I first noticed them around March 18th. I don’t have great eyesight and I thought it was a brown lady bug or something on my counter, killed it and figured it just came in like any other bug. Then I saw another one on my dog’s bed, took a picture and zoomed in, Google led me to carpet beetles and this sub. I have since seen a little over 10 and I’m starting to get nervous about it. 

I live in a one bedroom condo in Alabama so it’s really humid, I have carpet, a dog, and long hair that sheds a lot. I haven’t seen any eggs or larvae anywhere, but I’m also not sure where to look, I guess they aren’t in any open spot? So far, I haven’t seen any in my room, closet, or bathroom, just my kitchen and dining room turned office. 

From what I’ve read, they mostly like natural fibers, but can ruin synthetics or blends as well. They also apparently like paper, which I worry about because I own a lot of books. I found one on a cheap kitchen sponge when I was washing dishes, overnight it had eaten large parts of the sponge which freaked me out. Google had said they like dark places and could fly, but not very well. All morning I’ve seen some thing flying quite quickly around my light above my desk that looked like a gnat, squashed it and it was another carpet beetle. 

I’ve been vacuuming everyday, but I don’t know what else I can do. I also worry that they like dark spaces and I can’t vacuum everywhere like under my couch, bed, etc. I don’t think it’s a problem, but I don’t want to wait for it to become one either. Google said they don’t like lavender, cedar wood, or peppermint so I’ve tried spraying a lavender spray especially around my clothes, bed, and semi near my books. What can I do? How do I know when it’s become a big problem? Where do I need to look for the larvae and eggs to kill? I’ve checked my windowsills but haven’t noticed anything. 

How do you know if you have an infestation?