This post makes me nervous....I've spotted a few and the exterminator just came out today. Ugh!!!!

We had an infestation, and my poor son experienced constant, horrible eczema flare-ups. He also starting having severe asthma episodes. We battled these tenacious insects diligently for a year, using every tactic possible (exterminators, bombs, sprays, traps, powders, vacuuming, elimination of infected items, etc.), but they kept coming back.

They are extremely tough to get rid of, and as a PP has mentioned above, it is like a horror movie with the larvae, crawling bugs and shedded skin everywhere -- in books, in Lego crannies, in electronics, in drawer corners, in every wool garment that we owned, in my daughter's bed between the mattress and box spring, in storage boxes, in shoes, in pen caps, and crayon boxes. Even after cleaning, spraying and vacuuming diligently for weeks, we still continued to find them in clothes drawers, on books, on socks, on clothes hanging in closets, and on shelves. They were all over my daughter's stuffed animals and in all rooms of the house, crawling on wooden toys, in the closets, upstairs on towels in the linen closet, on beds, under all of the couches as well as between cushions upstairs and downstairs….everywhere. Ugh! It was so disgusting, and I am traumatized by the experience today, some 6 years out. We don't even know where they came from, as we had very few throw rugs and no carpeting in the house -- only hardwood floors! What a nightmare!

We ended up moving to a new house for my family's and my sanity's sake. We threw just about everything out. Any items that we kept sat in bins for a year in an unheated garage. Apparently, subjecting the bugs to below freezing temperatures kills them. We also treated the articles we saved with an insect growth regulator and permethrin.

I have found one dead beetle in the 6 years since we moved, and I immediately kicked into serious biological warfare mode. I never want to go through that horrible experience again!

BTW, if you have pets, they love to feast on pet dander.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is 16:01 again. Sorry... I'm just really passionate about this topic because these carpet beetles terrorized me for two years and I really want to help others no go through the same hell.

It's called "Carpet Beetle Dermatitis."

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/carpet-beetle-dermatitis

NP HERE, Thank you so much tonabive poster. I’m going through the exact same thing as OP. One child covered in bites, I have a few too in addition to two rashes on my arm but rest of family has zero. Had pest company out and they saw no evidence of bed bugs. I’m intrigued by the carpet beetle allergy as it would make sense. Should I just throw out th carpet in that child’s Room? Is it usually carpet or other upholstery/clothing/etc? Just wondering how to identify the source and if you have any other tips on getting rid of them.

Sorry, that was supposed to say “thank you so much to this poster.”

This is PP again... they mainly just infest carpet and rugs. Remember, they're not bites, it's the little hairs that dry out when they shed their outer layer and will get on skin and irritate it. So they could get on clothes, but washing them will help. They usually live under the carpet or rug.

Keep an eye on where your child with the allergy is hanging out. Watching TV or playing on a carpeted floor? That could be the infested rug - not necessarily the one in the bedroom.

Just vacuum ALOT. Like, once a day if possible. Keep clothes and blankets off the floor.

There's some good info in this article: https://www.getridofthings.com/pests/beetles/get-rid-of-carpet-beetles/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is 16:01 again. Sorry... I'm just really passionate about this topic because these carpet beetles terrorized me for two years and I really want to help others no go through the same hell.

It's called "Carpet Beetle Dermatitis."

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/carpet-beetle-dermatitis

NP HERE, Thank you so much tonabive poster. I’m going through the exact same thing as OP. One child covered in bites, I have a few too in addition to two rashes on my arm but rest of family has zero. Had pest company out and they saw no evidence of bed bugs. I’m intrigued by the carpet beetle allergy as it would make sense. Should I just throw out th carpet in that child’s Room? Is it usually carpet or other upholstery/clothing/etc? Just wondering how to identify the source and if you have any other tips on getting rid of them.

Sorry, that was supposed to say “thank you so much to this poster.”