mystery bug
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Posted in Interesting Bugs

Short and Aggressive Worms

The other day a reader sent us one of the most notable messages we have ever received, and by “one of the most notable” we mean “one of the most outrageously brief,” and by “message” we mean “unpunctuated sentence fragment.” Here is the question, as it were, quoted in all its cryptic glory: “what looks kinda like a earth worm but shorter and are aggressive.” That statement, sans the period, is all we received from the reader, and then he was off like a thief in the night. What indeed looks like an earthworm but is shorter and aggressive?

carpet beetle larvae
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Posted in Pest Worms

Carpet Beetle Larvae on Mattress

A few days ago we received a question through the All About Worms Facebook page about a “brown worm” on a reader’s mattress. She also found dead worm bodies on the carpet and on a spare mattress in her bedroom. On the basis of articles we have published, she suspects she found carpet beetle larvae, and we think she is correct. Thus, she isn’t finding worms or dead worm bodies, but larvae and dead larva bodies. The reader’s problem is relatively widespread, as the carpet beetle larvae can be found throughout her entire apartment – on the mattress, carpet, and walls. The reader has already started implementing some of the elimination strategies we have written about before, but asked for further advice.

mealworms
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Posted in Worms in Humans

Do You Need to See a Doctor After Swallowing a Worm?

We received a straightforward, if strangely worded, question from a reader a few days ago about eating worms, or rather inadvertently swallowing a worm. The question is quite short, and can be quoted (with some crucial punctuation added) in its entirety: “I swallowed a worm by mistake while eating dadles – I’m at risk? Do I have to see a doctor?” There’s at least a couple of questions in here, and we aren’t sure how to make sense of every part of it, but at bottom the reader is clearly concerned with the implications of swallowing a worm. We will therefore focus on whether or not it is dangerous to swallow a worm, and whether doing so mandates a trip to the doctor.

Hammerhead Worm
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Posted in Pest Worms

Worms in Dog Food Bin

We recently received a question from a reader about a “dog food bin [that] was attacked by worms.” The reader’s mom reported the scenario, and he (our reader) was apparently skeptical at first, but he seems to have confirmed the presence of the worms, which he described as “black on top with a white and brown stripe the length of the worm.” The worms are two inches (five centimeters) long, and they were found on a farm in Pennsylvania. The reader and his mom have never seen anything like the worms before, and they were wondering what they might have found.

carpet beetle larva on floor
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Posted in Pest Worms

Small Brown Worms Under Bed Sheets and on the Floor

A reader wrote to us a little while ago about a small brown worm that she found in her house. She said she “could find this worm under my bed sheets and floor,” and we aren’t sure is we should take this as an expression of the mere possibility that the worm could be found on the bed sheets and floor, as her use of the subjunctive mood seems to suggest, or if the reader did in fact find the worm under her bed sheets and then on the floor. In any case, she sent a picture of the “worm” in question, which actually looks like a larva, not a worm. More specifically, she appears to have found a carpet beetle larva, which the gods have fated us to write about without end. Below we explain why we think our reader found a carpet beetle larva.

Bloodworm
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Posted in Pest Worms

Small Red Worms in Sink Drain

We received a question from a reader recently who has been finding red worms in his sink drain. The reader describes his situation well, so we’ll quote (with a few minor edits) his entire email, after which we’ll get on to the task of identifying the worms in the drain: “These worms keep entering through the sink hole of my bathroom. I just pour water and wash them down the drain again. But still they manage to come up again. They crawl really slowly and they move away from the sink hole. I am scared that they might be harmful because their color is very red…..like blood sucking parasites! Please help. Let me know what these are and how you can get rid of them. Even if they aren’t harmful, I’ll be happy not to see them again.”

flour beetle
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Posted in Pest Worms

What Do Flour Beetles Look Like?

We received a very simple and straightforward question from a reader the other day on the All About Worms Facebook page. He said that he thought he found a flour beetle, and that he only needed a picture of a flour beetle to confirm his suspicion. This was easy enough to find – a quick search for “flour beetles” turns up thousands of images – so below we post a good picture we found, as well as provide some basic information about flour beetles.

Caterpillar in Algeria
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Posted in Caterpillars

Caterpillar in Algeria

A reader in Algiers, Algeria wrote to us recently to ask about a “worm” he found in his garden. The worm is in fact a caterpillar, which may be one of the species of swallowtail butterfly caterpillar, which make up the family Papilionidae. With these two sentences, we’ve already supplied our reader with everything he wanted to know (and all we can really give him), but we’ll delve a little bit further into the subject to round out our answer, and also explain our rationale a bit more.

earthworm in dirt
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Posted in Worms Facts

What is a Group of Worms Called?

