Carpet Beetle Clothes Moth Larvae

Items that are stored for long periods are especially at risk.

Carpet beetle clothes moth larvae.

Such pests seldom infest items used on a regular basis. The carpet beetle larva is a fuzzy slow moving light brown or blackish worm about 1 4 inch long. This species is considered both a fabric pest feeding on woolens and a stored product pest that infests grain. Carpet beetles are often found in natural situations such as birds nests wasps nests and animal burrows and in some museums and houses they have a direct route into the premises from nests in attics and chimneys.

But larvae of the black carpet beetlefeed on both plant and animal products. The larvae caterpillars still graze the surface of woolens and will feed on other items including those made of hair fur silk or feathers. The damage is often mistaken for clothes moth larvae attack. The caterpillars are white with dark brown heads.

Damage to fabrics and materials is caused only by the moth larvae grubs the adult moths do not feed. Clothes moths today with less clothing and carpeting made of wool clothes moths are less common than they once were. The damage it does is similar to that of the clothes moth larva but without webbing. Clothes moth and carpet beetle larvae feed in quiet dark areas closets attics bureau drawers storage trunks or boxes.

The larva is up to one fourth of an inch long and carrot shaped with a fan of long hairs on the tail end.