A light brown ovate creature with dark brown stripes has been found for the second time in the crib of this reader’s baby. “I don’t know how it gets there! Is it coming from the baby’s mattress? Please help me find the reason why it keeps showing up!” our reader exclaims.

Despite the picture being taken so far away, we could immediately tell that this is a carpet beetle larva. We have covered carpet beetle larvae countless times before in past articles, as they commonly show up in people’s homes. They are not parasites, nor are they directly harmful to humans or animals, so our reader needs not fear for the safety or health of her baby. That said, carpet beetle larvae are considered pests, and are incredibly destructive to the items within one’s home. This is because the diet of the carpet beetle larva consists of animal- and organic-based textiles and materials, such as clothing, bed sheets, carpets, feathers, loose hair and fur, and more.

Usually, infestations of carpet beetle larvae can go unnoticed for a long time as they tend to hide in dark, cramped spaces where they can feed in peace, and carpet beetle larvae tend to stretch their populations throughout the entire home. This makes finding the source –which is the first step to controlling an infestation– very difficult. That being said, our reader states that there is no other place in her home that these creatures are turning up, which is why she is so confused as to how they got there. Hence, our reader is very fortunate to have found what seems to be the source of the infestation so quickly. What this means is that the eggs of the adult carpet beetle were likely deposited here, which is why the larvae keep showing up. Luckily for our reader, since this is the only spot the larvae have been found, as long as she launders the sheets and anything else on the bed that the carpet beetle larvae might want to feed on, she should be able to eliminate the infestation before it even begins. Of course, if our reader does end up discovering more larvae and thinks she may be experiencing an infestation, then she is more than welcome to check out any of our other articles from the link above which will provide more in-depth advice on tackling carpet beetle larvae infestations.

To conclude, the brown-striped larva our reader found in her baby’s crib is a carpet beetle larva. They are not dangerous in any way to our reader or her baby, but they can be quite destructive as we mentioned before. For that reason, we recommend that our reader cleans the bed clothes and other items on the cribs as soon as possible so as to prevent the spread of a potential infestation. We wish her the best of luck!

Summary

Article Name

Brown-Striped Larva Found in Baby's Crib is a Carpet Beetle Larva

Description

A light brown ovate creature with dark brown stripes has been found for the second time in the crib of this reader's baby. "I don't know how it gets there! Is it coming from the baby's mattress? Please help me find the reason why it keeps showing up!" our reader exclaims.

Author

Worm Researcher Anton