Woolly Bears Carpet Beetles

As is so often the case it is the larva that does all the damage.

Woolly bears carpet beetles.

In the uk carpet beetles and clothes moths are the biggest threat to our textiles. The varied carpet beetle anthrenus verbasci is a 3 mm long beetle belonging to the family dermestidae they are a common species often considered a pest of domestic houses and particularly natural history museums where the larvae may damage natural fibers and can damage carpets furniture clothing and insect collections. Carpet beetles and wooly bears all categories clothes and carpet moths. Carpet moth treatment suffolk.

It is not actually the moths which cause the damage but instead their larvae which feed on wool and natural fibres. Carpet beetles consists of antennae that are segmented. The larvae known as woolly bears of these small oval beetles have outstripped the clothes moths as the major british textile pest. They have an elongated body which is covered in hair or large setae.

The larvae of carpet beetles are referred to as woolly bears. To see that footage click here. These are mostly brown with white or yellow markings and are covered in short bristly hairs hence their well known woolly bear moniker. Carpet beetles are oval shaped and difficult to spot as they are only 2 to 4mm long.

Last week one of our technicians recorded some amazing footage of a carpet beetle larvae often called a woolly bear. A nasty shock awaited this customer on moving their sofa a carpet destroyed by carpet moths. It grows up to 5 mm in length. The related fur beetle is black with one spot on each wing case and there is a rarer black carpet beetle.