The official name for the varied carpet beetle is anthrenus verbasci they are small about 3mm in length and flat in their shape.
Difference between carpet beetle larvae and bed bug larvae.
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.
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.
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.
How to tell the difference.
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.
Bed bug larvae look like little worms while carpet beetle larvae look like fuzzy bugs with little spines all over them.
The carpet beetle and bed bug not only leave similar looking bites but there are other similarities.
The main difference is the color.
An important detail when understanding the difference.
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.
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.
The second difference and the biggest nuisance is the fact that bed bugs feed on human blood while carpet beetles feed on animal fibers.
Bed bugs vs carpet beetles.
Bed bugs and carpet beetles are both very small.
The first notable difference is that of size as bed bugs are twice as big as carpet beetles.
But the main difference is that the varied carpet beetle does not feed on blood.
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.