Dried Up Worms Found in Basement Could be Flatworms

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“On the foundation wall, where there is a hole for an electrical conduit going outside, I found these dried up worms”, states this reader in his submission regarding the multitude of black worm-like creatures pictured below. “I live in Seattle. Our basement furnace room is dry and warm. This hole is below ground level. Any idea what they are? Thanks!” Upon zooming in on this fantastic photo, it looks like the worms have two distinct sides, an upper and lower side, both of which are different colors, the top side being black and bottom side being a beige-ish color.

To us, these look like flatworms, though what species in particular we could not say. Flatworms are not dangerous to humans or pets, though one should avoid physical contact with them as they can secrete fluids which may cause allergic reactions such as stinging or irritation. Of course, a dead flatworm will do no harm. That said, flatworms are very dangerous to the prey they hunt (which includes various insects, snails and other flatworms), as they are carnivorous worms, and lethal ones at that. The aforementioned fluids they can secrete will paralyze and then dissolve their prey, making it easy for the flatworm to slurp up their meal using a straw-like appendage that extends from their head.

In addition to this frightening ability, flatworms are also amazing trackers, which makes them even more formidable predators. They can detect changes in pH levels left behind in the air by their prey, and can thus trace the prey’s biological signature like a trail that will lead them right to their next meal. Likewise, flatworms are nearly invincible: if you cut the head off a flatworm, a new tail will sprout from the severed head, and a new head will sprout from the severed tail, yielding two flatworms where before there was one, kind of like the mythical monster, the Hydra.

Flatworms prefer moist environments, which is why they would have dried up in our reader’s basement furnace room. They may have entered the basement when it was not so dry, as basements tend to provide cool shelters for those worms that seek that type of environment, like the millipede. To prevent more flatworms from entering his basement, we suggest our reader simply keep that room as dry and warm as he does now.

To conclude, we think that the worms our reader found in his basement are flatworms. We hope the information in this article proves informative, and we wish our reader the very best!

 

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Dried Up Worms Found in Basement Could be Flatworms
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Dried Up Worms Found in Basement Could be Flatworms
Description
"On the foundation wall, where there is a hole for an electrical conduit going outside, I found these dried up worms", states this reader in his submission regarding the multitude of black worm-like creatures pictured below. "I live in Seattle. Our basement furnace room is dry and warm. This hole is below ground level. Any idea what they are? Thanks!" Upon zooming in on this fantastic photo, it looks like the worms have two distinct sides, an upper and lower side, both of which are different colors, the top side being black and bottom side being a beige-ish color.
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Author: Worm Researcher Anton

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