My 80 yr old mother has been seeing an infestation of carpet beetles in her apartment. Is this delusional? Dementia? Mental illness?

Carpet beetles are real! They have destroyed my life. I have moved 7 times and left EVERYTHING behind each time. I only take my clothing clean and packed in plastic bags with me. Unfortunately, my daughter and son have them at their houses so I still find them at my house even with extreme procedures to avoid them. They have ruined all my family relationships and cost me thousands. If your mother says she has them, believe her. Do the research.

Contact the local office on aging, or Area Agency on Aging to help you find the resources. You might want to, if you can afford it, find a geriatric case manager. Although it sure sounds like delusions/hallucinations, in a building complex I cannot help but wonder about bed bugs...who often do not show themselves until night time...It would probably be a worthwhile investment to schedule an appt with a neurologist and plan to come in when it's time...set up other appts as well so you can get as much accomplished as possible. Is her coming to your city to live a possibility? Sounds like she needs, at a minimum, an assisted living to make sure she takes any meds if they are prescribed...but if these are a sign of something worse, it may not be the level of care she ultimately needs in the long run...so the expense and effort...might not be a worthwhile investment of time and money...Hoping it all works out for you and your mom...

Throw some moth balls on the floor if you don't have pets... The smell, but it should help.... HOpe mom doesn't eat them.

Why don't you move mom close to you? I couldn't stand mom being more than 3 miles away from me... You need her close so you can visit and see her...

Start looking for places for mom.. It sounds like you are the only care taker...SO take care of her. Move her close to you, or move closer to her... She needs immediate family nearby.... NO, it's not safe for her to live miles away from you... MOVE MOM CLOSE TO YOU... START LOOKING, FIND A DOCTOR, AND GET IT DONE.

I just thought of this: when you go there and stay over, if she sees bugs talk to her about what she is seeing and ask her to describe what she sees while you (With her permission) use your phone to video the event. I did this with my mom when she saw “writing all over her walls”. I just talked her through it and she pointed to what she was seeing. When we visited her PCP, I played the video and he could see the blank walls as well as her talking about what she was seeing.

OH my. You have said exactly what I was told about my mother.  She was seeing ants everywhere.  Crawling up her bedroom wall.  She was so convinced that they were there that she stopped sleeping in her bed. But, I must add that she had a little ant problem in her kitchen. With the delusional state that she was in, the problem grew bigger and bigger until she was convinced they were climbing up her bedroom wall at night.  We first had the test done for UTI, then we took her to have her eyes checked, but it came out that she was just believing they were there.  She did move and is no longer alone.  That seemed to help this problem. She hasn't seen one ant on her wall since she was alone in her home.

I would suggest taking her to the doctors and go with her, as I do. because my mother always gets the information from the doctor mixed up.

Good luck to you,

The medications that your mother is taking are manifesting into hallucinogenic visual imagery. Time for a medication re-evaluation. Or does your mother's vision need to be checked? Best to check out with the specialist - opthamologist and if necessary a retinologist.

If nobody else other than your mother sees the buggers, then they’re not there. She’s hallucinating. Have her moved to ALF near you. She can no longer live alone. Hugs 🤗

Is there someone close who can go spend a couple of days with her? My mom had a mouse problem in her previous apartment that the staff wasn't taking care of. To realize the extent, one really needed to be there a bit. Also, your mother could point out what she is seeing and a witness can determine if real or not.

BUGS was a real issue. One day it will stop. I understand. You can’t convince a person that “ there are NO BUGS

EZ to find out if delusional have someone go see!! Then based on results she goes to Dr or call Orkin ! Not being a smart ass! Dr Grenan

Lots of great answers here but the one that keeps tripping through my head is WHAT IF Mom is absolutely RIGHT! AngelofSprings7 post below reminds me that sometimes we look for a billion explanations, when what Mom is seeing could be right. Do check that one out first. Google the little devils!

