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tiny black worm-like tadpole looking bug.. what is it?

There are a few of them in our basement now and I've never seen them before. If they are multiplying (?) I want to know what I'm up against. Anyone know what they are?

it is called a Firebrat
I see these all the time at work and they are becoming more and more common. it is relative to a Silverfish
I hate the way they move and look (very threatening) almost lizard like
Although small nymphs (those that are less than 1/8 inch long) lack scales, both large nymphs and adults have them. If you see scales around or beneath damaged items, it is a good indication that these pests are the culprits. The scales are delicate, dustlike, and slightly incandescent in the light, and they stick to most surfaces.he common firebrat, Thermobia domestica is shiny, a mottled gray or brown, and about 1/2 inch long. Adults of both species are slender, wingless, soft-bodied insects with 2 long, slender antennae (Figure 1). Their bodies taper gradually from front to rear to 3 long, thin, taillike appendages.

Same problem with no answer
[ I am from Chicago, I don't live near a huge body of water, and I lived in this house before for 20 years and never seen these bugs before. I just moved back after the house was rebuilt, and these thing just now appeared. I would take a photo, but they are too fast and I rather not take one of a dead squished slug thing.]

I just went to go take a shower in my new house, and I seen a few dark grey almost black small looking slugs/worms in my tub and on the sink. They looked like larger tadpoles yet almost like a small leech mixed together. The were very flat and smooth with a very fragile looking body and SLITHERED away extremely fast. I couldn't see a face, antenna or any visible legs on them. They have a tapered body at the back.

I barely touched one with a paper and it was completely squished. They were all about 1.5mm long and a little less than .5mm wide. I have only seen them near places with water and the seem to come from the drain not the faucet. I have seen enough Silverfish to know that these things aren't them. Nor are they drain fly larvae because those are round. And I haven't seen any flatworms that look like these except for the very minute ones, in which case theses would be flatworm on steroids. All the photos I have seen on this post are too large, have a defined head, and seem to have too much color/stronger looking bodies. These are very flat, skinny, dark, and fast.

Saw these "things" too
I've seen the same squiggly bugs that look like a tadpole. Yuck...I can't find anything on the internet. Everyone says its a silverfish....No its not!!!! I know what they are and look like and that is definitely NOT it! Nor is it mosquito larva - they are moving on hard surfaces not in water!It reminds me of a teeny tiny snakehead! The one I saw was in the bathroom squirming around on the floor... then my husband saw one on his desk at work! He tried to smash it twice with his finger lightly and nothing but on the third try he smashed it with force and said it felt hard like it had scales. I want info on these squishy looking things....someone in the bug department needs to do some serious research! A lot of people are seeing the same type of tiny tadpole/snakehead thing! Someone HELP!

 
What is this thing?
The last few weeks I have found a few of these things in my bathroom and, my kittens trying to catch one on the kitchen floor. And This morning, there was one on my kitchen counter near the coffee pot. I am so grossed out I can't drink my coffee.

I agree with what this lady said but it isn't hard and it's a silverish color. It moves super fast but when it stood still I had my eye an inch away from it, I can't see any legs or antennae. and it is a dark silvery shiny color. I smash it and it just disintegrates. it's much. So damn gross. Has anyone figured out what this thing is? I feel like I have buys crawling all over me right now.

Think I know what they are....
I've just found loads of these in my children's paddling pool in my back garden. I googled them and I'm pretty sure they're mosquito larvae. Ill try to post some pictures.

YUCK
the other night I saw a little, black, worm looking bug that was tadpole like in looks,as it tapered down twords the bottom, and was Extreamly fast moving! it was sitting on my bathmat when I turned on the light but when I went to stomp on it, it moved almost like a snake VERY fast....I have only seen this thing in my bathroom so far and have googled and googled (I am in Boston)....I have been all over the world and seen some crazy bugs....this thing had no antenea or visible legs, it looked smooth and tadpole/worm like it was not a silver fish for sure! but what concerns me is it can move fast and looks like a worm, those two things don't go together for me in making me like it....I want to know what the hell this thing is!?! and what it's capabilities are!?! ...some people on the net have suggested drain fly larvea some have suggested carpet beatle larvea but pictures of these do not resemble the little black worm/tadpole thing I saw.....Ideas???

