Knowledgebase
What bug is this? #432467
Asked October 23, 2017, 12:51 PM EDT
Marion County Oregon
Expert Response
Dear Client,
This insect in this picture is the larval form of a carpet beetle. While size of the larva could help with this identification, I am going to suggest that this is the Varied Carpet Beetle, Anthrenus verbasci . While this is a very common species, I will speak of carpet beetle larvae in general.
These larvae feed on a wide range of household and bathroom products. They feed on animal byproducts such as hair, skin cells, blood and waste stains, food stuffs, and even dead insects in windowsills that may be in the corners of the room, under mats or dirty laundry, in garbage cans, floorboards, or even drawers. Since these are larvae (that crawl) not adults, the food source that they are feeding on is not far away. The solution is to find what these "fuzzy wuzzies" are feeding on and dispose of it. Often, these larvae are associated with something (animal or plant based) improperly stored that may get damp. Sometimes, the source is difficult to find and might be unreachable. In which case, the larvae are likely to clean-up and deplete their food source and the adult beetles fly away to find another food source. FMI on carpet beetles and their management see:
http://pestsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu/Search/MainMenuWithFactSheet.aspx?CategoryId=1&ProblemId=806
Hope this helps!