One of our readers found some tiny worms that she said go in and out of the threading in her mattress. She did mention that the mattress was purchased secondhand. She is extremely worried about what these worms could be. After looking at the pictures that she sent, these worm-like creatures are probably carpet beetle larvae.

Here is the picture:

Carpet beetle larvae grow to be about 4 to 5mm in length and most have tiny hairs all over their bodies. Most of the time, they are oval shaped, but some are carrot shaped. They are generally brown in color, but have also been seen in black, and tan, and sometimes have appeared to be a light pink depending on the shade of brown.

They feed on fabrics, clothing, feathers, and fur and can do quite a lot of damage to your closet and to your home furnishings like couches and mattresses. They also feed on dead insects, lint, and dust so they like to move around the house quickly to find food. If they find a place like a couch or mattress, they can burrow into it and eat all of the material inside of it.

If these larvae have made their way into our reader’s mattress, it may be too late to salvage it. She can try to clean it or have a professional clean it, but if the larvae have already burrowed into it, there is a possibility that she should discard the mattress. These larvae will not harm her, but if they have already started to eat the mattress, it will be no good.

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