“My sister found a worm in her baby’s bed curtain and we didn’t find out what kind of worm it is,” states this reader in his submission to us regarding what appears to be a pinkish-white larva-like creature with a black/dark brown head. Our reader wonders if it is dangerous, and hopes that we can tell him what the creature is.

Now, the photo above is taken from a video our reader sent in (linked below), and, given that the resolution of the video is not the best, as well as the fact that it was filmed at a distance from the worm with the quite the shaky hand, the sharpness and clarity of the photograph is not to the standard that we would prefer. The closer the photo, and the sharper the photo, the easier it will be for us to identify the creature. We mention this because we want our reader to keep this in mind when we make our identification: it is not made with 100% certainty. That said, we do think this is a clothes moth caterpillar.

Clothes moth caterpillars are the larval form of any species of moth whose caterpillars feed on clothing and other textiles. To be more specific, they tend to only feed on organic-based materials, such as cotton, silk and wool. If any such materials are present in the curtain by our reader’s sister’s baby’s bed (what a mouthful!), then that would explain the presence of a clothes moth caterpillar. Clothes moth caterpillars are not dangerous, as they have no interest in humans or animals, so our reader’s sister needs not worry for the safety of her baby. What she will want to look out for are more caterpillars, as infestations can occur. The source of an infestation will be made apparent by a concentrated number of roaming caterpillars, numerous holes in the materials they have eaten on, and the presence of eggs (which are difficult to see with the naked eye). If our reader and/or his sister wants advice on how to handle an infestation of clothes moth caterpillars, were they to conclude that an infestation is indeed occurring, then we can recommend checking out a previous article about clothes moth caterpillars. Of course, if this turns out to be the only caterpillar our reader finds, then she is likely not experiencing an infestation (though we urge our reader to conduct a thorough search, as infestations can often go unnoticed!).

In conclusion, the worm found on the curtain by the bed of our reader’s sister’s baby is most likely a clothes moth caterpillar. Of course, it is difficult to say this with a high degree of certainty, given the poor resolution of the screenshot. Either way, this does not look like any caterpillars or worm-like creatures that would pose a threat to the health of the baby (that we know of). We hope this article helps, and we wish our reader, his sister and her baby the very best!

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