 
My idea is for you to capture it
and take some good pictures. If you post pictures on the ID Request page it will be much easier to ID it.

for all that are describing t
for all that are describing these tadpole lookalike creatures found out of water.....do you all live near the ocean? just curious because i found them on my bathroom floor and i am 700 feet from the ocean. i am truly creeped out!

 
Rather than people guessing its appearance...
...here's a suggestion for those with these strange tadpole like creatures to help with ID.

Type the single word 'silverfish' in the search field on the upper right corner of the page. Dozens of images will show up. Please scan through these images & click on any that might look like what you're seeing to find out what it is. Or link to the photo & tell us how closely it resembles yours. It'll help people with narrowing it down. Not all the images there are silverfish though most are.

Be aware that
- silverfish are usually found in damp places like bathrooms & kitchens
- move VERY fast
- often don't seem to have visible legs
- have very fine thread-like antennae not easily seen
- come in various shades from silvery grey to almost black
- disintegrate easily & are 'powdery'
- run with an undulating movement like a snake
- shun bright lights so run when a bathroom light's turned on

Hope this helps figure out what the insect is people are describing.

 
Has to be Silverfish
I have been searching this bug or tadpole too, only thing I can find or think of is a infant silverfish, where either the antenna are not fully grown or they are being seen on light colored surfaces instead of dark colored ones. I live in Indiana, where I see them is in my bathroom and I can positively say they are coming in through my ceiling vent after it rains and not all the time and just one or two. They are very similar to a tadpole, but dissolve like a waterbug upon touching them with a papertowel, slithers like a centipede or tadpole, grey in color, has to be a silverfish.

 
From WV
I found one also n my bath tub got picture will post as soon as I figure outhow to post pics on this site

 
If you can't figure out out how to
post you can email it to me and I can post it for you. Click on my name to go to my account page if you need my email address.

 
When you said water...
...I thought of Bristletails.

Here is just one exampe:


More can be found HERE.

And many others HERE.

Keep in mind that with the right color flooring and a fast moving insect, the legs and antennae may be hard to see...

Hope this helps and please try for a picture :)

 
nope....not it. the shape is
nope....not it. the shape is that of a tadpole. large head tapering off to what looks like a "tail"? maybe it is not a bug at all.....but a worm?? if tadples could live out of water then i would be convinced that is what it is. so odd.

Tadpole bug
I just saw one of these things and was so curious and found this site while searching for it. I have looked on every link on here with photos and none of these match. It crawls like a snake, is shaped just like a tadpole, black in color and is fast but did not appear to have legs.

 
HAVE YOU EVER FJOUND OUT WHAT
HAVE YOU EVER FJOUND OUT WHAT THIS TADPOLE LOOKALIKE IS???? EXTERMINATOR NEVER EVEN HEARD OF WHAT I AM DESCRIBING....I AM GOING NUTS TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT!

 
Sammy;
Please turn off your caps lock. It doesn't help to use it. Thanks.

The exterminator never heard of what you are describing but I can't find where you have described anything here. There is no "common" description here so you have to state what you are seeing. Some people here are saying black and others are saying white with a black back. Some are saying legs while others are saying no legs. Is there any chance of you getting a picture? Even a camera phone image would be better than no image. Surely with all of the people seeing this type of thing, somebody should be able to get a picture...

 
sorry about the caps lock. i
sorry about the caps lock. it is exactly as everyone else is describing....looks identical to a tadpole but found on the bathroom floor at 2am. wormy like movements blackish in color....however when i cought it in a paper towel it nearly "disintegrated" and no longer looks black but flaky and whitish? strange huh? i dont think it has legs, definetely no antennae and is not a siverfish. I really need help to figure this out....i have a baby who is now crawling and likes to put things in his mouth! Any help would be greatly appreciated...mst people, including exterminators, never heard of such a thing. what is this? no picture yet....only second night of finding it. will try to get one but they seem to move kind of quickly.

