A reader discovered dozens of millipedes in her basement. These creatures are harmless.

“This one centimeter-long worm-like creature was found in my mother’s tub today and on a few previous occasions”, says this reader about the segmented, green-gray creature in the photograph below. Our reader’s mother is concerned that these are pinworms, and our reader wonders if we can verify whether or not these are millipedes, centipedes or indeed pinworms.

“I found this worm on the hardwood floor”, writes Kelly in her submission regarding the long, thin worm-like creature pictured below. “We have a small Maltese so we were freaking out as it might be a simple earthworm or a parasite that came out of my dog! I checked my dog’s stool but didn’t see any signs of worms. The length was about 4+ inches. Thank you so much for your help!” Firstly, we want to thank Kelly ourselves for the photo and ample context. These factors always help us identify the worms we are asked about. And with that said, we think Kelly found a centipede.

“I’m hoping someone can help me ID this very weird worm I found in a drop of water in our shower stall (hours after its last use)”, writes Leah in her submission regarding the creature pictured below. “I’m in Eastern Ontario. I thought maybe it was a drain fly or centipede but have been told it appears to be a worm. Any thoughts? Sorry for the poor quality photo. I’d really appreciate any assistance!” We do agree that this is a very strange-looking worm. It has qualities that remind us of creatures we are familiar with: the triangular-shaped head reminds us of a hammerhead worm or even a snake, but the two thin string-like appendages at the rear look like antennae (which would normally be on the head of an organism) which remind us of centipedes, which Leah already picked up on. That said, we do not think it is a drain fly (or drain fly larva). We also agree that the photo is unfortunately quite poor quality, which makes it hard for us to discern any other identifying features and give a confident identification.

“Infested house and garden, two and a half years trying to get rid of them”, starts Paula in her submission regarding the blurry creature with multiple appendages pictured below. “I’m disabled and can’t get any help. I’ve spent thousands on deadbeat alleged insect killer firms. Please help me.” Unfortunately, since the photo is so blurry, we will only be able to provide an educated guess as to the identity of this organism, as opposed to a confident and accurate identification. With that said, we are somewhat confident in our guess, as the outline of this creature’s shapes and what we assume to be its many legs points us in one direction: centipedes.

“In addition to, thankfully, lots of earthworms, I often find small worm-like creatures in my (UK) home-made compost (see picture, which I will hopefully be able to attach)”, writes John in his submission regarding the tiny, cream-white and brown, worm-like creatures pictured below. “These are about three quarters to one inch long. What are they, and will they harm plants? Many thanks if you’re able to reply.” Upon zooming in on these critters, we can see that their bodies are segmented and that tiny antennae sprout from their heads. This fact, coupled with the shape of their bodies and the location in which they were found tells us that John has found millipedes.

“What kind of worm-like thing is this?” asks Evey in her submission regarding the segmented creature pictured below. “It has antennae and no legs. I found it burrowing in my ear.” To start with, we want to express our sympathy to Evey: it must be an unnerving experience to have any kind of creature burrowing into one’s ear. Now, given that this creature was found on/in Evey, we cannot provide an identification with 100% certainty or accuracy, because there is a chance that the discovery of this organism has medical implications. So, what we can do is direct Evey to some resources were she to grow concerned for her health as a result of finding this creature, and we can also provide an identification that should only be considered if a medical professional does not identify any medical issues (and does identify the worm-like creature as a threat) or if Evey is not concerned for her health as a result of this discovery.

“In February we moved into a new house that we had just renovated, and in April we started seeing small larvae like pests showing up in our bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms”, writes Jill in her submission regarding the small, segmented creature pictured below. “They are tiny and only noticed them because they were crawling up the wall/ceiling. Our pest company identified them as carpet beetles stemming from our attic. They have been coming down, inside the walls and I’ve treated those areas, as well as spraying inside and outside the home. We saw many die off over the next few weeks, and then they seemed to go away until July when they came back. I’ve never seen a beetle. We live in Colorado at 7,000 feet elevation. I’ve found them on all three levels of our house in every room. We do have large spruce trees near the home. A new pest company came and (with my help) identified them as duff millipedes. I would love this to be the case and would be interested in a second opinion. Photos and video attached.”

“I found the worm in the attached photo in my pool, and I have not found anything similar in internet searches”, writes Brent in his submission regarding the thin, long, worm-like creature with antennae pictured below. “Can you tell me what it is and if it is dangerous to humans or pets? Thank you!” Now, although this photo is not high resolution, meaning that when we zoom in the details get pretty blurry, we can see that the creature does indeed have the aforementioned antennae, which leads us to believe that Brent found a centipede in his pool. More likely than not, the centipede ended up in the pool by accident, and its presence is nothing to worry about.

“I keep finding these worms that are super skinny and an inch or two long with two tiny antennas”, writes Chase in his submission regarding the “skinny” creature pictured below. “They are in my bathroom and are only on the walls and pop up after I’m gone all day or have been sleeping all night. They don’t look like typical earthworms either. It looks like there are segments but I’m not sure. I’ll attach a photo and video.” To start with, we have to note that since the photo is quite blurry, we cannot make out these segments that Chase is referring to, as well as other smaller physical details that might further reveal the identity of this creature. That said, based on his description of the organism, we think Chase has been finding centipedes on his walls.

“I noticed my solar sprinkler bucket was empty yesterday, so I filled it with fresh water. When I looked today, all these little black things were scooting around the bottom of the bucket”, writes this reader in her submission, which unfortunately does not include a photo. “When I move the sprinkler to see them, they scuttle under it again. Can’t get a good photo. The biggest one is about a quarter inch. They move like caterpillars but faster. Don’t know if they were nesting inside the sprinkler head or if they fell off the honeysuckle.” Since our reader did not send in any photos with her submission, nor did she describe them in much detail, we will say right off the bat that we will be unable to provide a certain or accurate identification.

