We recently heard from a reader who discovered a worm in her toilet. She explained that she found it several hours after the toilet was used, so she doesn’t think that it came from a human. According to the description she gave us, the worm is a reddish/brown color and about 10 centimeters long. She thinks the worm is an earthworm, but wants to know our thoughts on the matter. This is the photograph she shared with us:
We agree with our reader for several reasons. For one, the description is a match for an earthworm. Earthworms are usually 5-13 centimeters long, though some are longer! They are also a reddish/brown color, as our reader described. The photo is also a helpful clue! Although we don’t have a detailed view of the worm, we know that it matches the description our reader gave us. Finally, the location of where our reader discovered this organism is a big hint. We hear from readers who discover earthworms in their toilets fairly often, at least a handful of times a month!
While we are confident that we know what this creature is, we unfortunately don’t know why it is in our reader’s toilet bowl or how it got there. Since earthworms need a lot of moisture to survive, this creature might have crawled in because of the water in the bowl. We think it is probably more likely that the earthworm came from the pipes leading to the toilet. Since she only found one worm, we recommend she scoop it out and place it back outside where it belongs. If she continues to discover earthworms in her toilet, there might be an issue with her pipes. If this happens, she should consult with a plumber!
In conclusion, one of our readers discovered a brown worm in her toilet that she thought could be an earthworm. We agree with our reader, this is an earthworm!
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