“I just saw this in my toilet bowl. Help?” asks this reader in her submission. She is referring to the seemingly dark brown creature photographed below, who is sticking out into visible part of the toilet bowl.

Unfortunately, the photo our reader sent in is of poor resolution, which make the details incredibly blurry when one zooms in on the worm. This makes it harder for us to discern the organism’s characteristics, thus making it harder to identify the worm. That said, the video she sent in gives us a better idea of what this worm might be, as we can see it moving about.

In addition to this, we can see a patch of darker skin near one end of the worm’s body, which we think might be a clitellum. The clitellum is the the thicker band of skin that encircles an earthworm’s body. Usually it is closer to the middle of its body, but it can also stray more toward one side. So, with all of that in mind, we think that this is an earthworm.

Earthworms are, for a lot of people, the first animal that pops into one’s head when the word ‘worm’ is mentioned. Their pink-brown, nondescript bodies, as well as the sheer abundance of them across the planet, make the earthworm one of the most recognizable worm-like creatures. On top of that, they are known for their contributions to the environment: earthworms eat decomposing organic matter and break it down via their digestion system to leave behind nutrient-rich excrement that is good for soil and plant life.

So, how did an earthworm find its way into our reader’s toilet? Well, it is not an entirely uncommon occurrence. Usually, one will find an earthworm in one’s toilet because there is a leak somewhere in the pipes underground, making it easy for the earthworm to crawl into the pipe and end up the toilet. The presence of the worm is not threatening, so all our reader needs to do to deal with the discovery of this worm is to take it outside.

Now, other than finding earthworms (and potentially other creatures) in one’s toilet, there are signs our reader can look out for to see if she might have an underground leak. These signs include, but are not limited to, foul-smelling water, dirty/rusty water, and an evident drop in water pressure. If she has cause to believe she is experiencing an underground leak, then she should call a professional to deal with that.

To conclude, we think our reader found an earthworm in her toilet. We hope this article clears things up for her, and we wish her the best.

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