legs. Bed bugs eat human blood and carpet beetle larvae feed on wool and animal based materials. Carpet beetle is one the most common look a like. Because of the similarities many professionals have ended up treating the wrong bugs for bed bugs.

The carpet beetle and bed bug not only leave similar looking bites but there are other similarities. One might be covered in carpet beetle bites and rashes while other will seem to be absolutely fine. They re both dangerous to humans because bed bugs bite and carpet beetles can cause allergies. 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.

Several types of carpet beetles are found in the united kingdom. Booklice although rarer you can mistake bat bugs and spider beetles for bed bugs as well. They have a round spherical body. Carpet beetle stings are often mistaken as bed bug bites.

If you notice bed bug like red spots and discover that you have carpet beetles but not bed bugs then they may be the cause. Bed bugs are in the family cimicidae while carpet beetles are in the family dermestids. Because carpet beetle larvae are bigger than bed bugs you may be more likely to see the beetles themselves. Black carpet beetles are approximately 5 mm long and round in shape.

If you re not sure which you have you can have an exterminator come look for bedbugs. The difference here is that bed bugs have a mouth made for piercing skin and sucking blood while carpet beetles have a mouth made for chewing on plants and other fibrous material. There are a number of bugs that are mistaken for bed bugs.