“I found this tiny worm on my main floor hardwood last night”, writes Sally about the brown, striped critter pictured below. “My main floor is entirely hardwood, but it was at the base of my stairs and my second floor is all pretty old carpet. We have two dogs. Earlier this year, I found one of these in the dogs’ toy bin, and a couple underneath a plush dog bed, which I immediately disposed of. Can you please provide your best guess as to what it is? I’m located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Thank you in advance. From a worm newbie.”

Based on the photo, as well as the context, we have identified this as a carpet beetle larva. This is not the worst news, but it also isn’t the best. Let’s start with the good news. Carpet beetle larvae are not dog parasites, nor are they poisonous. They do not bite or sting, and if her dog’s ate any of them, they would be fine, as they do not carry disease. The bad news is that they can cause a rash if one is allergic to them and make physical contact with them. What’s worse though is that they are a notorious household pest that feeds on textiles and can cause significant damage to the textile items in one’s home if the infestations goes unnoticed or unchecked.

Besides feeding on organic-based textiles like cotton, wool, and silk, carpet beetle larvae have also been known to munch on loose hair and fur. For that reason, they are typically found around dog beds or anywhere that dogs spend a lot of time and thus shed a lot of fur. So, in Sally’s case, it makes sense that the larvae were found in the toy bin and underneath the dog bed. It also makes sense that they were found on her old carpet, as carpet beetle larvae unsurprisingly like to eat carpets.

Our advice is for Sally to do a proper clean of her home. Vacuum every room, launder any infested (or potentially infested) items of clothing, bedding, pillow cases, and other textile items. If she has access to a steam cleaner, then steam cleaning her carpets and rugs would also greatly help, with another vacuum performed after this. Likewise, prevention is key to controlling an infestation, which includes keeping her home vacuumed often, particularly those areas in which her dogs spend a lot of time, and keeping unused textiles in sealed containers or bags. Likewise, ensuring that her window screens are intact will prevent lots of bugs from entering her home.

To conclude, the worms Sally has been finding in her home are carpet beetle larvae. Luckily, they are not harmful to her or her dogs, but they can damage a lot of the items in her home. We hope this helps, and we wish her the very best!

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