“Can carpet beetle larvae live on a human host?” asks this reader in his submission. He has had problems with sores on his head, ears, face and neck, which last approximately three months.

To answer our reader’s question, no carpet beetle larvae do not live on human hosts. In fact, they do not take hosts at all, as they are not parasites. Carpet beetle larvae merely feed on organic and animal-based materials, but not on the animals themselves. This means that while they would feed on feathers, they would not feed directly off a bird. The same goes for humans.

Now, our reader does not send in any pictures, nor does he provide any physical descriptions of the organisms that are bothering him, so there is nothing else we could possibly use to identify the critters. But in any case, as our reader describes experiencing sores, this situation sounds as if it is potentially medical in nature, and as such, we are not qualified to identify these organisms.

What we suggest is that our reader consult a medical parasitologist. They are physicians which specialize in treating diseases/infections that are caused by organisms. What we can recommend is that our reader do one or more of the following:
1) Search for a medical parasitologist in his area using this directory of medical parasitology consultants: https://www.astmh.org/for-astmh-members/clinical-consultants-directory.
2) Search for a local parasitologist by doing a Google search for “medical parasitologist (name of the closest big city)” or “tropical medicine specialist (name of the closest big city)”.
3) Get in touch with Dr. Omar Amin at the Parasitology Center at https://www.parasitetesting.com.
In conclusion, carpet beetle larvae do not take human hosts, as they are not parasites, but merely household pests. What we recommend is that our reader consult a medical parasitologist to receive help with his sores and find out what may be causing them. We wish him the very best!

Summary

Article Name

Can Carpet Beetle Larvae Live On a Human Host?

Description

"Can carpet beetle larvae live on a human host?" asks this reader in his submission. He has had problems with sores on his head, ears, face and neck, which last approximately three months.

Author

Worm Researcher Anton