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begonia2005

OMG, now what??!!!

Begonia2005
11 years ago

Here is what I noticed on my sheer curtains today, somewhat above where I keep my plants (a few AV-s and one Peace Lily). When I looked closer they moved, so they are some creatures.

I vacuumed them immediately off the curtain and sprayed with some insecticide. I examined the plants and they show no sign of a pest at all.

Anyone has any ideas what these horrible creatures can be and whether they are posing a threat in my flower area? Now there doesn't seem any left after I vacuumed and sprayed...but you never know what eggs may still be around.

Should I also spray all my flowers with insecticide just as a prevention measure? I have some "Worry Free".

Comments (8)

  • nyxx
    11 years ago

    Did you look on the back of the curtain? Maybe they came in from outside the window? I have no clue what they are though.

  • mrlike2u
    11 years ago

    Larva of something from outside maybe, inside the window frames also possible. Your room/home looks like a recent build.

    I dont think they came from any of your flower pots not to say they wont find home in one as they could. Best to call a licensed/trained exterminator for proper ID and best considerations on how to control or eradicate.

  • Begonia2005
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I am sure this is somewhat recent as I would have noticed them so far. I wonder if they got there since I increased humidity in the AV area with those pebbled humidity trays.

    But again, that was on the curtain, somewhat above the plants, but nothing ON the plants.

    The house is not a recent built - it dates back to the 80's.
    As for the outside, that bay window does not open...

    I will keep an eye on the area...but I still don't know whether you think it might be best to spray the plants and the soil with "Worry Free", just in case.

  • nyxx
    11 years ago

    Can't tell how big they are but found this on the net. Kinda looks like it to me. But these may be to large. IF it is these then I would say from what I read that you had an egg sack someplace near there and it hatched to have that many in one place. I found this on another site.

    "If you have a hammerhead flatworm infestation, there are several ways to control and/or kill populations. The first thing to keep in mind is if you attempt to chop them up or even smash them, the pieces will only regenerate into new hammerhead flatworms. So, it you chop the flatworm into 7 pieces, you will end up with 7 new worms! Hammerhead flatworms must dissolve completely in order to get rid of them. Effective treatment methods include: salt, vinegar, and citrus oil. These products must be applied directly to the flatworms in order to be effective. Spreading them around the soil or areas where you the worms have been spotted won�t dissolve these parasites completely. You can use a spray bottle for the vinegar and citrus oil methods and you can simply pour the salt over the worms to dissolve them."

    So I would do that with the ones you vacuumed up. They eat earth worms. The picture it kinda fuzzy. The original was clearer but I had to save the image as I found it on a certain garden website that I found is not allowed to be mentioned here anymore. So this is the best I could do.

  • Begonia2005
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Those were extremely small and fine, this looks much longer; but maybe they were larvae like someone suggested.

    I don't have any anymore because I vacuumed them up off the curtain...I just hope they don't start wreaking havoc in the vacuum. I need to change that bag anyway.
    I will spray with vinegar in the area and hopefully they will not return.

    Urgh.

  • claire25
    11 years ago

    Those look like recently hatched caterpillars to me...so yes, they're larvae, but just of some kind of butterfly or moth. Hopefully that makes them seem a little less creepy to you. My guess is that this "infestation" was just a one-off kind of thing. Maybe you inadvertently brought into your home some material from outside that had their tiny eggs on it. Unless you have adult moths/butterflies flying and breeding within your house, I would bet you won't see these larvae again.

  • irina_co
    11 years ago

    Hear, hear - you probably got an accidental moth fly into the house - and it put the eggs down. Caterpillars didn't find anything good to eat - and started climbing the curtain. Nope - they won't do anything to your VC, they are already dead and dry.

    I.

  • Begonia2005
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thank goodness, thank you so much!!

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