The varied carpet beetle is a 3 mm–long beetle that can be a serious household pest. It feeds on natural fibers and can damage carpets, furniture and clothing. The larval form is known as a woolly bear, The larval form are roughly 4–5 millimetres (0.16–0.20 in) in length. The body is covered in a pattern of alternating light- and dark-brown stripes. The body is usually wider at the back than at the front and also bears 3 pairs of hair tufts along its rear abdomen that can be used for self-defense.

Adult range from 1.7 to 3.5 mm (0.07 to 0.14 in) in length. Their dorsal surface has scales of two colours, whitish and yellowish-brown. White scales are condensed along the lateral margins of the pronotum. In addition, their antennae are 11-segmented with a club of 3 segments.

One of the natural predators of the larvae of these beetles are the wasps. When infestations of clothes moths or carpet beetles are encountered, a rather extensive program of insecticide applications will usually be necessary after appropriate sanitation has been implemented. We Spray insecticides such and various non-residual materials are recommended for spot treatment or more general applications, as necessary. Residual sprays are generally applied with a hand sprayer, using a fine fan-spray nozzle.

Critical areas of infestation, usually identified during the inspection process, should receive special attention. In carpets, this would be around baseboard areas and under furniture. In furniture, this would be around seams, buttons, other cracks and crevices and padding areas.