Question
QUESTION: Hi again Jack,
I wanted to ask you another question regarding a small problem I have in the house with carpet beetle larvae. I have seen them around the house ,mostly in thekitchen cabinet area where I kept the dog food. I since then have changed the location of the dog food and keep it in an airtight container.  I also have taken ALL the proper actions in elimintaing them,,vacuum every day,dust,seal EVERYTHING in containers, and I keep seeing little larvae bugs about one every day. Is there a chance that I will eventually get rid of them completely?? I am getting so frusterated every time I see one. I have never seen any grown beetles in my house..Can I see one here and there without being infested?? How will I ever get rid of them once and for all,,without a fumigator?
Thanks,
Libby

ANSWER: Libby,

Carpet beetles (dermestid beetles) are very common in homes everywhere. In fact, most homes have at least a few beetles and larvae so you may not be able to completely eliminate them. Just make sure you don't have an active infestation, and it sounds like you are already doing the right things. Also, if you had an infestation that has been recently cleaned up it may take awhile (months) for the number of larvae to go down, but it eventually will.

Jack DeAngelis
http://www.livingwithbugs.com



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So just by seeing one here and there,do you think they are the old larvae from the previous problem,and possibly they're slowly diminishing?

Answer
Yes, you should see fewer and fewer if the initial infestation is gone. But, there will probably always be a few around. Here's some background http://www.livingwithbugs.com/carpet_beetle.html if you need more information.

Jack DeAngelis
http://www.livingwithbugs.com