“Can anyone identify these things?” asks this reader in her submission regarding the strange-looking organisms pictured below. “I have alot of pics but for now I’ll send a few. Please help, I desperately need to know what these are.” Now, our reader does not give any more context, which makes identifying these creatures pretty hard, especially considering that they are not easily-recognizable organisms, and they all look completely different. When it comes to the first image, we think this looks like a moth – almost like a common clothes moth.

However, the other two objects do not look like insects or worms to us. From the sleuthing we did, we found some species of fungi that looks like these. Of course, they would be two different species of fungi. Now, this is not at all our department, so we would not be able to confirm which species of fungi these are in particular, and if they are anything to be worried about. We would recommend that our reader consult someone, perhaps a professional, about these fungi. Our reader does mention that she has a bunch of more pictures, and if any of those include worm-like organisms, we would be happy to take a look at them. When it comes to the potential clothes moth, we recommend that our reader do a deep clean of her home; we specifically recommend that she launder any clothing on which she finds larvae, dropping, eggs, or holes, and that she vacuum her home. It’s not certain she is experiencing an infestation if she just found the one moth and not any caterpillars (which are the ones that chew holes through the clothing), but it might be a good idea to clean, just in case.

What we will say is that, if our reader is experiencing an influx of organisms in her home, and fungi too, then there are a couple of basic things she can do to prevent this. Keeping one’s home dry and warm is essential to keeping out a whole host of worm-like organisms (like millipedes), as well as mold (which is a type of fungus). Likewise, keeping one’s home clean is also important. Keeping one’s home vacuumed keeps any spilled organic debris from rotting and attracting maggots, and keeping one’s bathroom and drains clean discourages the build-up of fungal and bacterial growths, which in turn discourages creatures like drain fly larvae and bloodworms from showing up. On top of this, mending or replacing any torn window screens, sealing sizable cracks in walls and floors, and storing unused garments, as well as dried food goods, in airtight containers prevents a bunch of different pests from being attracted to one’s home, like clothes moth caterpillars and pantry moth caterpillars.

In conclusion, we think that the organisms our reader has been finding are different types of fungi, with the exception of the creature in the first photo, which looks like a moth. We hope this helps, and we wish our reader the very best!

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