How to tell you have them
Pantry beetles, such as the cigarette beetle, the drugstore beetle and flour beetles, are tiny brown beetles in flour, spices, dry pet food, pasta and dried flowers. Carpet beetles are small, round and mottled; you usually find their larvae first, tiny bristly brown grubs along baseboards, under furniture and in closets. Powderpost beetles leave small round exit holes in unfinished hardwood, such as flooring, furniture, tool handles and paneling, with fine, flour-like powder underneath.
What they damage
Pantry beetles ruin stored food. Carpet beetle larvae eat wool, silk, feathers, fur, leather and pet hair, leaving holes in rugs, clothes and upholstery. Powderpost beetles damage the wood itself, and Florida law lists them among the wood-destroying organisms reported on a WDO inspection.
What treatment looks like
For pantry beetles, find and discard every infested package, vacuum the shelves and store new food in sealed containers; we treat cracks and shelf supports and set monitoring traps. For carpet beetles, we find the source, often an old wool rug, a forgotten bag of clothes or a bird nest in the attic, and treat baseboards and closets after a thorough vacuuming. Powderpost beetles are different: unfinished wood can be treated with a borate product that soaks in, while painted or varnished wood may need other options, so we inspect and quote separately.
How long it takes
Pantry and carpet beetles usually clear within two to four weeks once the source is gone. Powderpost beetles develop slowly inside wood, so new exit holes can still appear for a while after treatment; we mark the existing holes so new ones stand out.
Florida notes
Warm, humid garages and attics in Pinellas let pantry beetles thrive in birdseed, dry pet food and old holiday decorations. Pantry and carpet beetles are covered on every plan, starting with Quarterly; powderpost beetles are inspected and quoted separately.