“I have been finding 3-5 brown and black worms in my shower occasionally (every few days)”, states this reader about the long worm-like organism pictured below. “I live in Virginia Beach, Virginia in a home built in the 60s. Sometimes these worms are brown and black combinations, sometimes they are all black. Last week one was alive in the shower while I was showering and it appeared to be attached to the edge of the shower with its mouth like a leach, while its body waved around in the water. They appear to be worms, however. I usually find them dead in the shower before I start the water; apparently they come up out of the drain after I shower and leave the bathroom, and then dry out and die once the water has evaporated. They don’t appear to be earthworms, and they’re too large to be drain fly larvae. I’ve attached a couple pictures of one I found a couple days ago. I will check back to see if anyone can help identify these guys. Thanks!”

“Is this a hammerhead worm!?” asks this reader in her submission about the gray, slimy-looking worm-like creature pictured below. We actually cannot tell if it is one or two organisms, though we suppose it does not matter much. “I was horrified to find it in my toilet! Thanks.” We understand how our reader feels, as it is never a pleasant experience to find uninvited guests in one’s home, let alone in one’s toilet. And to confirm: yes, this is a hammerhead worm. Our reader may already be familiar with hammerhead worms, as she correctly identified this one, but in case she is not, the basic facts include: Hammerhead worms are predatory worms, though they are not significantly harmful to humans or pets (unless one keeps insects or snails for pests). They feed on insect larvae, snails, slugs, and other hammerhead worms. They are excellent trackers and possess amazing capabilities, such as the ability to regenerate severed body parts and to liquefy their prey.

“Can you identify this worm found in my toilet bowl after peeing?” asks this reader in her submission regarding the red, semi-transparent worm pictured below. “Doctor I visited was very uncertain but suspected it was a schistosoma.”

“Found this on my bathroom floor next to the toilet”, states this reader in her submission regarding the purplish-gray worm-like organism pictured below. “I don’t have a clue what it is but it’s creepy!”

“I observed hammerhead flatworms on our patio and in our rock garden yesterday in Nolensville, TN”, states this reader in her submission to us. She asks that we give her some tips as to how to “evict them”.

“I found two black flatworms”, states this reader about the creature pictured below, which indeed has a glossy black body, with a light gray/white underside. “I already am infested with the hammerhead worms, now what is this worm?”

“Does spreading Diatomaceous Earth protect from the flathead worms?” asks this reader in her submission. She provides no further context, or photos, but we will do our best to help her in any way that we can.

“Have you ever seen one of these?” asks this reader in Florida about the gray worm pictured below. “It was quickly decomposing and it had goo outside that was melting away”, he adds.

“On the carport we found a dead worm: thinking it may be a hammerhead??!” exclaims this reader in her submission, which is unfortunately not accompanied by a photo of the worm she is referring to. The worm was found when our reader was vacationing in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

“My grandson found this worm in our yard in the Sacramento area, and we haven’t been able to find it on your site. Could you please identify it?” is all this reader asks in her submission concerning the beige and brown, long worm with the spade-shaped head in the picture below.

“I keep finding what looks to be small worms” states this reader, who is worried about the organisms in the photos below. In her submission, our reader brings up bed bugs, flatworms, and roundworms, so we will address all of these in this article.

“What is this?” asks this reader about the black organism in the screenshot below. The creature was found next to our reader’s car by dog excrement.

“Small, thin, black worms” of approximately 1-2-inches have been showing up in our reader’s backyard. This is a new occurrence for our reader, as it has only been happening for the past “couple of months”, and our reader wonders if they are “good worms or bad worms.”

“What the heck is this?” asks this reader about the brown, striped organism pictured below. “It’s easily 10-to-12-inches long, and found in Greenville, South Carolina.”

“Is this a hammerhead flatworm?” asks this reader for her friend in Southeast Texas. She is asking about the long, thin worm below, which is brown, with lighter brown stripes running the length of its body.

“What kind of worm did I find on my bathroom floor?” asks this reader about the black worm with the gray-pink underside in the photo below. She says that she is “super freaked out”, so we will do our best to put our reader’s mind at ease.

“What’s your advice about disposing of dead worms?” asks this reader in her query concerning the discovery of “flatheads” on her enclosed patio. She asks specifically if a “flathead worm” can “come back to life or reproduce” after it has dried out or died “on the cement”.

“I’m seeing these worms daily in my house,” says this reader about the creatures with “flat” bodies of around 2-2.6-inches and “thicker head[s]”. Our reader is growing uncomfortable as she fears the worms may enter her body and she asks for any suggestions we can provide as to how to prevent their entry into her home.

“I found hundreds of these worms on my covered walkway,” says this reader about the glossy creatures seen in the photographs below. The “specimens” are about 5-6cm (approximately 2 inches) long, “very dark brown to black”, have “no obvious mouth parts at the moving end” and “seem to survive fine in water.”

“I found a dead, black hammerhead worm in a shiny, clear substance in my garage. Does this worm secrete this substance?” asks this reader in her query. The photo she sent us displays a long, thin worm lying in a pool of the aforementioned shiny substance.