The one possibility I’m not seeing in responses here is dehydration. My mom hallucinates when she hasn’t been drinking enough water for a few days. Bugs is not an uncommon hallucination in the elderly and while yes it can be a sign of several different things it could also be as simple as not drinking enough water. Whatever the reason and whatever your solution I wouldn’t contradict your mom I would go along which what she is seeing. I don’t mean encourage it but if you are trying to get her to the doctor a good reason for it is to find out how to get rid of the bugs, if you want her to drink more water perhaps telling her it will help get rid of or prevent the bugs from staying in or getting into her body...you get the idea. But her cooperation is going to be helpful maybe even required to get to the bottom of this and put you both out of your bug misery! Good luck I know how hard this is from a distance.

Another poster mentioned Charles Bonnet syndrome, which comes from vision loss. Could she be seeing floaters? I mention this because I saw the strangest things when I had a spontaneous retinal detachement, and even after vision was mostly restored by surgery these visions would pop up out of nowhere, mostly evenings. There are many things that could be causing the visions, so I would start with the doctor, test for UTI, Parkinsons, and there is always the eye doctor. My mom would see awful things, like a woman's head spinning around on top of her TV when she had a UTI. These went away after antibiotics were given. Best of luck in finding out the source of the visions and getting things straightened out.

As some others have said, more than likely you won't be able to solve this from a distance. I would start with getting an appointment with her doctor to test for UTI and cognitive issues. I was a huge skeptic with the UTI comments until it happened to our mom (first time was some serious sun-downing, insisting she had guests coming, had to get out and go home, etc, the second time it manifested as night time bed wetting. Go figure!!! There could be other medical issues that might result in "seeing" things, so it would be best to rule out the simple things first. Medicare should cover a physical, so if she hasn't gone any time recently, it should not cost her anything. BUT, I would go with her, not send her on her own. Take some time off and schedule it for that time! To get compliance, acknowledge the beetles and say the doctor needs to test to treat it! She might be more willing to go if you agree with her AND the result might be "treatment" for it!

"She says, they’re in her food now, her clothes, and in her body now." With multiple people checking the situation, AND with her insisting they are IN her body now, more than likely this is all hallucination, but you need to determine the source. It is too easy to chalk it up to dementia. If you rule out other causes, then sure, but until you do, humor her! "She’s mad I won’t believe her and that no one is sticking up for her." Tell her you ARE working on it, that you DO believe her. Whether it is some other medical issue or the dementia, to her it IS all real!

Best of luck hun.

I'd be looking for a different place for her to live....like Asst. Living. I'd also be taking her to the doctor and stating what you have seen/heard and asking for tests to confirm/deny what is going on with her. Take it from there while following the doctor's suggestions.

It might be delusional, and make sure that you have all of the POAs in order (medical and also for financial affairs) and also medical directives (living will). More important, is she able to live on her own? Can you talk to her doctor? What does the doctor think? You may have to move her to an assisted living facility or get a caregiver for her. If it comes to this, think about moving her close to you. It will be much easier to visit and oversee her care. Moving will be difficult in any case.

My friend whom I am helping has Parkinson's and sees bugs that are not there. Other things recently like broken items or moving objects. These delusions are part of Parkinson's. She is not at all crazy. She asks me to tell her if what she sees is real. Then she believes me.

Please have her vision checked. She may have "floaters" in her eyes or another vision problem. My mom has the beginning of macular degeneration and "floaters" from eye surgery. She says she is chasing nonexistent mosquitoes with those floaters. At least, she knows what is causing her problems.

My mom, who is 101 and does not suffer from dementia, was seeing green and black mold and little bugs all over her bathroom floor. Once we ruled out a uti, dehydration and other medical issues we narrowed it down to Charles Bonnet Syndrome. This is common in people with vision loss. The doctor explained that the brain makes up it own pictures. It usually takes the form of colors or spider webs but could also be insects, animals or people. There is no medication and it comes and goes. My mom has macular degeneration and is blind in one eye with limited vision in the other. This started about one month ago and it comes and goes but now that she knows what’s causing it she is not as bothered by it.

If you hired an outside pest control company then something is definitely off. Did the pest control do a thorough investigation in your opinion?

