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How to identify it
- Adults are elongated beetles about 1/4 to 2/5 inch (5.5 to 10 mm) long, with dark brown or black wing covers and short clubbed antennae.[1][2]
- The underside is mostly white, with black spots along the sides and a large black patch on the last segment.[1][2]
- The rear tips of the wing covers are finely serrated and each ends in a small, sharp spine.[1][2]
- Larvae are very hairy, dark brown above with a pale central stripe, and carry two horn-like spines at the tail that curve upward.[1]
- Their droppings are dark brown and stringy, resembling horse hair, and point to current or past activity.[1]
Look-alikes
| Look-alike | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Larder beetle | Has a band of yellowish hairs across the front half of the wing covers, and its larvae's tail spines curve down toward the body instead of up.[1][2] |
| Black larder beetle | A related Dermestes species that is black all over and lacks the larder beetle's band; check the underside, which is white in the hide beetle.[2] |
Where it lives
Native throughout the continental United States, Canada and Hawaii, and also recorded in Oceania, southeast Asia and Italy.[1]
Biology and life cycle
Males release a pheromone that draws females, and beetles gather on a food source to feed and mate.[1]
Eggs are laid in batches of 3 to 20 in cracks of the food, and one female may lay roughly 200 to over 800 in her life.[1]
Under ideal conditions the life cycle takes about five to seven weeks; full development needs temperatures consistently above about 64 degrees F.[1]
Adults fly to new food sources and typically live four to six months.[1]
Mature larvae leave the food to dig a pupal chamber, boring into wood, cork, plaster or fabric.[1][3]
Damage and signs
- Larvae feed on dried fish, cheese, bacon, dog treats, hides, fur, feathers and other animal products.[1][2]
- Dried pet food and other meat-based materials are typical targets for beetles in this genus.[3]
- Boring larvae can damage timber, cork, plaster, linen and cotton, a structural problem in poultry houses.[1]
- They have also been serious pests of stored silkworm cocoons.[1]
Health risk
Texas A&M AgriLife describes these dermestids as medically harmless; the harm is food and stored goods fouled with larvae, droppings and shed skins.[2]
Control
Prevention
Store pet food and treats in insect-proof containers and clean up spills so beetles have nothing to breed in.[3]
Keep them out
Seal around windows, doors, vents and eave openings to keep flying adults from moving in from outside.[3]
Sanitation
The most reliable fix is finding and removing the infested item, often pet treats, dried meat or fish, a hide or a mount.[3][1]
Look for shed larval skins, live larvae and stringy dark droppings to trace the breeding site; adults may wander far from it.[3][1]
Traps and physical control
Items you want to keep can be frozen below 0 degrees F for at least three days, or heated above 130 degrees F for several hours.[3]
Pesticides
Insecticides alone don't work against dermestids; at most they back up a thorough cleanout of breeding sites.[3]
Common questions
- Why are hide beetles used to clean skulls?
- The larvae strip skin and flesh from bones cleanly, so taxidermists and museums use colonies to clean delicate skeletons.[1][2]
- Can hide beetle larvae damage my house?
- It can. Mature larvae tunnel into wood, plaster, cork and similar materials to build a pupal chamber, damaging them.[1][3]
Sources
- University of Florida/IFAS, Entomology and Nematology Department, “Hide beetle, Dermestes maculatus DeGeer, EENY-466 (Featured Creatures, archival EDIS copy).” journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/118300 (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, “Dermestid beetle (Field Guide to Common Texas Insects).” web.archive.org/web/20250120133632/texasinsects.tamu.edu/dermestid-beetle/ (accessed 2026-10-06). Archived copy (Internet Archive, captured 2025-01-20); the original page https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/dermestid-beetle/ was retired and now redirects to the AgriLife Extension Entomology home page.
- Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural Biology, “Dermestid beetles.” agsci.colostate.edu/agbio/ipm-pests/dermestid-beetles/ (accessed 2026-10-06)
- iNaturalist, “Dermestes maculatus taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1578850 (accessed 2026-10-06)