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.
Difference between carpet beetle larvae and bed bug larvae.
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.
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.
Bed bugs and carpet beetles are both very small.
Bed bug larvae look like little worms while carpet beetle larvae look like fuzzy bugs with little spines all over them.
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.
An important detail when understanding the difference.
Bed bugs vs carpet beetles.
The official name for the varied carpet beetle is anthrenus verbasci they are small about 3mm in length and flat in their shape.
The carpet beetle and bed bug not only leave similar looking bites but there are other similarities.
But the main difference is that the varied carpet beetle does not feed on blood.
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.
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.
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.
The presence of either one can cause skin reactions as the bites of bed bugs are itchy and can get infected if.
How to tell the difference.
Differences between bed bugs and carpet beetles.