A small, striped worm-like creature was found inside the pill box of this reader, who has identified the creature as a carpet beetle larva. She wonders if the carpet beetle larva may have some how come from inside her vitamin and if that is at all possible.

First off, we want to thank our reader for the excellent quality video she provided (from which the screenshot above was taken), as it gives us a very clear and up-close view of the creature. Secondly, our reader is definitely correct in assuming that this is a carpet beetle larva. It’s ovate-shaped body and striped coloration gives it away. But it is indeed very strange that it was found inside a pill box. Our reader wonders if the bug made its way into the pill box to eat her vitamin, or if it hatched from inside the pill, and if more carpet beetle eggs could have been present in all of the same type of pill she has been taking for a long time. It is our opinion that the former option is far more probable. We have never heard of carpet beetles, or any worms for that matter, hatching from inside a pill. In fact, it should be impossible. Pills are made from compact powders, and any eggs that would end up in the powder would be crushed, or would die from a lack of exposure to the elements. Besides, even if one did swallow a carpet beetle, it would be completely risk free. Carpet beetles are neither venomous, nor carriers of pathogens or disease.
Carpet Beetle Inside Pill Box

Hence, it is more likely that the carpet beetle larva somehow made its way into our reader’s pillbox. Whether it is because there is an opening large enough for one of these little critters to crawl through, or because the lid to the pill box was left open long enough for one of them to crawl though, or for an adult carpet beetle to lay eggs inside, this little critter likely found its way into our reader’s pill box in search of food. Although the primary diet of carpet beetle larvae is animal-based fabrics, being infamous for their tendency to chew through clothes, carpets and upholstery, they have been known to dabble in food as well, such as grains and pet food. We have not heard of a case where carpet beetle larvae fed on pills, but perhaps one could suppose that if the pill were encased in gelatin, then the material is animal-based and the carpet beetle larva may have been attracted to that? Perhaps that is a far reach, but it’s the best possible guess we can come up with. Either this, or that the carpet beetle really did hatch inside the box, but not inside the pill. And since it was only one larva, it may be possible that our reader got a carpet beetle egg stuck to her finger when she was reaching for her pill, and transferred the egg to the inside of the box, where it would eventually hatch into a carpet beetle larva. Thus, this may be a sign of infestation, as this indicates that there are other eggs inside our reader’s home. If this turns out to be the case, our reader can consult a past article we have written on the matter, or she can of course contact us again.

In conclusion, the bug our reader found inside her pill box is indeed a carpet beetle larva. These critters are harmless toward humans, but can be quite the nuisance to deal with. The case of the mysterious carpet beetle larva inside the pill box is quite interesting to say the least, and we hope our reader’s home is not infested with these little critters!

Summary

Article Name

Carpet Beetle Larva Discovered Inside a Pill Box

Description

A small, striped worm-like creature was found inside the pill box of this reader, who has identified the creature as a carpet beetle larva. She wonders if the carpet beetle larva may have some how come from inside her vitamin and if that is at all possible.

Author

Worm Researcher Anton