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Posted in Gross Worms Interesting Worms

Worms near Coffeemaker

One of our readers sent us an email explaining that she and her daughter have found tiny worms wiggling around in water that was left near the coffeemaker. They are trying to figure out what they are and how to get rid of them. The reader did not have a picture to show us, but we have done a lot of research on this topic and we do have a solid idea of what these worms could be. In fact, they are probably larvae and not worms at all.

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Posted in Gross Worms

Parasite Worms in Food

One of our readers sent us quite a few pictures of something she is dealing with in her home. She said that these are unidentifiable parasites and she is worried that they could be many different things. She has said that when she leaves food out for only small amounts of time, these parasites pounce on the food in a number of minutes. She is afraid that it could be anything from scabies to larvae. She is in contact with medical professionals, but she wanted us to put her mind at ease on these creatures.

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Posted in Gross Worms Interesting Worms

Shower Worms

Recently, we were contacted by one of our dedicated readers who was concerned about finding worms coming out his shower faucet. He was incredibly frightened by this and he was worried that he would somehow get these worms inside of his body. He was also very worried about getting sick or some type of infection from these worms. He did send us a video, which we were unable to open and watch, but we do have some thoughts on this subject.

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Posted in Gross Worms Interesting Worms

White worms

One reader wrote us very worried and scared about what she found in her toilet. The description that she gave us was very interesting. After we have done our research, there are a number of things this could be. We do not want to make any type of suggestion because we are not medical professionals. Our reader is in touch with a doctor about her case, which is the most important factor. If any of our readers ever find worms in their urine or stool, the first step is to contact a doctor as soon as possible.

tiny, skinny brown worm in carpet
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Posted in Gross Worms Worms in Humans

Horsehair Worms

One of our readers wrote in and told us that she was having issues with horsehair worms. She keeps finding them in her hair and wants to know how she can get rid of them. You can get rid of these worms if you do find them in your by washing your hair regularly and simply by picking them out.

worm in cat hair
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Posted in Gross Worms

Worms Caught in Cat Hair

We received a puzzling question recently about some worms that our reader found in the hair of her cat. The worms (or whatever they are) have been caught in the cat’s hair on a couple of different occasions, and the reader is concerned that they might be harmful to her cat in one way or another. They might just be getting caught in the cat’s fur, posing no threat, but they also might be “something worse feeding off him [the cat].” The reader offers a lot of information and a picture, so we’ll try to make some sense of the situation with what we were presented with.

larva in soup
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Posted in Gross Worms

Small Worm or Larva in Soup

A reader recently wrote to us about what appears to be a small larva that she found in her soup. (We mentioned a possible “worm” in the soup only because people so often call larvae “worms.”) The reader is wondering what she found, and she also asked if she should be concerned if she accidentally ate one. We’ll tackle each question in turn, suggesting a possible identification and then discussing eating larvae, both in general and as it relates to the reader’s specific circumstances.

millipede or centipede in shower
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Posted in Gross Worms

Worm Reader Found in Shower After Throwing Up is Likely Millipede or Centipede

We received a question from a reader recently via the All About Worms Facebook page about what we think is a millipede or centipede in her shower. The question has a bit of a backstory, so we’ll quote the relevant part of the reader’s message and then move on to address her concerns: “I had an episode of Vertigo yesterday and I thew up in the trash can. I cleaned the trash can out in the shower. So I am kinda freaking out thinking that it might have been inside me! Or hopefully it is just a coincidence that is was in there.” The reader is first of all wondering what she found, and she is also wondering if the creature has its origin in her body.

moth fly larvae in toilet
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Posted in Gross Worms

Moth Fly Larvae in Toilet

A reader wrote to us a few days ago about some tiny larvae he is finding in his toilet bowl. He specifically asked if they are moth fly larvae, which we think is likely. The reader asked where they come from, and he also asked how to “get rid of them for good,” which perhaps suggests he has had this problem before. First we’ll discuss why we think what he found is moth fly larvae, and then we’ll move on to address where they came from and how to get rid of them.

fungus gnat larvae
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Fungus Gnat Larvae Grouping

A reader wrote us a somewhat frantic email recently about what appears to be large, snake-like grouping of fungus gnat larvae. She emphasized how “gross” the gnat larvae were, an understandable reaction, and highlighted the urgency of her identification request by using two question marks. We have already answered her identification question, so we could leave the matter here, but we’ll provide a little more information about fungus gnat larvae below, as well as link to previous articles that we have written about them.

small white worms in bathroom
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Posted in Gross Worms

Small White Worms in the Bathroom

A reader wrote to us with a question about a few small white worms she found in her bathroom. Actually, no question was explicitly asked, but she clearly wants to know what she found, also wants to get rid of the worms in her bathroom. She reports that the worms “creep me out,” and also that she has children and doesn’t want the worms in her home, like basically every person who ever has or will exist. What kind of small white worms did our reader find in her bathroom, and how might she get rid of them?

mystery bug
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Posted in Gross Worms

Piss Worms or Pissworms: Are They Real?

