We just heard from a reader who has been discovering worm-like organisms coming out of his armchair. He recently bought the armchair used, and has been finding 1-2 creatures on it every day. He explained that he quarantined the chair and dissembled it to figure out where the worms are coming from, but he couldn’t find the source. He would like to know what these creatures are, and how to properly treat the armchair, or if he should just get rid of it. He mentioned that the person he bought the chair from has a dog, so wonders if the worms could be related to the dog. This is the photo he included:

In addition to the photograph, he provided a great description of the specimens: “These worms are extremley tiny, about 2-3 mm in length. They are dark and light brown, and may have horizontal stripes on them but they are so tiny I can’t be sure.” We are confident that these tiny creatures are carpet beetle larvae.

Carpet beetle larvae are extremley common household pests. They feed on a variety of things found around a home: fur, feathers, wool, linens, crumbs, dust, and many other small particles and materials. We think these larvae are probably feeding on the stuffing of the chair. It is important that he gets rid of the chair as soon as possible to stop the larvae from spreading to other places around his house. In addition to getting rid of the chair, he should clean to eliminate other potential food sources. This cleaning regime should include sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, and doing laundry. Since our reader is only finding a couple of larvae a day, getting rid of them shouldn’t be very stressful!

To summarize, one of our readers discovered some tiny worm-like organisms coming out an armchair he bought. We believe these creatures are carpet beetle larvae, and he should get rid of the armchair to stop these larvae from spreading to other areas of his home.

Summary

Article Name

Worms on Armchair are Probably Carpet Beetle Larvae

Description

A reader discovered some tiny worm-like organisms coming out an armchair he bought. We believe these creatures are carpet beetle larvae, and he should get rid of the armchair to stop these larvae from spreading to other areas of his home

Author

Dori Franklin