A woman in Pennsylvania has been finding “larvae or pupae” in large amounts in her kitchen, bathroom and living room. Our reader reports that to the naked eye, they appear to be “nothing”, but once she zooms in on them, one can make out the details that make her “sick”.

Our reader has 2 cats (one indoor cat, and one outdoor that hunts and “eats everything he can find”), and also has children. She is concerned about her and her kids health, saying she is worried they will get sick from the larvae. She also states, and makes clear through the various imagery she has provided (which we greatly appreciate), that the appearance of these larvae differ. Some are tan in color, some more pinkish, and others dark brown. Our reader has been on a constant “bug search” and cannot sleep.

It appears to us that these objects are not of larvae or pupae, but rather of eggs. Although this makes it nearly impossible for us to identify what will hatch from these eggs (especially given the multifarious colors these objects come in), this might also come as a relief to our reader, for if they are still at this stage, it is far easier to get rid of them. Whilst they are still eggs, our reader can simply vacuum the eggs up and throw away the vacuum cleaner bag afterward. Whether these are eggs or recently hatched larvae, the fact that our reader has been constantly finding more shows that either the species laying them can lay hundreds, if not thousands of eggs at a time, or that she has an infestation of more than one bug. Nonetheless, our reader is still lucky that she caught on so early on in the process, as most don’t. Of course it’s possible that some of these are larvae, while it’s great to get such magnified images, sometimes it makes it more difficult to identify something, so if our reader is certain that these are larva and not eggs or egg cases, we encourage her to send us a few images that are less zoomed in, and more clearly demonstrate a living organism.

Hence, we advise our reader to keep cleaning up these eggs as that will further prevent an infestation, but to be on the lookout for any insects or other bugs that may be laying these eggs. If she finds anything noteworthy, she may feel free to send us another query and more pictures. Furthermore, if she is concerned about the health of her cats, her children and/or herself, we recommend contacting medical professionals as soon as possible. Rather than consulting a regular doctor, we recommend taking herself and her kids to someone who specializes in parasitic relations. She can find someone like this by Googling ‘infectious disease physician (name of closest big city)’ or ‘travel disease doctor (name of closest big city)’. For her cats, simply taking them to the vet and explaining the problem should suffice in receiving a proper diagnosis and treatment.

If our reader wishes to get a second opinion, it might be worth considering taking a sample of these objects to her local county extension office or to the entomology department at a nearby university to have them identified. And of course, if any of our other readers have any suggestions as to what these might be, they should feel free to comment those below.

To conclude, it is unclear what our reader has been finding in her home, as they appear to still be maturing in their eggs. We empathize with our reader’s state of mind, but we are also hopeful that if our reader cleans up these objects, and perhaps applies some of the other methods listed above, she will be free of this problem soon, and can have a good night’s rest.

Summary

Article Name

Larva and Eggs of Various Colors Found All Over Pennsylvania Home

Description

A woman in Pennsylvania has been finding "larvae or pupae" in large amounts in her kitchen, bathroom and living room. Our reader reports that to the naked eye, they appear to be "nothing", but once she zooms in on them, one can make out the details that make her "sick".

Author

Worm Researcher Anton