Small, brown, bristly. Finding one tells you what it is, that something is being eaten, and — with a bit of thought — roughly where it came from.
The damaging stage of the carpet beetle — elongated, brown, densely bristly, up to about 5mm, often called woolly bears. They feed on keratin: wool, silk, fur and feather.
The adult beetle does not damage fabric. Finding larvae means active feeding is happening now.
If it is smooth and cream rather than brown and bristly, that is a carpet moth larva. Similar damage, comparable treatment, different search.
Read nextCarpet Beetles or Carpet Moths in Stanmore – How Do You Tell? →See our full carpet beetle treatment service, published room prices and identification advice.
View Carpet Beetle Control Stanmore →Carpet beetles feed naturally on keratin from feathers and remains. An old bird's nest in a roof void or eaves, a nest in a disused chimney, a dead bird or animal, or an old wasp nest. Mature trees around the property mean more nesting birds using the eaves.
Wool, cashmere or silk stored unworn in a wardrobe, dressing room, suitcase, under-bed box or loft. Soiled items are considerably more attractive than clean ones.
Adults feed on pollen and are drawn to flowering plants. They come in through open windows in spring and lay indoors. A large garden means more of them about.
| Material | At risk? |
|---|---|
| Wool carpet and rugs | Yes |
| Wool clothing, especially stored | Yes |
| Silk, cashmere, sheepskin, fur, feather | Yes |
| Upholstery with natural-fibre content | Yes |
| Antique textiles and taxidermy | Yes — exactly what they evolved to eat |
| Polypropylene and nylon carpet | No |
| Cotton and linen | Not usually, unless soiled |
On clothing, beetle damage is typically several small separate holes rather than one larger area.
Carpet beetle larvae do not bite. Some people react to the bristly hairs with an itchy rash, which gets mistaken for bites.
If someone has an unexplained itchy rash and you have found bristly larvae, the two may be connected. A doctor can advise on the rash; we deal with the source. If bites are genuinely on the ankles and there is a pet in the house, consider fleas instead.
Any live larvae mean active feeding. How many rooms matters more than how many larvae.
If the source is still there, yes — and in a house that usually means the loft.
Not on the fibre, but they can live on the hair and debris in it.
An old wasp nest is a carpet beetle food source — and a live one is £90 fixed in Stanmore, guaranteed for 30 days.
Elongated, brown and densely bristly, up to about 5mm, often with a tuft of longer hairs at the tail.
A live larva moves when disturbed; a shed skin is papery and hollow.
Usually a source above — an old bird's nest in the loft or eaves, a disused chimney, or a dead bird or animal — or stored wool.
Under static furniture, along carpet edges under the gripper, under rugs, under beds, in wardrobe bases, a dressing room, the airing cupboard and the loft.
Keratin — wool, silk, cashmere, sheepskin, fur, feather, antique textiles and taxidermy. On clothing, several small separate holes.
No. Some people react to the bristly hairs with an itchy rash mistaken for bites.
If bites are genuinely on the ankles and there is a pet in the house, consider fleas.
If the source is still there, yes — and in a house that usually means the loft.
Photograph one and tell us where. Check the loft too — that is usually where it starts here.
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