What are carpet beetles.
Carpet beetles versus bed bug.
They feed on items composed of wool fur silk etc.
What this means is that bed bugs have no larval stage.
Reddish brown flattened and oval in shape.
For carpet beetles therefore the head and thorax are not clear cut as seen in bedbugs.
Compare carpet beetle vs bed bug.
Dark protruding eyes and wing like structures on either side of the head.
Bed bugs measure of an inch long.
Bed bugs are in the family cimicidae while carpet beetles are in the family dermestids.
The difference here is that bed bugs have a mouth made for piercing skin and sucking blood while carpet beetles have a mouth made for chewing on plants and other fibrous material.
One big difference between bed bugs and carpet beetles that can help you determine which pest you re dealing with is that bed bugs go through an incomplete metamorphosis while carpet beetles go through a complete metamorphosis.
Additionally a behavioral difference is that bed bugs feed on blood while carpet beetles feed on material type substances like carpet woolen fabric and other materials as well as types of stored up food.
For the bedbug the trunk stands typically out from the body a carpet beetle s body is also covered by a movable shell which lacks in a bed bug.
The results are typically the same though because the person will have red blotches and itchy skin from these nasty insects.
What do bed bugs look like.
About 1 5 inch long.
The second difference and the biggest nuisance is the fact that bed bugs feed on human blood while carpet beetles feed on animal fibers.
They are very common in homes and properties and people continually ask if they have found the first signs of a bed bug infestation when they see a carpet beetle.
You ve noticed that carpet beetles length varies a lot while bed bugs are always the same length.
That s because bed bugs always look the same but there are a lot of carpet beetle species.
Carpet beetles belong to the dermestidae family as their name implies they infest carpets.
Bed bugs have small flat bodies making it possible for them to fit into tiny spaces about the width of a credit card.
The good news is that this means carpet beetles don t bite humans.
The first notable difference is that of size as bed bugs are twice as big as carpet beetles.
Bed bugs also have a unique pattern on their back and long rounded abdomens.
People often make the mistake of thinking that carpet beetles have invaded their home when they re really bed bugs or baby cockroaches just to give you an example.
Carpet beetles on the other hand measure between 1 16 of an inch and 1 8 of an inch long.
