CARPET BEETLES
Carpet beetles are well known for the damage they inflict on natural fibre carpets, hence their “common name”. Carpet beetles will however, attack and damage a wide variety of materials of natural origin.
It is only the juvenile form (larvae) that actually does the damage, whilst adult carpet beetles ingest mostly pollen and nectar. Adult beetles may be carried into the home in many instances on flowers or other garden materials.
Australia’s most encountered species are the variegated carpet beetle and the black carpet beetle. Adult carpet beetles are typically small (up to 5 mm long) and oval in shape, similar to the common lady beetles we see in our gardens.