Can you call her primary care doctor and speak to him/her privately and inform them of the situation and see what advice they have for you.

Even if you had to say something like, “Mom, the doctor wants to do additional lab work this month so we need to make an appointment soon.” That does actually happen at times. I had the doctor call me and request additional lab work before.

Then proceed with whatever needs to be done. Just a thought.

I just want to add that before jumping to the conclusion that she is demented, without giving her the benefit of the doubt just know they’re real, any good Geri RN would check that out first unless she hadn’t encountered them. I’m glad all who wrote have not had them but I encourage everyone to look them up! Check your own kitchen drawers and flour bins that’s where we see the larvae shells or dead ones. They can crawl on you and go for pet hair and human. Just saying don’t jump down the dementia diagnosis until you’ve checked out the situation! What a tragedy it would be if you dumped mom in a nursing home for actually having a bug infestation.

Benadryl and all antihistamines and all drugs like that have been implemented in rushing dementia along so everyone check your parents meds with a pharmacist.

Before my daughter got carpet beetles none of us believed it either but then I moved into an apartment with them and they are these little beetles that lay eggs which become larvae which is what most mean when they say carpet beetles.
After long research on these there are three kinds of beetles which lay eggs on your clothes in flour and other foodstuffs they are what we called clothes moths and the larvae weavles and there are real things like that too but it’s usually carpet beetle larvae. Look them up on line they are the freakiest things I’ve ever seen and my bug man knew exactly what they were and how to treat. They need treatment like bedbugs and are almost impossible to get rid of. Vacuuming several times a week is needed and a thorough cleaning of drawers and closets and the whole house must be done aggressively. Sometimes apartment complexes are in denial. Bug guys where there is not a widespread infestation may not be up to date. Mothballs in clothing areas are necessary and I put cedar, mothballs and citronella candles in my drawers.
The larvae look like land locked leeches and come in huge bunches. I didn’t see anything either until my daughter used a lint roller on the floor where she saw some. I was terrified they were everywhere and they will be if you don’t aggressively treat. Read up online and call your mom’s area companies until you find one that knows about these they can spray specifically for them. You need to put a bedbug proof zipper bag on the mattress and box springs too. They’ll die inside and fewer will get in her bed. I’m in Arizona and I thought scorpions were bad (they get inside here) but these are small and brown from thread size to maggot size but flat as they mature then they become beetles, very small ones looking like ladybugs or just black bugs as there’s three kinds. White flowers and pyracantha bushes attract them and the adults lay eggs then gather in the windowsills. These used to be a big problem in days past so older folks do know what they’re talking about and they can’t handle them alone now a days. She must be so frustrated and feeling alone and who could cope with things that get on you and look like leeches. My daughter found one in her undies and nearly had a coronary! One person said the only way to get rid of them was to strip, jump in the car that’s over 220degrees inside and leave all your belongings behind. They can even infest cars!!! They fly around lights outside at night and once you look them up you’ll start to recognize them. Usually they just eat a few clothes, you find dead larvae in the flour, no big deal but since the onset of less pesticide use we got bedbugs and carpet beetles back. Go see your Mom take help and take her to a hotel for stress relief and scrub the house, wash clothes in lots of soap and hot water clean out drawers and mothball closets and vacuum a lot. Then spray the vacuum and change the bag taking all trash outside. She may not be able to keep things as clean or be able to see as well as she used to.
After tons of research I finally got rid of mine I hope! They are under the carpet around the edges. Any spray you want to use has to say specifically it kills carpet beetle larvae.
Search amazon for carpet beetles and just google them there’s a ton of information. They are real.
Good luck with this it’s a horrible thing to happen! Be sure you don’t bring them home to you. I didn’t see them until someone pointed them out so it’s not unusual if they’re not an infestation, to see any and know what you’re seeing . After the clean up hire a cleaning company to come out and vacuum especially. Your Mom must be frantic!
C DeLacey RN

Keep an Eye on Mom, May be Time to Go to a Nursing Facility....

