Tiny Dotted Organisms are Likely Fly Larvae

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A reader recently asked us to weigh in on the mystery creatures he found in his bathroom. He discovered hundreds of them in what appeared to be a spider web on the wall. Also, he reported finding lots of them on the sink. The specimens moved like caterpillars or inchworms.  At first he thought they were moth fly larvae, which is an excellent guess. However, he placed one of the tiny organisms under a microscope at 120x magnification and noticed that the creature didn’t quite resemble the moth fly larvae photos he found on the internet:

As you an see, the creature has a yellow body covered in rows of black dots and a black head. Below is a photo a different reader once sent us of drain fly larvae (also known as moth fly larvae) under a microscope. As you can see, the organism has black stripes lining its body rather than dots:

So if the tiny organisms aren’t drain fly larvae, what are they? Although the organisms might not be drain fly larvae specifically, they are probably a different type of fly or moth larvae. Based on the extremely small size of the creatures-in-question, we think this is a likely scenario. There are many different species of moth and/or fly larvae that could make themselves at home in a bathroom. Conveniently, getting rid of larvae often requires the same steps despite the different species.

In order to get rid of these unwanted visitors, our reader needs to find and eliminate the food source for the larvae. In other words, he just needs to thoroughly clean his bathroom. He should use a bathroom cleaning agent to wipe down all the surfaces in his bathroom, including the walls and floor. He should especially scrub places where grime builds up and where moisture collects. While we don’t think the larvae are drain fly larvae, it couldn’t hurt to clean the drains. He should use a pipe brush and a cleaning agent designed to eliminate organic waste. Finally, he should make sure any windows in the bathroom are properly screened and sealed from the outdoors.

To wrap up, one of our readers found hundreds of tiny organisms in his bathroom. We believe they are some type of fly or moth larvae. To say goodbye to these organisms, he will need to remove potential food sources from his bathroom, like grime build up and lingering organic matter.

 

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Tiny Dotted Organisms are Likely Fly Larvae
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Tiny Dotted Organisms are Likely Fly Larvae
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One of our readers found hundreds of tiny organisms in his bathroom. We believe they are some type of fly or moth larvae. To say goodbye to these organisms, he will need to remove potential food sources from his bathroom, like grime build up and lingering organic matter.
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Author: Worm Researcher Dori

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