We received a very strange question from a reader about whether or not there is “such a thing as a piss worm.” Her mother’s neighbor in Southern Illinois reported that she saw a “piss worm,” which we suppose you could just as easily write as “pissworm,” and said that it was very poisonous. The reader was also wondering about this second point, so the question we are confronted with is this: are there such things as piss worms (pissworms), and if so, are they poisonous?

worm in chicken
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Posted in Gross Worms

Brown Striped Worms in Store-Bought Chicken

A reader wrote to us the other day via the All About Worms Facebook page about some brown striped worms (or potentially larvae) he found in some store-bought chicken. We aren’t sure what kind of chicken he bought – rotisserie, a container of several pieces, etc. – but we know it was cooked and ready to eat. He had already eaten some of the chicken before he noticed the worms, and therefore was concerned that he had accidentally eaten some of them. The reader was therefore keen to identify the worms (or larvae) he found in his chicken, and that’s where we come in.

Horsehair Worm in Forest
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Posted in Gross Worms

Short White Maggots Inside Crickets

We received an interesting question from a reader the other day via the All About Worms Facebook page about “some sort of short white maggot” crawling out of the abdomen of a cricket. The reader feeds the crickets to his chameleon, and recently gnats have been found in the “chameleon’s habitat.” The reader speculated there might be a connection between the gnats and the short white maggots – indeed, he thought the maggots might be the gnats themselves – and asked us to weigh in on the matter. What type of short white maggot could be inside a cricket?

moth fly larva in toilet
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Worms in the Toilet: Should you Go to the Doctor?

On two recent occasions in the last week, a reader found a worm in her toilet. She found the worm after she used and flushed the toilet in both instances. The worm in the toilet is quite small – it is only about a half an inch long (about 1.5 centimeters) – and it has a white and grey body. (It isn’t really either color, so the worm is more of a whitish, grayish color, with both end tips of the worm being a darker, almost black color.) Understandably, the reader was worried about finding a worm in her toilet, so she went to the doctor to be tested for parasites. She was given Albenza by the doctor as she awaited her test results. In the meantime, she asked us to weigh in the matter, hoping that we can identify the small worm in the toilet she found.

Horsehair worm in pool
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Tiny Thin Worms in Lobster Sandwich

A lobster sandwich is a beautiful thing until you find a tiny, thin worm in it, as a recent reader did who wrote to us via the All About Worms Facebook page. The reader purchased the thin worm-infused lobster sandwich at “a food fayre,” which we are assuming is a food fair that took place sometime in the 1800s for spelling-related reasons. After a few bites of the sandwich, the reader “saw a tiny (almost like a hair) sized worm that was striped black and white (ish) wriggling around on my lobster.” The reader said that it wasn’t a maggot, and again mentioned that the worm was “really thin like a piece of hair.” Naturally, the reader took the sandwich back, but was still worried about what she had found. What type of small, thin worms might be found in a piece of lobster?

mealworms
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Posted in Gross Worms

Gross Worms

We received an interesting question a while ago about a “gross worm thing.” We were told to direct our attention to the gross worm on the paper towel in the photo, which sounds reasonable, except for the fact that we were given no photo to examine. All we know about the worm is that it is “gross,” about an inch long (2.5 centimeters), and doesn’t have any legs. Obviously, this isn’t much information to work with, but we can say a couple of things about the gross worm, and in doing so we’ll at least limit the range of possible creatures that she found.

Millipede in Garden
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Posted in Gross Worms

Worms that Smell bad or Stink

A reader wrote to us a while ago inquiring about what types of worms smell bad. The reader and her son were in the kitchen when they noticed “something smelled funny.” After looking around for a while, they finally discovered the source of the bad smell: a small worm, or what looked like a worm. The reader seemed surprised by this – the worm smelled “awful and very strong” – and was wondering what kinds of worms smell bad.

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Brown Larvae in the Cupboard

A reader wrote to us a few days ago about some “fat short brown” larvae she is finding in the her kitchen cupboards. (Yes, she did actually refer to the creatures as larvae, breaking with the common practice of calling larvae “worms,” which they technically aren’t, insofar as “worm” has a precise meaning.) The reader found the brown larvae (which might also be described as black) near a dead mouse, which had recently been killed by a trap. The reader speculated that there might be some connection between the two, a reasonable enough assumption that we will pursue below. Although the reader only found two of the larvae, she was still understandably concerned about them. She asked us what the brownish, blackish larvae are, and if she should be worried about them.

Black worm in Toilet
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Posted in Gross Worms

Phoenix Worms in the Toilet

We recently received a seemingly straightforward question from a reader: “How did a Phoenix Worm end up in my toilet?” This question about Phoenix Worms, although refreshing in its brevity, is actually a little bit tricky to answer, as it gives rise to other questions: what is a Phoenix Worm exactly (hint: it’s not a worm), and could this creature possibly end up in a toilet? If not, then what is our reader finding in his toilet? Then again, if our reader did find a Phoenix Worm in his toilet, we only have one question to answer: how did it end up there?