A reader recently reached out to us after discovering something in her bathtub. She said she keeps her bathroom extremley clean, and prefers to shower rather than bathe. However, she recently took a few baths. After which, the creature-in-question appeared. Here is her description, “a single tiny, around 5 mm long, leech like worm…much like a prawn, the worm was completely clear and translucent with black tract running through the middle from end to end. No legs, no distinct head.” She did take a photo of it, but had difficultly submitting it, so we don’t have an image to work with.

Even without a photograph, we are confident that we know what our reader found. We believe the leech-like-worm is a drain fly larva! Drain fly larvae range in color, but often appear to be translucent white and black. They measure 1.5-5 mm long, which also fits the description our reader provided. Adult flies and their larvae feed on organic matter and sewage. Female flies lay their eggs wherever decomposing organic materials are found. A common home is the gelatinous film that lines the drain of a sink or bathtub.

The best way to get rid of drain fly larvae is to remove their breeding and feeding site. In other words, she needs to clean her bathtub drain. Simply pouring a cleaning gel down the drain will not do the trick. She will need to physically remove the organic matter lining the drain by scrubbing with a brush. Once the gelatinous film is gone, the larvae will also disappear! Also, although the presence of this larvae frightened our reader, she shouldn’t avoid the bathtub or shower. Drain fly larvae are not harmful to humans and they don’t transmit any human diseases.

In summary, a reader found a translucent leech-like-worm in her bathtub. We believe the creature-in-question is a drain fly larva!

 

 

 

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