If you have ever owned a dog, you’ll know what the ‘carpet crawl’ is. When your furry friend scoots across the carpet, back legs stretched out in front, bottom firmly on the floor and with an embarrassed sideways glance. It could be worms.

We are all hosts to worms, kids included. Tape worms, pin worms, round worms, hook worms or flukes. To put it bluntly, we are walking biology which not only house worms, but bacteria, viruses and fungi as well.

However, if your lovely children can’t stop wriggling on their seats and are constantly clutching at their shorts or skirts, or if Fido keeps scooting along the carpet in a seated position, maybe those worms need to be tackled.

For both little ones and furry friends alike, the signs of worm infestation may overlap. Watch out for indicators such as diminished appetite, diarrhoea, and abdominal discomfort.

It might be surprising, but detecting an uninvited guest within your body isn’t always straightforward. Symptoms that appear ordinary could be the result of critters lurking within.

Submitting a stool sample for analysis is an effective way to identify the presence of worms. While gathering our canine companion’s stool during a leisurely walk is routine, the same task can prove more challenging when it comes to our little ones—a process that can be equally cumbersome for both kids and their parents.

While Fido joyfully navigates your living room, there are natural remedies worth exploring in conjunction with conventional worming tablets for both the little ones and our four-legged friends.

Cloves are part of our pantry regime and are usually pulled out at Christmas to spike the family ham and, if you have ever had the misfortune of getting a slice with the clove still embedded, you’ll know the numbing effect is has in your mouth.

Cloves contain the active ingredient eugenol which has been found to destroy parasitic eggs which can sometimes be left in the gut after a round of doggie de-worming.

It’s really easy to make clove tea. Just grab around ten whole clove buds and pop them into a saucepan with 250mls of water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15 minutes. You should be left with approximately 100mls of clove infused water. Add 10mls of the water to your doggies’ water to help him stop making your carpet his first port of call each day.

You can also use this for your little ones as well. Simply use 5mls, which is a teaspoon, in a glass of water or, if you have adventurous kids, try to get them to chew on a clove bud. It is simply three chews and then spit the clove out. It will be your duty as a parent to try it before them.

Another botanical plant, wormwood, boasts a fascinating past associated with the production of absinthe. This notorious drink is reputed to have influenced Vincent van Gogh’s mental state and led an intoxicated Oscar Wilde to vividly describe a phantom sensation of tulips brushing against his legs following a late-night indulgence in absinthe.

Wormwood looks weird, it tastes weird and its name could hardly be less appealing but it still a plant which is revered in herbal traditions today. Wormwood (Artemisia annua) is still used to kill worms and parasites and, of course, this is how it got its name.

It is particularly potent as a liver tonic and to treat indigestion and heartburn and was once used for gout and kidney stones due to the active constituent thujone which is toxic in high doses.

To stop the chair shuffle for your kiddies and the scooting for your doggies, cloves can be a first attempt at the itch and be sure to visit your vet or GP for further information and testing.