The Life Cycle Of A Carpet Moth

The new adult s task is to find a mate.

The life cycle of a carpet moth.

Within about half an hour the exoskeleton hardens and the wings become rigid. Carpet moths beetles although there are several types of carpet beetle the most common is the varied carpet beetle. Its wings and body are still soft so it pumps blood into its newly formed wings. It is the larval stage of the beetle s life cycle which causes the most damage.

The beginning of the clothes moth lifecycle adult female moths can lay 100 400 eggs over their short life and these eggs are tiny typically 0 5mm in length. Carpet moth life cycle after mating the female will lay her eggs roughly 40 50 over a course of 4 7 days. There are other species of anthrenus which are similar in appearance and habits. The carpet moth has a very similar life cycle to a clothes moth.

When they start life they look like worms then go through the caterpillar phase and finally get their butterfly like appearance. If the carpet moth infestation is heavy or widespread a repeat treatment may be necessary after 30 days. Once established they can be difficult to eradicate because the larvae can forage widely and may take some years to complete development. The eggs will be laid in the quieter darker and undisturbed areas of carpets and rugs and lay dormant for approximately 4 to 10 days before hatching.

The eggs will then hatch into the destructive larvae stage of the life cycle which feeds on carpet clothes and other household goods. The most important of these is the guernsey carpet beetle anthrenus sarnicus. Fold the plastic holder into a triangular shape peel off the backing strip from one pheromone pad and place inside sticky side facing out. The normal life cycle is one to two years.

The eggs hatch from between 4 and 10 days depending on temperature and humidity. The adults do not live long and the mated adult female lays hundreds of eggs in her short life time. The life cycle of the carpet moths is 1 year when the wings are open the size reaches up to 14 18 mm.