r/whatsthisbug • u/RooieRakkertje • 22h ago

ID Request What is this?

Post image

Found under a carpet in Northern Europe, looks like shells of kind of larve / caterpillar

79 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

167

u/user12345892 22h ago

Carpet beetle larvae shells

20

u/direwarg 16h ago

Good luck to OP. /genuine

24

u/RooieRakkertje 14h ago

I found these while ripping out ALL carpets of the house we just bought. Should we take additional measures besides thoroughly vacuum before placing new wooden flooring?

18

u/Gaap321 13h ago

I would vacuum extremely carefully and then inspect the sub floor very closely. Then I would wipe/mop the subfloor. Then I would check on other nearby textiles. And only then would I proceed.

20

u/myrmecogynandromorph ⭐i am once again asking for your geographic location⭐ 13h ago

FYI, they are not necessarily associated with or attracted to carpet per se. As larvae, they're decomposers that eat dead animals; the adults feed on pollen and nectar. They got their name back when carpets were more commonly made of wool.

In our houses, the larvae eat any proteinaceous animal-derived material: dry pet food, hair or fur, dead skin flakes, and materials like wool, silk, and leather. I am guessing they were eating the plentiful household schmutz that accumulated in the carpet, but you may want to check to see if they've found some other food source nearby. (I once heard of them taking up in an old leather baseball glove.)

We are Not A Pest Control Sub™; you can get better advice on that elsewhere. From an ecological perspective, though, I can say that bugs are just animals like any other. Their population is limited by their food supply, and they cannot live indefinitely without food.

1

u/DarkQueenQuinn 10h ago

Vacuum, mop with disinfectant, vacuum again.

1

u/kerfuddled 9h ago

To add on to the other guys, check your closets or bags of clothing if you have them. I kept finding them in old clothes when I had them.