“I found a tiny worm swarm around our bed”, states this reader about the translucent worm-like creature below. “I hadn’t noticed this until I saw my floor covered with a bunch of worms/larvae. I had some cat flea issues two months ago and cat fleas swarmed around our bed, but that place is also the same place that my cat took a dump. I already cleaned it but I’m a bit concerned that it is a maggot. I took the biggest worm amongst them all. Some of them are kinda clear and some of them have a clear and black-ish color. Is this a maggot or some flea larva?”
To answer our reader’s question right off the bat, we think this is a flea larva. They have a distinct appearance that the creature photographed matches: a minuscule, translucent body that shows their entrails (the black part), but that is otherwise nondescript. Fleas are ectoparasites, meaning they are parasites that feed on their hosts on the outside of their body, rather than on the inside. Other ectoparasites include ticks, leeches, and lice. Most fleas found in urban areas are cat and dog fleas, and will not feed on humans, but as our reader has a cat, this is naturally still a concern for her.
That said, flea larvae are not harmful to humans or cats: they feed only on dead organic material such as faeces, dead insects, and pieces of lint and hair. They do not attach themselves to humans or cats. Of course, that is not to say one should keep them around, because they will eventually grow up into the adult fleas that are harmful to cats and dogs. For that reason, we recommend that our reader do the following: 1) Take her cat to the vet to get it checked and treated for fleas. 2) Vacuum her home, taking care to get all the places her cat tends to nap and sit for longer periods of time. 3) Launder any textiles that her cat tends to sit on, as well as her bed sheets (since the flea larvae were found around the bed). This should eliminate the infestation. If she still notices flea larvae roaming about after doing this, then just repeat steps 2-3 (and 1, if need be) until no larvae are present.
In conclusion, the swarm of worm-like creatures around our reader’s bed are indeed flea larvae: well-spotted by our reader! We urge her to seek medical attention for her cat and to fight this infestation before it gets out of hand. Luckily, she knows where the infestation is most concentrated, so she should be able to get rid of it quickly. We hope this article helps and we wish her and her cat the very best!
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