What is going on?

I had a Resident like that excatly the same on my 1st day at work ,she said hey can you kill the spider on my ceiling handed me a broom and I fell hook line and sinker lolhaha I kept looking for this spider she kept seeing the spider oh my finally it dawned on me what was really going on too cute ,that day forward everytime I went to her room we got that spider ,it made her feel better & no harm done ...but my aunt gets really horribul delusions like dead bodies hanging and people outside her windows with guns ,I actually can not open her blinds because she thinks they will shoot her in the head! When the delusions got REALLY REALLLY SOO OFTEN THAT SHE WAS REALLY FRIGHTENED all the time her Dr prescribed anti psychotic meds HELPS SO VERY MUCH POOR LITTLE LADY !! I SEND YOU HUGS AND PRAYERS!!

It is probably just a stage she is going through. If it causes her no distress then I wouldn't try to address it, just leave her to get on with what she thinks she is doing. You cannot fit someone with dementia into our world, they have their own and as long as they are happy and safe in that world then leave them be. x

Some medications can manifest into bad hallucinogenic throughts - auditory and visual disturbances. My late mother saw a body on the floor after she was given Morphine (insert - there was no body, of course.).

My Dad has Lewy Body Dementia the end stages. In the earlier stages he had hallucinations, I daughter would go along with it for example he has a piece of lent or a string in his hands or little bugs on his dinner plate I would just say " here Dad let me have that I'll throw it away " and he was fine with that. My mom and Dad had an understanding (early stages) that when Mom said there's nothing there or what you are seeing is not really there he would say ok and forget it. It's a tricky subject like I said in my experience I went along with it it seemed to work for us. But with dementia everyone is different thank God my Dad never had any scary horrible hallucations that I know of and never a foul word. I wish you luck! This is a hard road we are going down. Too me it's the saddest thing I have ever experienced. Hang in there!

Wow everyone, thanks so much for all the great ideas. As to her vision, she sees an ophthalmologist about every 3 months due to glaucoma which he is keeping pretty well controlled. But I do wonder often when she confuses silverware for instance, is this the vision or the brain? I don't think we will ever really know.
The good news however, since starting the antibiotic she hasn't killed a "bug" or knocked down a "cobweb." So I think that problem is solved for now.
Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts. Much appreciated.

It could be a UTI. It effects older people in the strangest ways. Medication adjustment might help too.

Have you had her eyes checked lately?  It might be floaters in her eyes.  My mother had regrowth of a cataract that they ophthalmologist removed with a lazer and that helped her vision.  I get her eyes checked annually, or as needed if something comes up within that 12-month re-check.  Also, how about having her glasses checked as well?  Maybe a new prescription is in order.  The eye doctor would also write this at the time of appointment.

Geez--not to be rude, but the obvious solutions are all put out there--shoot, if my mom saw any cobwebs or bugs, I'd hand her a duster and let her have at them. (She actually HAS unbelievable cobwebs and an ant problems but doesn't see them.)

If it's annoying her, you should address it.

This could strictly be a vision problem. I have "floaters" and some of them do look like bugs or webs.
I also in October had surgery for a Macular hole that I had developed and for a while things were a bit blurry and It was just in the center of my vision. Not black like Macular degeneration would be but a bit of a blur. Then the cataract that developed because of that surgery caused more blurry vision. Still have some blurriness that I am going to have to live with. And I bet someone will ask this very question about me in 20 years!
So if an eye exam can be done that might answer part of this question. The problem is getting someone with dementia to cooperate during an exam of any type. If it is a struggle to get her to the doctor then I would just say live with the bugs and cobwebs. Give her a duster and let her dust. A carpet sweeper or light weight vacuum will take care of the bugs and you will not have to vacuum the carpet! Win win for you.
Thank her for helping to dust and take care of the bugs.

My dad with vascular dementia is on Haldol for hallucinations. Without it he sees dogs and deer and owls hanging from the ceiling or outside his window. I don't know if it would work for Alzheimer's, but talk to your mom's doctor! My mom with Alzheimer's would see a man trying to look in the Windows at night, which would be frightening. She also would imagine people riding in the backseat of the car, children usually, and extra people at the dinner table.

Maybe she has eye floaters? I’ve had them for a while & they sometimes look like cobwebs..so I go to retina specialist to check them every year. Hugs 🤗

Get her checked for urinary tract infection (UTI) especially for any changes in behavior. Get her to the emergency room or doctor to rule out a physical cause. UTIs are very serious. Changes can be catastrophic.

Play along, don't deny the bugs and cobwebs. They are real to her. If you want her to stop cleaning, ask her if she can leave them for someone else to clean up later.

Overlook it, It gets worse, This is probably the beginning.

Hallucinations pure and simple. Many dementias can cause them. They are common in some parkinsons and common in Lewy's dementia. Speak to a doctor. Problem is that even when there is a dx, the drugs for hallucinations makes the balance worse and the balance drugs often give more hallucinations. Don't honestly know any good drug therapies, or have not hear of them. CBD oil with doc's permission sometimes helps with some picking and scratching and compulsive stuff I am told. No personal experience. Do discuss with her doctor next visit.

Saw doctor today and she is now being treated for a UTI. Hopefully this will take care of the odd behavior. Time will tell. Thanks for the responses.

It may indeed be a urinary tract infection, like rocketjcat said......they can act totally bonkers with one of those, that's the truth. If not, has she been prescribed any new medications lately? When my mother was put on a vertigo patch behind her ear, she suddenly started seeing mice running on the floor when there weren't any. Her dementia in general was taken up several notches after this Rx , so I had the patch removed and she went back to "normal" within 2 days. The patch was an antihistamine/drying agent which was the culprit.

Possibly a lack of blood flow and lack of O2 to a blocked brain area. Before my stroke I hallucinated, Later I knew I was hallucinating because my cats and dog weren't reacting to what I saw, which was happening as I was having the onset to an undiagnosed TIA mini-stroke, that would happen more than once due to stress exacerbating an unknown blood clot in my MCA .

An ischemic stroke eventually resulted. Based on my experience I would schedule a consult with her neurologist consult who will likely schedule with an MRI CT scan, to obtain specifc answers, since Dementia is a generalized term, for memory issues.

Oh, sounds like a UTI. My mom’s UTI delirium was picking strawberries off the floor to get ready for a party. It was horrible to watch. Another time she couldn’t figure out how to get into her bed, and thought a mirror was a window. After the antibiotics kicked in the next day she was back to “normal”. I would suggest getting her tested ASAP. It might take a trip to the ER or urgent care to do the urine test.