We think this might be a carpet beetle larva. Since our reader found this worm in her carpet, this seems especially appropriate.

A reader wrote to us the other day about “carpet worms, carpet beetles, and possibly a moth worm” that she has seen moving in her carpet. The worms and beetles, which we’ll define more precisely below, are also eating holes in her shirt and “causing” lint to build up. The infestation has gotten so bad that the reader feel pricks when she walks around the carpet. For obvious reasons, she wants to get of the worms and beetles she is finding, and she wrote to us for help.

A reader wrote to us a week or so ago about some 1/4-inch (quarter-inch) black worms she is finding in the carpet of her house. In addition to being in her carpet, the small black worms are also on the baseboards around her house, which isn’t surprising, given that baseboards often line carpet. The reader says the black worms in her carpet shy away from vacuum cleaners, and also that they seem to prefer darkness over light. What are these small black worms in the carpet of our reader’s home, and how can she prevent these worms from infesting her carpet?