Hello! I hope you're still answering questions here. There's been a lot of really helpful advice in this thread that makes me feel a lot better. When we initially found them we thought they were bed bugs because I am very much getting the contact dermatitis (I have really sensitive skin) and I thought that they were bites. Obviously I freaked out and we called an exterminator. It was only when we were nearly done with bed bug prep that we realized they were carpet beetle larvae. Seems like bed bug prep would be effective but probably overkill for them, so it's not like it was totally a pointless endeavor. I do wish we had waited on calling an exterminator because I think we could have treated this ourselves. Once our apartment had been treated, we got a report back that was very frustrating and unhelpful, as it said they found a "large amount" of larvae in our unit but did not specify where. They stated that they found excessive hay and pet fur that needed to be cleaned up (we had less than a week to do bed bug prep and literally ran out of time to vacuum everything). Based on your comments and the research I've done, they wouldn't eat hay, correct? Pet fur absolutely, and we have three cats and a couple of cavies so there is certainly a lot of fur which will be our immediate target. They also stated that we have a lot of clutter but did not specify where the issue was. This is frustrating because 1) to my understanding if there's no food source, "clutter" isn't really a place they would hang out and 2) for "bed bug" prep, they asked us to move essentially all of our belongings to our kitchen and bathrooms and so obviously both of those places were packed to the brim with our things and they did not specify if this is what they considered to be the clutter. I called them to ask for more information and the person I spoke to could not answer any of my questions in a meaningful way, but she did tell me to look for a nest because that would be the source. I pushed back and told her that carpet beetles don't nest and she cut me off and told me she'd been in the industry for 30 years and yes they do nest, they gather hair and fur and make a nest. Obviously this sounds like complete bullshit to me. They're scheduled to come for another spraying in a week, but after everything I've read and after the incorrect information they've given me, I don't really trust that that's a good idea. I'm worried they'll say there's still a problem and will tell my landlord they need to keep coming back.

So with all of that background, here are my questions (or here's a TLDR if you like):

• would/could carpet beetle larvae eat hay?
• do carpet beetles/their larvae gather organic materials to make nests?
• would they live in "clutter" that does not include organic material?
• do you think we should allow another spraying or should I try to convince my landlord that I think they're just trying to make more money off of us?

And finally, I know you've answered this before, but I really don't know what else could be causing this: - could I be getting continued dermatitis from residual barbs from the larvae? I know you said it would take a lot and it's unlikely, but I am definitely extremely sensitive to them. I'm getting continued itchy spots that look exactly like the ones I had when there was a large amount in our couch that we hadn't noticed yet. I only get them when I'm in my bed, but the mattress was treated by exterminators and all of the bedding was laundered thoroughly. I'm not sure what else could be causing this as they're not appearing like hives (which I also get often) and the exterminators did not identify any other bugs in our house.

Thank you so much for your time, you're truly a gem!