“Found these in our storeroom, mostly in and on a suitcase and on a box next to it”, writes Mark about the pink worm-like creatures pictured below. “They are about 1/2 an inch long. Many were in a white web-like cocoon. We are in the SF Bay Area. Do you know what they are? Thanks.” To start with, we want to thank Mark for the excellent photo he sent us. We can clearly see the creatures, as well as the webbing he describes. Based on this photo, as well as the context provided, we have identified these are clothes moth caterpillars. In particular, we think these could be webbing clothes moth caterpillars.

“Can you kindly identify this worm?” asks Lindsey in her submission regarding the white, worm-shaped organism pictured below. “The hair on top moves around like a feeler.” She does not add more context than this, and given how vague the photo is, we are not sure we can give her a concrete answer to her question. The worm almost looks like it is under a sheet, or some kind of fabric – as if it is struggling to break through it. As such, the hair on top looks like it is likely just a stray fiber from that material. For these reasons, we are not even sure what the true color of the organism is.

“What the hell is this?” asks this reader about the two objects pictured below: one a white, sharp-looking thing, and the other a lump of brown material. “They’re all over my house. They’re eating the wood deck. They’re on clothes, on furniture and they seem to bore through anything. They’re on the walls and the ceiling. They leave fuzzy, white, linty substances like fabric, hair and wood.” Based on the photo our sent us, the white object looks like a claw, specifically a cat claw. We do not know if our reader actually owns a cat, but given the fact that she has found holes in her clothing, furniture, and elsewhere, it would make sense that a cat is tearing holes in these objects and leaving the lint and fluff all over the home.

“I would love to know what these are and if they are harmful to my other specimens”, states this reader in her submission regarding the semi-transparent, yellow, worm-like creature with a red head pictured below. It is a bit difficult to spot among all the dark objects in the photo, but in the center you can see the clear worm-like critter making its way between these objects.”

“I have found what looks like a skinny, small worm”, states this reader in Queens, New York. She has not attached any photos, but asks that we provide her any information we can give, “which hopefully would include why this happens.”

“What are these white things getting on my pants out in my yard?” asks this reader in her submission. “They are going in my skin.”

“Is this an inch worm or a bookworm (if that exists)?” asks this reader in his submission concerning the tiny, white worm-like creature pictured below. “It had legs (maybe 4-6) and as shown in the picture I found it in my book.”

“What fresh hell is this?” asks this reader about the larva-like creature buried in a piece of lint pictured below. He describes it as having a “long white body and dark head.”

“I have thin clear/white microscopic strands on fabrics in my house and can’t figure out what they are”, states this reader in her submission. “Could they be larvae of something?”

“I am finding these tiny worm-like things in my bed and upholstery”, states this reader about the black organism pictured below. “They are semicircular and only about a quarter of an inch.”

“I found this on my carpet”, states this reader in her submission, referring to the off-white larva-like critter with a brown head pictured below. “Can you identify it please?”

“I live in South Carolina, and woke up this morning to dozens of these”, states this reader concerning the white larva-like creature pictured below. “What are they, how can I get rid of them and prevent them in the future?” she asks.

“I’ve been dealing with this issue for 4 years now” starts this reader from Chesapeake in her submission. She and her family have been putting up with with larvae coming from their hair and bodies, and our reader asks for our help.

“I really hope you can help us” pleads this reader in Oklahoma, who is concerned about the “long, very thin, clear worm things” she has been finding in her clothes. “I don’t think that they are parasitic, but they are seriously horrible.” Upon moving in to a new place, our reader discovered these organisms on her clothing. After drying her clothes, the spots in which the worms were found were still damp. “I have tried everything I could think of to get them out of our clothes, but nothing has helped,” she reports. At this point, all of her clothes are infested, and she is looking for help from us.

“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.

After finding several organisms that resemble “white shell[s]” hanging over her bed, this reader contacts us in the hope that we can help with this recurring issue. “Sadly”, our reader did not send any pictures, but she hopes nonetheless that we can identify the creatures and give some advice as to how she can ensure they do not reappear.

“Can you please identify this dude?” asks this reader at the end of his query about the white worm-like creature he found in his toilet bowl. The creature was found in the morning, and our reader has “not yet ascertained whether this thing came from [his] body or not.”

“I have found about seven of these tiny white maggots on my bathroom floor this morning in various locations” states this reader about the short, maggot-like creatures pictured below. Our reader additionally asks where the creatures may be coming from and what she can do to get rid of them.

“I have found cream colored maggots with brown heads two years in a row at this time of year in November,” says this reader. She does not provide photographs, but instead a decent amount of context that we will use to try and figure out how best to help our reader.

“Can you put decorative pillows in a bag and leave it outside in below 0 temperatures to hopefully kill the worms or larvae?” asks this reader in her short, but frank query. We assume our reader wants to know for the sake of real-life application and not simply for curiosity’s sake, so we will do our best to answer this question and provide some useful tips our reader can use for eliminating any worms or larvae that may be infesting her pillows.