 
"it is exactly as everyone else is describing"
They are many different descriptions here so it is difficult to pin it down using the description "it is black and it is white. It has legs but it doesn't have legs." :)

How quickly can it move with no legs? Maybe you just didn't see the legs... And if it has legs, it should have antennae also. I think v. belov put it best when he said (currently at the bottom of the topic) "all the insects that can run have antennae."

None of our experts have been able to identify any of the various descriptions in this topic yet and all suggestions are reportedly not right. I would highly recommend that ANYBODY seeing these needs to get a picture. I think that will be the only way to get to the bottom of things. Perhaps you could keep a clear cup in your bathroom and cover the next one you see. Maybe that would aid you in getting a picture.

 
saw one recently again too
I think they do have legs, just tucked under and tiny. This time I was able to smash it and it has a soft body and it's sorta flaky like a moth (if you've smashed a small one of those before).

I thought I knew what it was after reviewing this comments awhile ago but I'm still not sure.

 
I AM GOING CRAZY TRYING TO FI
I AM GOING CRAZY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THIS IS? ANY IDEAS OR ANSWERS? EXTERMINATORS ARE BAFFLED?

 
tadpole looking bugs
It worst. They attact themself to your body then form their bodies on your skin. Or if you have a sore they get in n Eat away your skin making a deep hole in your skin.
The only place I got any understanding about these,things was on the MORGELIONS WEB SITE.
I'm fighting daily trying to kill them. I've been on so many meds n lotions but still nothing is stopping them. They even gotten in my nose. I'm so clean its unbelievable. doctors have no reaching on these things. The CDC only spent 6 months investigate n are passing these things off that its all in our heads. REALLY! So the FDA isn't finding a cure.

 
Silverfish
Your description -- "a soft body and it's sorta flaky like a moth" -- is a perfect description of silverfish. Thry can certainly be pests, especially of paper, but they can't bite or sting and don't carry diseases.

Carrion Beetle Larvae?
They are long with noticeable plate-like segments and move quite quickly.

I do not know of any insect that looks like the description that is harmful. These creatures are best let go outside. I personally never use any bug-killing sprays indoors since they are fifty times more harmful than any invertebrate that is in the home.

black bug looks like a tadpole!
I found a small bug that's really quick and looks like a tadpole (bigger head that gets smaller towards the back). He was blackish with no antenna or legs sticking out, all you could see was his body. I spayed him with bug spray and he flipped over and that's when I saw he had legs. He really does not look like a silverfish. Any ideas? I live in Boston, MA.

 
ANY LUCK WITH THIS? I LIVE IN
ANY LUCK WITH THIS? I LIVE IN ROCKPORT AND AM STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THIS THNG IS! NOTICED YOU ARE CLOSE BY IN BOSTON.

 
tadpole like bug
i live in ireland and i have found bugs in my bedrooms that look like what you have described. i have'nt a clue what they are, they don't seem to be in large amounts, just found one or two on different days. they seem to come from under the skirting boards and move very quickly. did you get rid of yours? can you advise me on how to get rid of them?
thanks

 
it is the policy of this site...
...not to provide pest control advice. you should contact appropriate services in your community.

 
Identification
I understand you cannot offer advice regarding pest control.

However, it would be nice to have some sort of identification of this insect.

