Today we will discuss a creature that one of our readers found. He discovered it on a cotton and polyester sweater that he had recently worn. The sweater was in a wooden chest of drawers. There were no holes in the sweater, and he didn’t find any other larvae. He wants to know if the specimen in question is a carpet beetle larvae. He sent us a photograph, which he took using the magnifying glass app on his phone. The larva is about 1/4 inch long:

We agree with our reader, this is a carpet beetle larva! There are three different kinds of carpet beetles: varied carpet beetles, furniture carpet beetles, and black carpet beetles. We are confident that our reader has found a furniture carpet beetle larva! All three carpet beetle species have similar life cycles and feeding habits. They eat a wide variety of things found around a home including wool, felt, fur, feathers, pet hair, carpet, and upholstered furniture.

We believe the carpet beetle larva our reader discovered was feeding on a clothing item in his drawers, but not necessarily the sweater he found it on. He should examine all his clothing items for signs of damage and carpet beetle larva fecal droppings, which look like grains of salt. Anything that is damaged should be removed and disposed of if possible. We recommend our reader wash all of his clothes in his wooden chest of drawers. He can also begin a cleaning regime to eliminate other potential food sources for the larvae. He should do laundry, vacuum, sweep, and dust every day to prevent a potential carpet beetle larvae infestation!

To sum up, one of our readers discovered a single carpet beetle larva on a sweater in his drawers. We encourage him to begin a cleaning regime to eliminate any potential food sources for these larvae, which can be quite damaging if ignored.

Summary

Article Name

Is Worm on Sweater is Carpet Beetle Larva?

Description

One of our readers discovered a single carpet beetle larva on a sweater in his drawers. We encourage him to begin a cleaning regime to eliminate any potential food sources for these larvae

Author

Dori Franklin