Yellow-green worm
Dear What’s That Bug,
We live out in the country in central Texas (30 minutes northeast of College
Station). When I went to change the sheets on my extra bed last night, I
discovered HUNDREDS of tiny yellow-green worms that had reproduced there
since I last changed the sheets (1-2 months ago). They were about about an
inch long (inch worm?). We hang our sheets outside in a wooded area and are assuming they came in with the sheets and multiplied like crazy. Do you know what they are. There were little caccoons in the bed folds, pillows, etc. Could they still be in the mattress!?! Being a city girl myself, I’ve adapted to the wide variety of spiders and roaches surrounding our house, but this has made me reach my limit! Your help would be greatly appreciated. What a great service you have!
Thanks!
Caren George
Dear Caren,
I must say, this is confusing. What you are calling worms are probably the larval form of some insect. Two common household pests that will eat organic matter, including cotton, are carpet beetles and clothing moths, but neither have larvae that are yellow green. You also didn’t state that the sheets had been damaged in any way, so I am eliminating them as possible culprits. There is no way that your free-loaders grew and reproduced between the sheets without eating. I suppose it is possible that they migrated there in search of a warm place to metamorphose, but that still doesn’t give me a clue as to what they might be. I will continue to research and hopefully get back to you when I discover something. Additionally, Inchworms are actually the caterpillars of a group of moths known as geometrids, and they get their name from their curious method of locomotion which has the
appearance of measuring.
Daniel
Mystery Solved
Dear Bugman,
We came home last night to more little worms (only a handful this
time)–even though we bleached and washed the sheets and cleaned the room completely. We tore down the bed and found the nasty culprit. A storage bin of cat food my husband had put under the bed. It was COMPLETELY webbed and gross and the bin was full of little moths. Looked on your site and was able to identify Indian Meal Moths! We emptied the room, cleaned EVERYTHING and put it back together again. I’ll write again frantically if that didn’t solve the problem! Thank you so much for your service and getting back to me. This city girl needs all the help she can get!
Sincerely,
Caren George