Some are pests in poultry houses, honey bee hives, insect colonies and insect collections. Some Dermestes species are even reported to attack and kill young birds. Very few of the species reported infesting stored products are able to subsist on a strictly vegetarian diet. In the wild, adults of some genera are found in flowers, feeding on pollen and nectar. In these situations, as indoors, they may be scavengers or predators on other arthropods.
Most damage is done by the larvae.
Dermestes species in particular can damage fabrics, paper products, insulation, ceiling tiles, wood, mortar and even some metals. In addition, the hairs of the larvae of some dermestids may cause irritation to people if contacted or inhaled in large numbers, and a few species are known to be intermediate hosts of certain nematodes and tapeworms. D. lardarius is fairly typical of the genus. Like many stored-products pests its distribution is now cosmopolitan, although most North Carolina records are from the mountain counties. Adults may live for more than a year.