Carpet Beetles are a pest because they feed on a wide range of materials not just carpet. Carpet Beetle larvae may feed on or in wood, bee and wasp nest, fur, stored foods, hair, animal carcasses, silk, dead insects, clothes, felts, fabrics, underfelts, and rugs. If you see the carpet beetles flying you may have an infestation. How you know if you have a problem you will see damaged materials, sand-like larval droppings, bristly cast skins, or perhaps live larvae then you know there is activity. 

Carpet Beetles do not bite humans as they only eat plant material and dead matter.

Appearance: Adult carpet beetles are small 5 mm long and oval in shape. The colouring of the adult is brown with white and black blemishes.  Larvae are usually red-brown in colour and have short, stiff, coarse hair all over their bodies.

Reproduction of the carpet beetle the female lays their eggs in uninterupted area that has a good food source for their offspring. The eggs will hatch within 14 to 21 days. The larvae will eat for approximately nine months. It needs to grow big enough to go into the pupate stage. The pupal stage is where they cannot eat and are in immobile state, this usually lasts between 14 to 21 days. Then they emerge as an adult carpet beetle. The adult will  live for about 20 to 40 days. During these days they will reproduce and start the cycle again. 

Habits: The carpet beetle larvae produce droppings which looks like sand. They live in uninterupted areas. In this area there will be lots of droppings and cast skins. The adults mainly feed on pollen and nectar from flowers. When they are located near windows this is because they are trying to get to their main food source pollen and nectar that is outside. Thus, people should be aware that when bringing in flowers from outside to check them for carpet beetles. When they do get inside the building the next thing they do is lay their eggs. This is one way an infestation could start.