“Can you identify what kind of worm this is?” asks Amanda in her submission regarding the teeny tiny, brown worm-like critter pictured below. “This video was taken in our kitchen but we found one in our bed too. We live in Florida if that helps. Thank you!” Now, if it were not for the video that Amanda sent in, we would have no idea what this is. The picture is far too blurry to make out any of the tiny creature’s identifiable characteristics, other than its color and shape. But it was once we saw the video, which tells us how it moves and exposes more of its physical characteristics, that we were able to identify this as a millipede.

“I found two of these worms on a sweater I was lint rolling”, writes Allison in her submission regarding the tiny, brown worm-like critter pictured below. “The sweater had been out in my garage in my laundry area before I had a chance to wash it (it’s cashmere so I washed it by hand in cold water). After washing and air drying (which took a few days because it’s been gloomy here), I lint rolled and found two of these worms. I did notice a few holes in the sweater so I thought they were some type of moth larva but from what I could find moth larvae are more rigid and these are moving like worms. I am horrified. What are they?” To start with, we want to thank Allison for the great photos, the best of which we included below. Clear photos like these are always a huge help. We also want to sympathize with Allison: finding unwanted guests in your home, let alone on your clothing, can definitely be horrifying.

“I have seen these black snake-like things in/under my carpet for months,” writes Beth in her submission regarding the organisms pictured below. “They seem to be multiplying very quickly. They scared me when I first saw them, but they seem to be more afraid of me. They are very hard to capture and photograph as they quickly hide away. I’m including a picture of two I caught: they’re sort of wound up together and placed on a long letter envelope so you can see their size. Some are small, an inch or two, some much larger. Some have “fishtail” type ends, and their heads/noses are box-like. Very weird stuff! Are they dangerous? And how do I get rid of them? Any help from you is greatly appreciated! Thank you.” Firstly, we want to thank Beth for sending in her submission. This is a very interesting case, and we are glad she thought of us. Secondly, it is true that animals are typically more afraid of us than we are of them. Thirdly, we have to say that we can’t tell from the photo alone what these creatures are. We haven’t seen anything quite like them.

“I found this worm (?) in my laundry, which was close to the entrance of the bathroom”, writes Lindsey in her submission regarding the worm-like creature with antennae pictured below. “I’ve looked up drain worms but this seems to be closer to a centipede?” Right off the bat, Lindsey has correctly identified the organism. She is also correct in looking up drain worms (AKA drain fly larvae, or moth fly larvae), as those are the most common worm-like organisms one finds in laundry rooms and bathrooms. Centipedes are not as commonly found in laundry rooms or bathrooms specifically, but they can be found all over the home, so it is not improbable that one would be in these areas.

At AllAboutWorms.com, we get a lot of submissions about worms and worm-like creatures. This article will briefly outline some of the creatures that belong to the latter group. When we think of worms, we often think of an earthworm. But typically, when we find any elongated creature in the wild that remotely resembles a worm, we also assume it is one. Now, one might argue that one should not get hung up on details, but it also isn’t just a case of semantics. Knowing the difference between various species will determine how you react to a given animal, and will equip you with the knowledge of how to deal with them: are they likely to infest your home? Is your health and safety at risk? Of course, even within the category of animals that are strictly worms, you can ask these same questions, as there are thousands of worm species. But the point of this article is to identify the most common critters which are mistaken as worms, so as to educate people, but also just for fun.

“I found a similar article about white worms in terrariums, but I wanted to be sure I had the same bugs!” exclaims this reader in her submission regarding the translucent worms pictured below. “These white worms don’t appear to be actively moving, and I just noticed them today after having made this terrarium from moss from my yard last month. There’s the white worms, and then another two that appear different. One is browner and looks to have antennae, and the other appears to have legs? I don’t want my other house plants to get infected! This moss was harvested from Pittsburgh, PA.”

“Is the attached a flatworm of some kind?” asks this reader in her submission regarding the brown, worm-like critter pictured below. “It appeared randomly in our cat’s water bowl. We live on the Isles of Scilly. Many thanks.” In case our other readers are not aware, the Isles of Scilly are an archipelago off the coast of England. Now, with regard to the worm that our reader found, it is hard to say from the photo and context if this is a flatworm. The photo is, unfortunately, pretty blurry, and there are not any obvious reasons we can think of for a flatworm climbing into a cat bowl.

“I found these on the ceiling of my staircase and wanted to know what this is”, is all Niko writes in his submission regarding the black, worm-like creature pictured below. Now, sometimes we do not need a lot of context if the photo provided is good enough. Unfortunately, the photo Niko sent in is quite blurry, and the photo only gets blurrier the more you zoom in. For that reason, we can’t make out any identifying information about the worm other than its color and general shape, and so we will not be able to provide an identification that is certain or accurate. All we can do is provide some educated guesses.

“I have these small, tiny, dead, curled-up worms on my front porch”, writes Len about the black worm-like creatures pictured below. “What are they and how do I get rid of them? I assume they will be worse when it gets warm. I live in North Carolina, on the VA line.” Firstly, we want to thank Len for the great picture he sent us. Pictures like these, taken in great lighting and with a crisp quality, always help us identify the worms we are asked about. Secondly, we have to comment on the sheer number of worms he found, because it is truly impressive, though we understand that from Len’s point of view, it could be somewhat alarming.