Bugs in my car!

[queenlucki]

I recently noticed an infestation of bugs in my back seat and truck. They look like flat bugs, maybe a few centimeters long. They seem to be yellow with orange horizontal stripes. They don't move very much. I first saw a few in the back seat, vacuumed them up, and they reappeared within 24 hours. I checked the truck and found more. I sprayed with a bug spray containing soybean oil, but they came back. 2 days ago, I found them right where my daughter dropped muffin crumbs (needless to say, no more eating in the car). They seemed to move faster when they were near the crumbs.

I'm thinking they might be some type of larvae, but even the bigger ones look the same. I have not seen beetles, moths, etc. of any sort.

They do NOT move or look like maggots. I have attached a pic of two larger ones, zoomed up close. Can anybody help?

 

[Luanne]

Bugs in car

I wish I knew how to help you, but I've never heard of such a thing. We are on a 3-month spraying contract with a pest control firm that sprays around the house for ants, spiders and other creatures. It wouldn't take much for him to spray the car, too, on his next visit. They say the chemical odors are not dangerous to humans.

 

[Tony]

Any chance of catching one of those suckers and taking it to your local pest control center? They have pros who can help you id the bugs.

 

[queenlucki]

In the clear?

After a daily regimen of spraying my backseat and trunk with home defense 100% all-natural lemongrass pest repellant (and vacuuming about 3 times), I haven't seen any bugs since Saturday... maybe I finally caught up to their hatching/breeding phase and nipped it in the bud? I'm thinking they might have been carpet beetle larvae, but not sure.

 

[vroombaby]

I have never had that type of issue before. Did you park it somewhere different than normal recently? The most bugs I have had in my car were two flies that came in one day at the same time while I was driving down the freeway. Imagine the look on my face!

 

[cartalk]

Ack! Those certainly aren't a nice surprise! I would recommend checking your car for holes or the source of where they are getting in. Patch that up or put bug repellent in your car if you so dare. Make sure your car is free of trash and other things that could be luring them in, and I would also try parking somewhere else if you can, because you could just be in a buggy location.

 

[queenlucki]

I spoke too soon

Of course, I spoke too soon. Last Sunday, the buggies were back.

On Monday, I went to a local pest exterminating company, and although I had no live ones to show them, the guy came out to my car and examined a dead one. He officially confirmed that they are carpet beetle larvae. I've seen maybe 2 adult beetles total; they're small and black and basically un-noticeable. The exterminator completely unhooked my back seat cushion from the car and flipped it over, and saw where they had molted their skins.

I paid a local car wash place to shampoo my back seat really good, and vacuum where I couldn't get to. We'll see if that helps; it's been 2 days and counting...


For the record, I didn't park anywhere different, and there's no holes I can find in my car. From what I've read, carpet beetles also like plants, so it's entirely possible they got in through an open window.