Countrymouse is right - she needs a professional evaluation.

The last 6 months, my DH swore he saw bugs crawl out of his skin but he assured me he killed them as soon as they appeared.

The HomeHealth Nurse was there and when he said it, she looked at me and just shook her head slowly - to let me know it was just another stage in the end of life for him. Praise God, it didn't last too long - but we were advised to stop his Benadryl as it causes hallucinations in the elderly, my DH was 96.5 yrs old.

Stopping his Benadryl (which he was taking to stop his itching) did help with his delusions, thankfully.

Even if you cannot be there, you need to have someone making regular visits to your mother.

At the very least, she needs to be seen weekly by HomeHealthCare. They were a definite God-send for us. We used St. Lukes.

This is going to sound snippy, for which I apologise in advance, but it is such a common problem: you have medical POA, but you're nowhere near your mother and you can't get her to a doctor. Why accept the responsibility if there's no way you can fulfil it?

Your mother could be perceiving these creepy-crawlies for any number of reasons - neurological, psychological, eyesight-related. She needs to be examined by a qualified medical practitioner. Make it happen. Can you visit, if that's the only way? If not, is there anyone local you can delegate this to?

Until you know what's going on - which might be the beginning of a downhill slide or might be easily explained and treatable, you just don't know - there is no way to answer your other, very natural concerns.

With my experience in caregiving for dementia patients, Im about 90 percent sure that its hallucinations and yes it does get worse, they become very afraid, and its absolutely real to them. My patient had really crazy dreams everytime she fell asleep, took a nap, or slept all night....with the help of morphine and Ativan. She would wake up in a panic worried to death that she had missed church, a wedding she was planning to attend, there were books all up and down her hall that people had left there, and the biggest thing we dealt with was when she saw or dreamed about a child without enough to eat, they were gonna get hurt, she would hear babies crying and fight to get outta bed...and she was wheelchair bound! Its all very real with dementia because they no longer know whats real or a dream. Your mother definantly needs a caregiver in the home with her or be moved into a nursing home or at least assisted living facility. It could be so easy for her to wonder off and become missing or to wonder off by trying to follow the trail of bugs shes {not} seeing. Please don't hesitate to get someone with her or put her somewhere. You just never know. I would contact hospice. They are much more familar in this situation and they are no longer known for just end of life anymore! They come to the home, evaluate them, they know all the symptoms and how to redirect their mind from seeing things that are not there. I don't know where shes from so I don't know her State laws, Im in Ga and Alabama and their services are free!!!!

Medication is not likely to be the answer if this is dementia. Is there sign of any other hallucinations? Have her eyes been checked; I can tell you stories about pigeon lice and my eye floaters. Is the carpeted flected at all, as in TWEEDY looking? Because wavering in this can be macular degeneration. I would start with an eye exam. Do know that whatever she is seeing is real to her. My eyes now are very very tricky, especially with any long range perceptual vision. I know now when it is tricking me, but have a right eye quite bad after a vitreous separation and a left fairly normal, and my brain is always struggling to get control of the whole thing. Start with an eye exam.
Also, if there are other signs of dementia this may be some hallucinating that will stay the same, leave, or get worse. You can't know until it "goes there". Good luck and let us know if you come up with any answers. I always said that every patient is a mystery. You certainly have one on your hands.

It might be my mother has the same issues

My mother has macular degeneration and was seeing it 'rain' outside her window all the time when it wasn't raining. She had a new pair of eyeglasses prescribed and the problem resolved. I realize your mother's problem is likely not as simple as a new pair of glasses, since she's now insisting the bugs are 'in her body', but I just thought I'd throw that info your way.

If it's dementia she's dealing with, it's probably NOT safe for her to be living alone any longer. You may want to look into applying for Medicaid to get her placed in a Skilled Nursing Facility sooner rather than later, since the government tends to drag their heels in general.

Best of luck.......I know how hard it is to be far away. I had to move both my folks out to Colorado from Florida back in 2011 when Dad couldn't drive anymore. I feel your pain.