Bedroom Talk

What are these bugs in my bedroom, and how do I get rid of them?

In my bedroom there are little worm-like things spread around certain areas of carpet. I don't know what they are, they may be larvae of some sort. I have sprayed where they appear (often there are several underneath something) a few times with bug spray, but the bugs eventually return. I'm not sure how to describe them. They are anywhere from minuscule to a centimeter long, they appear white or a little orangey with dark circles around them. They either don't have any legs, or their legs are very very small. The don't move very often when I'm looking at them (shining a bright flashlight), but I will find that they have moved since the last time I saw them. I have also seen the rare ant in my bedroom -- really big ones, sometimes with wings. I read on Wikipedia that ants go through a larval stage -- perhaps the little buggers are baby ants? So, can anyone help me find out what the heck these things are, and how I can wipe them out? The ants I saw (Very few -- 3 or 4 over the past year) do not resemble the pictures of termites I have seen on Wikipedia. They are very, very black. I am looking right now at one that I crushed, and there's nothing white about it. This particular ant has wings -- it first drew my attention because it was making a buzzing sound on the floor. I don't know that the buggers in question have anything to do with the Ants, it was just possibility. Calling an exterminator would be a last resort, I would very much prefer to deal with it myself. In any case, I'd like to find out what they are first. Thanks for the answers so far. I took a series of pictures of the bugs, and combined them all into one image. Its kind of hard to tell how big they are because I zoomed in really close and there is no point of reference -- none of them are bigger then a centimeter, and most are a fraction of that. On the top left are thumbnails of all the pictures I took; On the top right and on the bottom are a selected few full sized closeups. Make sure to scroll/expand the image, as it's quite large width and length wise. http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/5425/thumbstl1.jpg A note about the image -- I had just sprayed down the area before I took the pictures. After getting sprayed, the bugs seem to turn darker and curl up.

Public Comments

1. oh my god, that sounds disgusting... my bedroom is infested with fleas, which is physically worse but aesthetically better..
2. Would call pest control.They're probably harmless but you're better getting to the source of the infestation
3. I'm guessing here - but those sound a lot more like termites. I'll cross my fingers they aren't. Good Luck
4. It sounds like you have termites. They go through a larvae stage and later look similar to ants. I believe some of them have wings. My parents had to destroy a shed once because it got infested. I would call a pest control company immediately.
5. i had a look at the photos is your carpet wool ? go move some furniture that is on the carpet and don't get light....is it bald ? lift the edges especially in corners....are there any insect casings or dead bugs ??? my eyes aren't as good as they used to be but it looks to me you got carpet beetles......the photos are of the larvae if you want to save the carpet don't muck about get a pest controller don,t worry about the chemicals....he should use a schedule 5 poison which is the same rating as nappysan or dishing washing liquid ask him if possible to use cislin (deltamethrin) as it has not odour so won't affect asthmatics and don't be fooled by these company's that say they use natural chemicals....Arsenic is natural and it will kill you...synthetics are the safest as they are copy of naturals but with the nasties removed sorry to add more but if you want the pco to do the best job possible try to get as much off the carpet as you can so he can fully spray
6. Try Home Depot or Lowe's they got a good bug killing inventory. Looks to me like maggots