“I’ve been de-mothing my bedroom recently, and found a few of these”, writes this reader in Colorado about the thin, brown-striped, worm-like creature pictured below. “While they bear a passing resemblance to carpet beetle larvae, they don’t appear to match up exactly (I am, however, not the expert here). I’ve included both pictures of a dead one and video of a live one moving. If helpful, I live in the Rocky Mountain area.” First off, we want to say that we agree that this does look like a carpet beetle larva, and we do think that is what it is. The reason why it might not match up exactly with our reader’s idea of a carpet beetle larva is because there are actually multiple species of carpet beetles, all of which look slightly different from one another.

This creature’s segmentation, brown coloration, and tufts of ‘hair’ on its rear give it away as a carpet beetle larva. As we are sure our reader is aware, carpet beetle larvae like to munch on carpets and can cause a lot of damage to them over time. Carpet beetle larvae are able to digest keratin, the protein present in animal fibers like fur and feathers, and thus will feed on lots of different items that possess those fibers, not just carpets. Think anything made from –or even partially made from– wool, feathers, leather, or silk. That includes upholstered furniture, clothing, bed sheets, pillows, and so much more. On top of that, carpet beetle larvae have even been known to eat other organic-based materials, even ones that do not come from animals, like cotton or bamboo.

Carpet beetles can cause infestation that go unnoticed for a long time, and the longer they go on, the harder they are to get rid of. They like to hide in cramped, dark spaces where they can feed in peace, like the back of a wardrobe, the drawers of a dresser, underneath or behind upholstered furniture, or indeed under carpets. Whatever our reader was doing to ‘de-moth’ her bedroom, we recommend she do that with the carpet beetle larvae (unless that included the use of insecticides, which we never recommend because of the health risks they pose to humans and pets). Vacuuming the home and laundering any infested –and potentially infested– materials is key to eliminating a carpet beetle infestation. This will eliminate any larvae, adult beetles, and eggs that would otherwise go unseen. She might have to vacuum and launder a few times for at least a couple of weeks to completely eliminate the infestation (provided there is one).

In conclusion, we think that the brown critter our reader found is a carpet beetle larva. It’s not the best news we could have given her, but at least they are not harmful to humans or pets (minus the rash that they can give upon physical contact; avoid touching them!). We hope this helps, and we wish our reader the very best!

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