Carpet Beetle Larvae from Iran not causing Bites

bugman

November 1st, 2010 at 8:23 am

Tags

larve or worm
Location: iran/tehran
October 30, 2010 9:30 am
Hi I’m Maryam. My family and I are living in Iran.
During the last month my parents suffered from some kind of rash or bite…!
Who did not understand what causes allergies.
Until we find a large number of very small worms under their bed.
Their length is about 4 mm… We do not know exactly where they live..!?
Do they live in textiles, mattress or in soils and between the tiles..?
Because they also existed under the carpets
Is it possible they eat blood?
Because some of them had a reddish color…
How we destroy them?
Thanks for your help
Signature: allergen worms

Carpet Beetle Larvae

Hi Maryam,
The insects in your photo are Carpet Beetle Larvae, probably in the genus Attagenus based on comparison with some photos on BugGuide. Carpet Beetles have a cosmopolitan distribution and they are responsible for doing considerable damage to museum collections that contain animal specimens including insect collections, taxidermy specimens, and human textiles made of wool and other organic materials, but they are not responsible for the bites in the second photo you have submitted. The Carpet Beetle Larvae will also feed on pet hair and human hair, but they may be damaging your wool rugs. The bites are another matter entirely, and we are not sure what might be causing them.