Carpet Beetle Larvae Bed Bugs

An important detail when understanding the difference.

Carpet beetle larvae bed bugs.

Bed bugs actually create red itchy welts on the skin from biting you while the carpet beetle doesn t bite at all but causes a similar red itchy welt due to an allergic reaction from the prickly little hairs on the carpet beetle larvae pictured center. Bed bugs are usually found on mattresses or close to your bed and carpet beetles live close to their food. Larvae are basically immature carpet beetles which have come out of their eggs and are now looking to feed. The carpet beetle and bed bug not only leave similar looking bites but there are other.

Carpet beetle larvae have prickly little hairs that cause a reaction in some people that looks very much like bed bug bites. They re both dangerous to humans because bed bugs bite and carpet beetles can cause allergies. 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. 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.

Because carpet beetle larvae are bigger than bed bugs you may be more likely to see the beetles themselves. An adult bed bug next to a carpet beetle larvae. She learned that they did not need to chemically treat for carpet beetles as it isn t the live insects that cause the allergy. Bed bugs eat human blood and carpet beetle larvae feed on wool and animal based materials.

The main difference is the color. Carpet beetle larvae are the form of beetles that comes between the egg stage and the adult stage of their growth cycle.