One of the great tics of the English language (and perhaps other languages as well) is that groups of certain animals have different names. It is for this reason that one can point to the sky and scream “murder” as a way to acknowledge the group of crows flying overhead. Worms are like any other type of animal, and in fact a group of worms can be called several different things, although how “official” any of these names are is hard to determine. So, our concern is not necessarily centered on what you should call a group of worms, but rather on what people do in fact call a group of worms. That is, our task is descriptive, not prescriptive, as the lexicographers like to say.

carpet beetle larvae on clothing
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Posted in Pest Worms

Carpet Beetle Larvae on Clothing

A reader wrote us a fairly frantic message via the All About Worms Facebook page recently about what appears to be carpet beetle larvae, easily the most common creature we write about. The reader was “begging” (her word) us for help, and stressed her discomfort with three exclamation points. The carpet beetle larvae, if this is in fact what they are, are on a sock, and there appear to be at least seven or eight of them, so we can understand the reader’s concern. The reader only asked about identification, which we’ve technically already covered, but we’ll explore our suggestion in greater depth below.

worms on concrete
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Posted in Segmented Worms Annelida

Dried Worms on Concrete

We received a photo from a reader that appears to depict a few dozen dried worms on some concrete surface, perhaps a driveway, or maybe a sidewalk leading up to a front door. (“Dried worms” sounds almost like some sort of snack, so maybe “dried-up worms” or “dried-out worms” is a better way to describe them.) Normally, we would say the reader asked a question about the dried worms on the driveway or sidewalk or whatever concrete surface we are looking at, but no question was asked. In fact, no text was supplied whatsoever – the picture was submitted and nothing else. We can’t divine exactly what our reader is looking for from us, but context suggests we take his message as an unspoken question of identification. What are the dozens of worms on the concrete, and how did they get there?

lawn grub
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Posted in Pest Worms

Worms on Concord Grape Vines

We received a question from a reader about some issues she is having with her Concord grape vine. Her situation is somewhat complex, so we’ll quote her entire message so as to not leave out any important details: “I have a Concord grape vine that I recently found some strange bulbous growths that look like some sort of cocoons on them. When I opened some up you could see very very tiny orange looking worms, no bigger than the tip of a pencil. These bulbous things are a very light pink color and have taken over the vine. The vine is supported by a trellis, birds also love to nest in it. I can’t seem to find anyone who can tell me what they are and how to treat them.”

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Posted in Interesting Worms

Long, Thin Worm under Potted Plant

A reader wrote to us a few days ago about a “long thin brownish worm” that is four to five inches (10-13 centimeters) long and was found under a potted plant. The potted plant was sitting on top of a tree stump, although this probably isn’t of relevance as far as identification is concerned. The reader said the worm appears to have “tiny scales and slithers rather quickly like a snake.” The reader is wondering what the worm is and what to do with it, and he also wanted to know if he found a pest.

flea
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Posted in Dog Worms

Worms or Larvae around Dogs’ Bed

We received a question yesterday about some “tiny wormlike insects” that our reader has recently been finding around the bed of her dogs. Despite the worm-like insects, which are most likely larvae, around the dogs’ bed, the reader hasn’t found any of the creatures on the dogs themselves. The reader seemed perplexed by this, and asked us what the larvae (or whatever they are) around the dogs’ bed could “possibly be”?

earthworm on carpet
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Posted in Segmented Worms Annelida

Earthworm on Carpet

A couple of days ago, we received a question from a reader who found a worm on her carpet. Evidently, the worm was found alone, so it wasn’t a part of any sort of larger problem or infestation. We presume it is just an errant worm that somehow made it into our reader’s house and onto her carpet. The reader was wondering what she found, and she also asked us to pass on any information we have about the worm on her carpet.

larvae on thread
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Posted in Pest Worms

Tiny Larvae Hanging From Thread on Bedroom Ceiling

We received an interesting and highly detailed question from a reader recently who found a few tiny larvae in his room. The reader first noticed the larvae when they were lowering themselves onto his bed using a thread attached to the ceiling. The reader found several larvae, and traced their place of origin to a place in the ceiling, which is where the threads were attached. The reader thought he might have found moth fly larvae, but we actually think he found some sort of inchworm for reasons we will now outline.

worm on tile floor
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Posted in Interesting Worms

Worm on Tile Floor Near Front Door

We received a question from a reader a few days ago about a “worm on my tile floor near the front door.” He sent a picture of the worm by the front door, but it is slightly out of focus, so it is hard to see. The worm appears to have antennae, which means he isn’t finding a worm, but some sort of worm-like creature, perhaps a centipede or millipede. Below we explore these possibilities in more depth.

moth fly larvae in toilet
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Posted in Gross Worms

Moth Fly Larvae in Toilet

A reader wrote to us a few days ago about some tiny larvae he is finding in his toilet bowl. He specifically asked if they are moth fly larvae, which we think is likely. The reader asked where they come from, and he also asked how to “get rid of them for good,” which perhaps suggests he has had this problem before. First we’ll discuss why we think what he found is moth fly larvae, and then we’ll move on to address where they came from and how to get rid of them.

centipede in coffee maker
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Posted in Pest Worms

Worms, Centipedes, or Millipedes in the Coffee Maker

A reader wrote to us recently about a worm-like creature “squirming in my coffee carafe while rinsing with water.” The reader was alarmed by this because she is “truly phobic about worms,” and she also reports that she thinks what she found is a millipede. For reasons we will come to shortly, she might have actually found a centipede, but in truth she wasn’t particularly concerned about what she found. She was more fixated on where the centipede (or millipede) came from, and she also wanted to know if there could be more and how she should eliminate them. We’ll try out best to identify and address all her concerns below.

brown worm in flower bed
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Posted in Garden Worms

Small Brown Worms or Larvae in Flower Bed

A reader in Fort Worth, Texas recently wrote to us about some small brown worms or larvae she is finding in her flower bed. The reader has never seen them before, but she has only had her house (and thus the flower bed) for a few years. The reader says that they look and move around like earthworms, and that they are as big around as an earthworm, but they are quite short. The reader wants to know what she found, and she also wants to know if they are harmful to her garden.