If your beetles were infesting a carcass in a wall void or other space in most cases you would have smelled the decay.
Carpet beetles ceiling.
Some carpet beetles make their homes inside the nests of birds or other animals and can live in walls or chimneys feeding on dead insects and animals.
Most homeowners spot the larvae or beetles crawling along a surface somewhere.
Many of us have seen them but few people know what these miniscule insects are actually capable of.
They have also been found in spices and grains and could contaminate your entire pantry.
Carpet beetles are a fairly common pest.
This is why the adult beetles are now climbing walls and heading for windows looking for a way to get outside to feed and mate.
As stated above they may also be found in food products including milled products such as pastas cereals nuts etc.
Carpet beetles are especially drawn to wool fur leather animal hair and feathers.
Strangely enough the adult carpet beetle feeds on pollen and nectar and is common on outdoor plants.
Major carpet beetle infestations with lots of beetles emerging all at once are usually traced to an animal carcass like a dead raccoon in a chimney or a dead squirrel in the attic.
Often times mistaken for some sort of ladybug because of their characteristic shape and sometimes spotted carapace carpet beetles are small about 1 8 th to 1 4 th of an inch long dome shaped insects with an appetite for fashion and furniture.
Below a floor or in the ceiling or in an attic.