“Worms” Found Under Couch are Carpet Beetle Larvae, Not Mealworms

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A reader found some worm-like organisms on the carpet in his home. (He didn’t explicitly say he found them on his carpet, but this is what the photos he sent us suggest.) He mentioned that he has read some of our articles about people finding worms or larvae under their couches or other places in their homes. He believes he might have found mealworms, but he isn’t sure. These are the pictures he sent us:

While mealworms are a good guess for brown worm-like organisms found in a home, we believe that our reader has actually discovered carpet beetle larvae! We write a lot of articles about carpet beetle larvae, so it is possible that our reader looked over an article about carpet beetle larvae while searching for the answer to the mystery critters on his carpet.

Carpet beetle larvae are fairly common household pests. While they can be quite annoying to get rid of, they are harmless to humans and pets. Saying goodbye to these larvae involves a fair amount of cleaning to eliminate their potential food sources. Carpet beetle larvae eat carpet, upholstered furniture, animal products, dust, and other various particles that collect in a household. Since (we assume) our reader found these specimens on his carpet, we suggest he have it professionally cleaned to ensure the larvae and any carpet beetle eggs are disposed of. He should also begin a cleaning regime that includes vacuuming, sweeping, doing laundry, and dusting every day. These efforts will eliminate potential food sources for the carpet beetle larvae, and get rid eggs that would hatch into more carpet beetle larvae. Without food, the carpet beetle larvae will eventually die off. However, since carpet beetle larvae can survive for long periods of time without food, it is important that he stay on top of the cleaning routine!

To wrap up, one of our readers found some brown worm-like organisms in his home. We believe these are carpet beetle larvae. Getting rid of carpet beetle larvae can be a bit of a headache, but it just involves cleaning!

 

 

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"Worms" Found Under Couch are Carpet Beetle Larvae, Not Mealworms
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"Worms" Found Under Couch are Carpet Beetle Larvae, Not Mealworms
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One of our readers found some brown worm-like organisms in his home. We believe these are carpet beetle larvae.
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Author: Worm Researcher Dori

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