The carpet beetle Anthrenus verbasci is a very interesting and friendly insect, but at the same time, it is unfriendly because of its larvae that cause damage to some items. The adult insect has a rounded body, oval and resembles the ladybug; it is tiny (up to 3 mm in length).
This species is cosmopolitan, with a variable color due to the scales that cover the body. These stripes of scales can be brown, beige, red, and black, white, yellow. Often these scales fall off, and the insect remains black, as is the case with adults of Attagenus spp. In museum beetles, the bottom of the body is blackish brown, lighter at the abdomen’s end, adorned with whitish spots.
What Are Carpet Beetles?
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The carpet beetle is an oval-shaped type of insect that can reach a maximum of about half a centimeter. It may be longer in size during its larval stage and often have dark hair fibers, although others may have a pattern of white or dark yellow spots.
Three different types of beetles can be distinguished as the black carpet beetle, the furniture carpet beetle, and the variegated carpet beetle. These insects feed on textile fibers and also on furniture. Leather and dead animals are also among their food options.
Carpet beetles reproduce quickly once they are in the right condition to lay their eggs, but it is still unclear if Carpet beetles burrow into your skin.
Do carpet beetles burrow in your skin?
Carpet beetles can invade furniture and rugs as well as upholstery and fabrics. These can also leave an allergic reaction on contact with the skin. This insect can cause skin rashes that are not caused by bites. These are caused by contact with their larvae that have bristles or hair contaminated with germs.
These skin outbreaks must be treated in time to avoid more severe infections. It is important not to scratch to protect yourself from catching traces of the insect’s blood.
Carpet beetles have a mouth to chew fibers and plants with which they do not bite people or animals. It can invade the body through an article of clothing and contaminate the person, but they do not bury themselves in their skin.
Rashes only occur from skin contact and do not stay invasively on the body for long.
Related: How to Get Rid of Carpet Beetles Naturally
Risks of Carpet Beetles
Once you have signs that carpet beetles have invaded your home, serious problems begin. Before you know the extent, these insects may have attacked your furniture and clothing for food.
Even curtains and all kinds of natural fibers will be at risk, even leather and all kinds of blankets. They can eat the nests of other animals and everything you find in your pantry while producing and leaving waste in its wake.
In this way, they contaminate everything around them, and all those remains can cause diseases.
Even if people aren’t sure if Carpet beetles burrow into your skin, the most advisable thing is to avoid contact and prevent diseases.
How to Get Rid of a Carpet Beetle Infestation?
It is challenging to control this pest’s ability to access places that are difficult to access and settle while destroying fibers and furniture. There are different ways to get rid of the invasion of carpet beetles by following some recommendations.
Track invaded areas
It allows you to identify the most problematic areas to attack the root problem. One way to do this is by setting traps with specific substances to attract beetles.
Using vacuum cleaners
It is a good option to collect not only the larvae but the eggs of the beetles.
Using recommended chemicals can also control this pest.
