Eggs are laid near food sources including areas where dead insects occur, in accumulations of lint in air ducts, along edges of carpeting, behind baseboards and moldings, in cracks in floors and similar locations. Larvae can survive for several weeks without food and can cover a considerable distance looking for food. If found in one area of a house, it's a good bet that they can be found in adjoining rooms also. The larvae are used to clean the flesh from skeletons for museum purposes. All the carpet beetle species have a similar life history.
Adults lay eggs on the larval food source, such as fabric, furs, or carpets.
Eggs hatch in about 2 weeks and larvae feed for varying periods, depending upon species and environmental conditions. They prefer dark, secluded places. When ready to pupate, the larvae may burrow further into the food or wander and burrow elsewhere. They may also pupate within the last larval skin if no other shelter is available. The larvae do not make webs like clothes moths, but their shed skins and fecal pellets, which are about the size of a grain of salt, make it obvious where they have been feeding.