Knowledgebase

What bug is this? #432467

Asked October 23, 2017, 12:51 PM EDT

I found two of these in my kitchen in Woodburn and two in the opposite end of the house in a bathroom. They were all alive and were seen just after returning from a week at the coast so may have hitchhiked from there.

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:

https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/structural-health/nuisance-household/nuisance-household-carpet-beetl...

http://pestsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu/Search/MainMenuWithFactSheet.aspx?CategoryId=1&ProblemId=806

Hope this helps!

An Ask Extension Expert Replied October 23, 2017, 5:00 PM EDT
Thanks! They were 3mm long. I suspected that’s what they were  but had never seen any in my home in Woodburn (had some in New Mexico 20 years ago).
The Question Asker Replied October 23, 2017, 10:19 PM EDT

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