Carpet beetles are strong, fly and can be found outside feeding. They enter houses in early to mid summer and lay their eggs. These are placed in cracks and crevices around the edge of carpets or under furniture. They also lay eggs in stored wood or fabrics. Generally, they have a preference for lighter colours.
The slender white eggs take 1 - 2 weeks to hatch into the larval stage ( 3-6mm long with a segmented body covered in light brown hairs) This is the most destructive stage of the cycle, as the larvae is a copious eater and remains in the larval stage for 3 to 6 months. This means that larvae will do considerable damage.
The larvae sheds its skin several times and pupates in its final skin, hatching from pupa into a 3mm long beetle
Depending on the
environmental conditions, the full cycle can take one
year or more to complete.