I recently have noticed these near my shower along the floor boards. They move more like a snake with their tail then most insects I have seen. It is a very odd creature I've yet to capture. I'll do my best to get a photo of this insect.

 
yes...that is exactly it. the
yes...that is exactly it. they move more like a snake/worm than an insect. and do look exactly like a tadpole, though not in water. very fragile, fell apart when i caught it with tissue. nothing on these images is what i found. this is unbelievable that noone has heard of this or can identify it. i just hope and pray that it is not a parasite!

black worm like tadpole looking
any luck finding out what this is and how we keep them away? Nothing on this page is what I see in my apartement

 
black worm like tadpole
Did you find out what this thing is? I live in South Eastern PA and I found one on my bedroom carpet. It's only a centimeter long and just as you described. I thought it was a string or fuzz on the carpet and I picked it up. In my surprise of it being alive I dropped it and it attempted to borrow into the carpet with it's tail wagging in the air. I'm pretty freaked out about it & would really like to know what it is. If you can be of any help I'd appreciate it!

moth fly larvae?
They can develop in drains in basements. The one shown here looks more like a worm than a tadpole.

Black carpet beetle larva
I've had another person email me about what he thought looked like black tadpole bug in a basement. It turned out to be Black Carpet Beetle larva. I personally don't think they look like tadpoles, but you can see for yourself here.

Just A Guess
Silverfish or something...

 
black worm like tadpole looking
The shape is correct but this thing has no legs or tenicles, it just squirms around like a worm, also it is smaller than a silverfish

 
Please see my post
I think i found what you are talking about on my mattress! My post has 2 pictures. Please help!

bekanj,
can you give a better description? Neither worms nor tadpoles are bugs, so I'm having a hard time picturing what you might be describing. Can you describe color, size, # of legs(if any), and give your city? Are they in water?

 
this bug thing is in my house to in north western pa
(i got on the net to see what i could find on this thing).Its white but black on the back kinda spotted but definatly looks like a tadpole, although it does have legs i picked it up. ugly little thing. we have them in the house, last year they where coming up the drain in the shower, so i imagine there in the basement but we dont really go down there to often. please help me figure out what this is i dont want more in the house and i have never seen anything like this and kinda worried.. thanks

 
picture
can you post a picture to ID Request? I really have no idea what this tadpole shaped bug might be.

 
they are black in color, very
they are black in color, very small.. maybe a tiny bit bigger than a tick. But what I meant is the description is closest to that of a wormy tadpole. Thats just what it looks like in shape. I don't see any legs and no, its not in water. They are found in an unfinished basement, all of a sudden for no apparent reason. I am in NJ.

 
HAVE YOU FOUND OUT WHAT IT IS
HAVE YOU FOUND OUT WHAT IT IS....I NEED HELP! NOONE EVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING....LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE A TADPOLE. FOUND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT ON MY BATHROOM FLOOR. ANY ANSWERS???

 
Another possibility: Tachyporinae?
Sorry this is late. Might they be Tachyporine Rove Beetles, as is this one?


The legs of these can be hard to see.

 
that image is not what i am s
that image is not what i am seeing...for sure

 
Tadpole looking bug
Here is a website of some tadpole looking bugs. I have no idea if this is what you found. See http://mytriops.com/articles/triops_species2.stm

 
little black worm
My description of this disgusting "bug" is little black teardrop-shaped worm. I've only had two or three of them,but would love to know what they are and how to prevent more of these wiggly unwelcome guests from returning. This creature also resembles a tiny leach.

 
did you ever find out?
I am wondering what you were able to find out I am new to this site and am hoping that I can find out It looks like things stopped as far as postings are concerned I would like to post a pic but am not sure how My black tadpole like things are on my scalp not demodex as they have a forked tail This is making me sick

 
what?
These things were on your scalp?

 
long, shiny, and wiggley
i am trying to find info on an insect that looks just like what they are describing. i live in the front range of colorado. the insect is about 1 centimeter long or smaller, dark, but shiny in appearance- like chrome- and seems to have many segments which make it move in a wiggly-type motion. It is almost triangle shaped, with the head thicker than the tail. i occasionally find one in my house, but just found a cluster of about 5 in my bedroom and i'm grossed out. i always thought they were silverfish, but after looking those up, these insects do not have antenna. please let me know if you have any idea. thanks!

 
anyone find out yet?
I found one. Grayish color, segmented, no visible antennae or legs, moved fast in a wiggle motion. It disintegrated because I panicked but I still want to know what the hell this thing was.

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