“Just found this on my kitchen counter that had a few closed bottles of vitamins and nothing else,” writes this reader in her submission regarding the striped, light brown creature pictured below. “What is it? Please.” Based on the photo alone, we know that this is a carpet beetle larva. We have covered this critter countless times at this point, so we could spot them from a mile away. There is good and bad news. The good news is that carpet beetle larvae are not harmful to humans and pets (though we should note that one can experience allergic reactions to them that can cause rashes to form). The bad news is that these are destructive pests that chew holes through the textile items in one’s home.