What is the "worm" I found (found 6 of them) on my son's carpet?  It is about
1/8 to 1/4 inch long, pale yellow with a chubby body and a
rust-colored pointed tip.  I'm thinking it's some kind of larva from a
carpet eating pest.  Can you provide information about the types of
bugs it is likely to be, and why it is in my house.

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Request for Question Clarification by richard-ga on 08 Nov 2003 11:42 PST

Do you have any pets in the house that could be 'wormy?'

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Request for Question Clarification by feilong-ga on 08 Nov 2003 11:43 PST

Is this the kind of "worm" you saw:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/YGLNews/images/moth.jpg ?

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Request for Question Clarification by feilong-ga on 08 Nov 2003 11:57 PST

Or is it this one? http://www.securitypest.com/images/Carpet_BTCrRs.jpg

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Clarification of Question by beeb-ga on 09 Nov 2003 09:28 PST

We have two cats.   I found the same two images on the internet that
feilong-ga found, and the first one with the small worm resembles it
more than anything else.  It did not have any hair.  My son thought
they were maggots.  I don't know anything about maggots but that
possibility is extremely distressing.

Hello and thank you for letting us help.

I hope Feilong doesn't mind me answering this question, since he has
posted the picture nearest to what you've seen.  I'm taking the
liberty because it's what I was thinking of when I asked in my
clarification request whether you have any house pets.

[Squeamish people may wish to stop reading at this point.]

Our housecat divides its time between my daughter's bed and our
backyard.  A few nights ago our daughter was doing her homework in bed
with the cat beside her.  The cat suddenly jumped from the bed to the
floor and vomited on the rug.  That was bad enough (although our
daughter did appreciate that Kitty jumped off the bed), but our
daughter saw a pair of 'worms' as you describe crawling out from the
vomit.  I saw them too, since I got the cleanup call.

We took the cat to the vet and they've started a parasite pill
program--a dose now and a second dose in a few weeks.  They could have
tested a stool sample but given the story it wasn't necessary.

They're probably hookworms (Ancylostoma)
Hookworm 
http://cal.nbc.upenn.edu/paralab/images/labimage/lab3/3_01b.gif

I'm sure that's your answer too.  It's not a carpet eating pest, it's
an intestinal parasite.  The good news is that treating your pets
should eliminate the problem--unlike carpet beetles which would
require searching out their nesting spots in the house.

Search terms used
http://images.google.com/images?q=hookworms&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search

Thanks again for bringing us your question.

Sincerely,
Richard-ga

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Clarification of Answer by richard-ga on 09 Nov 2003 11:15 PST

I just noticed that Feilong's picture is a wool-eating moth larva, not
an animal parasite.  But despite the resemblance I'm sticking with my
hookworm answer.

-R

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Request for Answer Clarification by beeb-ga on 10 Nov 2003 05:48 PST

Thanks for helping me with this disgusting problem.  Even though your
solution is gross, Richard-ga, I hope you're right.  I think it is
unlikely though, because neither of our cats ever go outside so I'm
not sure how they would catch the parasite.

Also, the size of the worm seems disproportionate from the ones in the
provided images.  I will still have the cats to the vet ASAP.

I think the wool-eating moth larva is a more likely answer just
because Feilong's photo is very similar, aside from the fact that our
worms seemed a lot fatter.  (Maybe their tummies are full?)  I'm sure,
however, that the carpet in our house is not wool.  Do they like
nylon?  Wouldn't they be happier eating my wool sweaters?  Thanks very
much for your help.

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Clarification of Answer by richard-ga on 10 Nov 2003 16:46 PST

I'm quite sure that nothing will eat nylon.  
I guess you didn't keep the critter for identification.
If you see one again, seal it in a plastic sandwich bag and show it to
your cats' vet.  They should know one way or the other.
-R