Mar 16, 2012 – How Important Is ID?
QUESTION:
I just completed an inspection for what a customer suspected to be a bed bug infestation. They were correct, and I did find a modest bed bug infestation. However, I located an even larger population of what looks very much like varied carpet beetle with one exception. They are not so hairy. Most of them were dead, and they were located in fabric folds of an upholstered sofa. If it is not a varied carpet beetle what else could it be?
ANSWER:
From just this description I will avoid making a positive I.D. for you on what you found, and the reason is the obvious difference in importance between bed bugs and most other structural pest bugs. I have in the past seen carpet beetle larvae misidentified as bed bugs and homes treated based on this mis-identification. Making the proper ID is terribly important, which is clearly the reason you are making this effort with some bugs that you are not certain on. The shed exoskeleton of a bed bug does look very much like the shed skin of a carpet beetle larva at first glance, but magnifying either of them shows the differences. Carpet beetle larvae and their molted skins have long hairs all over them, whereas bed bugs are essentially hairless.
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I just completed an inspection for what a customer suspected to be a bed bug infestation. They were correct, and I did find a modest bed bug infestation. However, I located an even larger population of what looks very much like varied carpet beetle with one exception. They are not so hairy. Most of them were dead, and they were located in fabric folds of an upholstered sofa. If it is not a varied carpet beetle what else could it be?
ANSWER:
From just this description I will avoid making a positive I.D. for you on what you found, and the reason is the obvious difference in importance between bed bugs and most other structural pest bugs. I have in the past seen carpet beetle larvae misidentified as bed bugs and homes treated based on this mis-identification. Making the proper ID is terribly important, which is clearly the reason you are making this effort with some bugs that you are not certain on. The shed exoskeleton of a bed bug does look very much like the shed skin of a carpet beetle larva at first glance, but magnifying either of them shows the differences. Carpet beetle larvae and their molted skins have long hairs all over them, whereas bed bugs are essentially hairless.
What you have found within the folds of this sofa could be carpet beetle larvae or they could be something else, but it really will take a visual look to know for sure. I suggest gathering some specimens and examining them under good magnification, comparing them with images in some of our reference materials such as the Pest ID resource on PestWeb. You might take them by a local university extension office or department of agriculture to see if they have a qualified person who can help with the ID.
I would think it is possible to find shed skins of either bed bugs or carpet beetle larvae hidden in protected areas like this. Molting is a precarious moment for the insect, so they prefer to do it in seclusion where they are not exposed to outside dangers. These two groups of insects would be my best guesses for what you describe, but which one it is will need a closer look or a visual ID. Even with "bed" bugs we still must keep in mind that there are a couple of other species that may be in structures. These are swallow bugs and bat bugs, and the bat bugs look very, very similar to the Common Bed Bug. However, the host animals are generally different, so it still pays to spend a few minutes looking at the physical traits that distinguish each kind to be sure you know how to proceed.
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