A reader recently asked us about a few worm-like organisms she found on the floor under her leather settee. She said, “I’ve never seen them before. Are they carpet beetle larvae?” The photograph she sent shows several creatures in a paper towel along with a few other miscellaneous items. The specimens have tiny, round bodies. They are brown and white. Our reader’s guess is spot on, these are carpet beetle larvae:

We have some good news and some not so good news for our reader. We will start with the not so good news. Depending on how much research on carpet beetle larvae she did prior to writing us, she might already know that carpet beetle larvae are extremley common household pests that are pretty annoying to get rid of. Carpet beetle larvae can survive for long periods of time without eating, and can travel among rooms looking for new food sources when they run out. They also eat a wide variety of items found throughout a home including animal products, upholstered furniture, linens, pet food, and other various materials. This all means that if not noticed early, a few carpet beetle larvae can turn into an entire house infestation pretty quickly. The good news is that we don’t think our reader is dealing with an infestation. Since she noted that she hadn’t seen any of these larvae before, we think they are probably only in one area of her home, which means getting rid of them will be no big deal. It will simply require some dedicated cleaning.

We believe that the carpet beetle larvae are probably feeding on the leather settee they were found under. She should have the settee removed from her home and have it professionally cleaned to eliminate any other unseen larvae and eggs. Next, she will need to launch a daily cleaning regime in order to eliminate any potential food sources that might tempt future larvae. This regime should include mopping, sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, and doing laundry. She can focus on the room where the settee was, or she can clean the entire house if she wants to be on the cautious side. We recommend she keep to a strict cleaning schedule until she is positive that her home is free of carpet beetle larvae.

To sum up, a reader reached out to us after discovering what she thought might be carpet beetle larvae under her leather settee. We have confirmed her suspicions and provided some steps for getting rid of carpet beetle larvae.

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