A reader recently reached out to us from Poland in a state of distress. She explained that she recently moved into a flat that wasn’t cleaned for 8 years. She discovered carpet beetle larvae in the carpeting and on her bed. She reported this to the landlord and they removed the bed and carpeting and disinfected the entire apartment. She said that she has been cleaning obsessively, yet still finds carpet beetle larvae. Most of the ones she discovers are near her window. She doesn’t know if they are coming from her window, but doesn’t think there is anything else in her apartment attracting them. Their presence is quite unsettling to her, and she is desperate to get rid of these larvae.
Carpet beetle larvae are among the most annoying household pests and we can see that our reader has reached the limits of her patience dealing with these creatures. Carpet beetle larvae have a huge variety of potential food sources and they can survive for long periods of time without food. They also can sneak from one room to another looking for new food sources. So, it is possible that the carpet beetle larvae our reader has found are left over from the previous infestation, which sounded pretty bad. The most efficient way to get rid of carpet beetle larvae is to stick to a thorough cleaning regime, but it seems that our reader has already accomplished this. Just in case she hasn’t, we recommend she dust, vacuum, sweep, and do laundry every day (washing linens, clothes, towels, etc.) This will get rid of any unseen eggs or potential food sources. The larvae might be coming from the outside world through her window as she suspects, but we cannot confirm this 100%. We encourage her to check the sealing around her window and window screen for any small gaps that they might be sneaking in through.
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Unfortunately, other than thorough cleaning, there isn’t much to be done about a carpet beetle larvae infestation. Our reader can look into purchasing diatomaceous earth (D.E. for short) and spreading it around the window sill where the larvae keep turning up. D.E. is a powder made up of fossilized aquatic organisms. It is toxic to insects and will kill them, but it is harmless to humans and pets. Our reader can also take some steps to prevent future infestations from carpet beetle larvae and other creatures. In addition to keeping her apartment clean and debris-free, she can store unused linens and off-season clothes in air tight containers. We hope our reader is able to say goodbye to these annoying larvae and feel comfortable in her own home again!
To wrap up, one of our readers is fed up with finding carpet beetle larvae in her home. Unfortunately, these larvae can be extremley headache-inducing since they require so much cleaning to get rid of. On the bright side, they aren’t known to be dangerous towards humans or to transmit or carry any human diseases.
All About Worms is always free, always reader-supported, we don't subject you to ads or annoying video pop-ups. But it does cost us money out of our pocket to keep the site going (nearly 20 years so far!) So your tips via CashApp, Venmo, or Paypal are appreciated! Receipts will come from ISIPP Publishing.