White worms on my floor

[sud78]

Hi, since the past 3 days there have been the white wiggly worms in my living room. They are only near the bay window and nowhere else. I checked underneath the rugs and found a few there so have rolled up the rugs and put them for waste collection.

Also checked the house for any stale food etc .but found nothing. I never had mice problems

Please see the attached image (sorry graphic content) and let me know what those are...

Looks like the larvae of some insect. Moth, carpet beetle, etc

We had the house fly a weeks or so back when the weather was hot.. could have laid eggs.. ?

I googled larvae in house U.K. and it suggests several types of beetle. Moth larva are more caterpillar like. I wish I hadn’t googled now, put me right off my Pringles 😂

I can't make it out, but if it is carpet beetle or moth, you need to do a lot more frequent and though vacuuming, preferably using an upright with beating action, and especially under and behind furniture, and especially round the edges of the room by the skirting

And to spray the carpets, especially round the edges. I would do the spraying with the doors and windows shut, then leave it, come back later and ventilate the room before using it again.

And to put Transfluthrin moth killers in all your wardrobes and clothes drawers.

If you have any clothes that you value, such as woollen suits or cashmere jumpers, and woollen rugs or blankets, put them individually through the tumble drier and immediately seal them into plastic garment bags with an individual moth killer sachet, or in a plastic storage crate with closed lid.

You may think this is excessive, but calculate the price of five suits and five jumpers. Perhaps you have more than that.

Transfluthrin is a chemical that emits a vapour killing eggs, grubs and adults. It breaks down in fresh air or sunlight, and blows away in ventilation, so is used in closed packaging or wardrobes. The sachets are small and contain only enough chemical to treat one drawer, or hangers for half a cubic metre of closed wardrobes, so your house will not be full of chemicals.

You can also buy lavender or cedarwood ornaments. These do not kill moths but will make your holey clothes smell nice when you throw them in the bin.

Many thanks @PigletJohn! I'll work through the list you've mentioned

That doesn't look like carpet moth larvae. They are more wispy. We had a massive infestation everywhere a few years ago. However, it's probably not good whatever they are so I would do what PigletJohn says!

That's not a carpet beetle larva - they're called Woolly Bears for a reason! It is more similar to a moth larva, but I don't think it's that. Hate to say it, but it looks like a maggot to me. Can you see any damage to the carpet? Any grazing, webbing or frass (poop)? This things are indicative of moth.

@12BottlesOfVintageChampagne I found most of them stuck to the underside of the rug in the living room. Will check again

@sud78 - ah, now that's interesting. We had this with the back door mat, which had a rubber underside. Some food detritus got trapped under it and we ended up with a bit of a webbing clothes moth infestation. It's not necessarily the material they go for, but the contaminated surface.

PigletJohn is absolutely right about the vacuuming. My chemical treatment of choice is any permethrin-based spray. This is a persistent insecticide which will kill adults and larvae. The vacuuming will pick up any eggs. This will work on a range of insect species, though do be careful with it if you have cats or fish.

That’s maggots. And I’m not gonna lie I’ve come over all queasy at the thought of it.

Looks like maggots to me as well

@sud78, I've investigated a bit, and I think these are likely House Fly larvae. All the same advice applies to these. Hope that helps!

Maggots 🤮

[quote 12BottlesOfVintageChampagne]@sud78, I've investigated a bit, and I think these are likely House Fly larvae. All the same advice applies to these. Hope that helps![/quote]
A maggot is house fly larvae. It’s one and the same.

That's definitely a standard fly maggot. Normal fly spray then sweep up and dispose of. If most of them were under the rug then you've most likely found the starting point unless there's a dead mouse or something under the house and they're coming up from under the floorboards. If you can't smell anything stinky then it's most likely a once off.

That's a relief.