Internet, I almost don’t want to tell you this story because it is so gross. I mean, I have no problem talking about lost tampons or vomit, but this? This pushes my boundaries.
But I’ll soldier on.
The other night I was hanging out at home, G-chatting with Tamara, when I went to make myself a sandwich. I pulled out a piece of bread (wheat, in case you’re going for a complete mental picture) and saw some whispy white crap on the crust. Thinking it was mold, I reached for an additional piece to inspect it too. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something on the original piece move. I looked at it more closely AND SAW WHAT LOOKED LIKE A TINY WORM.
I had the obligatory freakout that was only compounded when I saw ANOTHER TINY WORM on the same piece, and then the closer I looked, the more I saw on all the pieces and in the bottom of the bag. They were bread-colored and had I not stopped to look or had it not been well-lit, I totally would have shoved those nasty things into my piehole (my wormhole?). I was totally grossed out and, after cursing loudly and spooking the cats, ran back to the computer to type in allcaps to Tamara about what I had seen. We sort of halfway decided that what I had seen had to be maggots, and verbally retched for a while over how nasty maggots are and how in the shit they would have found their way into my less-than-a-week-old bread, which, just so we’re clear, I do NOT store inside a dog carcass.
Later that night, when I had gotten my appetite back, I went back to the kitchen to seek out another carb-heavy foodstuff, because, Jesus, I was PMSing. Bingo, mini wheat bagels! I opened one up and nearly jumped out the window when I saw one of those nasty little bread-colored worms curled up inside and burrowing into a hole in the bread. It was at that point that the conspiracy theories started swirling in my head. Was I imagining these worms to keep me from eating bread so that my, ahem, “lifestyle change” would see quicker results? Did Schnucks sell me maggot-infested bread AND bagels? On the same night? Did I really live in squalor and was just so used to it that I didn’t even notice that I’d been noshing on worms for months? Seriously, had I ever eaten one of these nasty things? OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD.
I threw the bagels out, of course, and then resolved to thoroughly inspect everything that came out of my pantry — even the stuff that had been closed up tight — before it went into my mouth. And yet, even after thorough inspection, nothing tasted right. Everything came off a little … wormy.
It took me a few days to figure it out, but I know what’s going on in there. It’s this madness right here. INDIAN MEAL MOTHS. Sure enough, now that I think about it, I’ve seen a couple of tiny little moths around lately. I’ve not thought much of them; they’re moths. Who cares? But I always forget that innocuous little moths can come from disgusting wormy larva things that like to snuggle up inside whole wheat products.
I have my theories about how these little bastards got their breeding colony started, and it involves cat food. That’s all I’m saying about that.
Needless to say, tonight I cleaned out the pantry and threw out everything that had been sitting open. Everything else went in my fridge. Even my new bagels and bread, because I am eighty and eat cold, rigid bread. I’m going to get some poison or traps tomorrow, depending on what I can find, and flush these little metamorphosing demons out of my pantry. It’s my pantry; I pay good money for the privilege of having one. And, frankly, I’m out of room in my refrigerator.
Also? Not maggots. PALPABLE RELIEF.
Oh my goodness, I have been seeing a lot of moths in our kitchen too. Dammit. I can’t go 2 weeks without being infested by some kind of annoying bug.
dear lindy,
please do not bring bread to the pot-luck on sunday.
love your friend,
apn
I keep everything in the fridge and the cat food in a sealed container. I take no chances. And I have a nice toaster over that warms my bread just fine.
FUCKING SHIT that’s gross. Um OK so we buy our catfood in 20 pound bags because Diabetiz Breath has to have a special kind and it’s way cheaper that way. We can’t fit it all in a sealed container.
So tell me: Am I going to get these moths/worms in my house by keeping it in a bag in the pantry???
Epic effing “Fwhew!” about the not maggots. Although these “Indian Meal Moths” are unbeknown to me, and – therefore – HORRIFYING!
Also, Tupperware and gallon freezer bags, babe! I double seal everything because I’m afraid of sticking my hand into a box of crackers and pulling out a zebra spider. Also, you can conveniently divvy up individual servings of crackers, et cetera, into the snack sized baggies, so when you stick your hand in the perfect portion always comes out!
I just had a very similar experience, the only difference is that i didn’t see the “maggots” until i was half-way done with my sandwich. But thank you for doing the research and i’m glad to know i didn’t eat brain parasites.
I found your story tonight after finding the exact same thing in a bag of Hamburger Buns I bought at INGLES MARKETS. This has happened twice in one month. We had unfortunately already consumed all but 2 of the HB Buns before finding them pouring out of the now opened bag and crawling on my Black Marble counter tops. After close inspection, we discovered the bag was filled with them. Just like you stated, they were the same color as the bread and due to dim lighting in the kitchen, we did not discover until clean up time came. I am SICK thinking that we had an extra protein source in our food that was Not of the edible kind. Just GROSS.
Hi guys, so I myself was just making a sandwich (with wholeweat bread) & also came across this little worm!! I also have came across these moths in my cabinet lately. I was sooooo freaked out after seeing that and had I had to figure out what exactly it was.. I was worried that these worms could make someone possibly sick. Thanks your feedback helped me out a lot and answered most of my question
Don’t feel bad! I had the same problem! Indian meal moths too! And I did not discover them in the bread until after I took a couple of bites! Before making the sandwich, I had a long night! I did not want to wake my Grandfather! So I never turned the light on when I made the sandwich, However my Grandfather was awoken to me puking my guts out! I have not been able to touch bread since! And I probably will never have another bread loaf sandwich again!
I don’t really remember how I got to this site. But after reading the title my skin crawled all the way down the page. I will never eat another… Anything… Without carefully inspecting it.