Bed bugs can cause red itchy welts on the skin due to their bites and although carpet beetles do not bite the larvae have prickly little hairs that can.
Difference between carpet beetle larvae and bed bug larvae.
Both carpet beetles and bed bugs are insects but bed bugs feed on blood and carpet beetles feed on substances like carpet woolen fabrics and other materials as well as stored food sources.
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.
If you have started to notice small red dots that look a lot like a small bug bite you might have a pest infestation the problem then is to figure out what the pest is causing the bites and what you need to do to get them exterminated.
As household pests go most people would consider bed bugs the worst and that is why it is so important to be able to tell the difference between a bed bug and a carpet beetle.
Varied carpet beetles do have brown on their backs but they look more spotted or striped with white and light colored patches mixed with brown.
Differences between bed bugs and carpet beetles.
But the main difference is that the varied carpet beetle does not feed on blood.
The presence of either one can cause skin reactions as the bites of bed bugs are itchy and can get infected if.
The first notable difference is that of size as bed bugs are twice as big as carpet beetles.
The main difference is the color.
Also once magnified the varied carpet beetle larvae actually look like tiny furry caterpillars with little spines on them whereas the bed bug larvae look like little worms.
Bed bugs vs carpet beetles.
Bed bug larvae look like little worms while carpet beetle larvae look like fuzzy bugs with little spines all over them.
How to tell the difference.
However the carpet beetle is the smallest of the two and averages 1 8th of an inch in length while the bed bug is about 1 4th of an inch long.
An important detail when understanding the difference.
There is nothing worse than getting bed bugs in your home except maybe hearing the spanish word for piranha in a shrilled voice while you re swimming across a lake in paraguay.
The official name for the varied carpet beetle is anthrenus verbasci they are small about 3mm in length and flat in their shape.