We just heard from a reader about some “worms” she found in her new car. She explained that she just bought a car from a dealership and shortly after noticed small organisms crawling from under the seat. She wants to know what the specimens are. She sent us a photo, but it is a bit out of focus. We can tell that the creatures are very tiny and light colored. Other than that, we can’t make out any other physical traits. This is the picture she sent us:

Despite being unable to clearly see these critters, we think we know what we are dealing with. We have a hunch that these tiny worm-like organisms are carpet beetle larvae. We write about carpet beetle larvae every week, but we only rarely hear from readers who have discovered these larvae in their cars!

Carpet beetle larvae feed on a variety of items: carpets, upholstered furniture, animal products, dust, and other small particles. We aren’t sure if in this case the carpet beetle larvae are feeding on the interior of the car itself, or some discarded wool glove (or another random item) hidden under the seat. We encourage our reader to investigate thoroughly. She should remove any items that show damage, or that seem to be the source of these critters. If she comes to the conclusion that the primary food source is the car interior itself, she will probably want to have the car professionally cleaned to eliminate the larvae and any unseen eggs hidden in the interior.

To wrap up, one of our readers found some small worm-like organisms crawling up from under the seats of her car. We believe these critters are probably carpet beetle larvae. Of course we are not 100% confident that these tiny creatures are carpet beetle larvae. Since we don’t have a clear photo or description it is hard to say for certain.

Summary

Article Name

Worms in Car Could be Carpet Beetle Larvae

Description

One of our readers found some small worm-like organisms crawling up from under the seats of her car. We believe these critters are probably carpet beetle larvae.

Author

Dori Franklin