“I found this in my loo”, writes this reader about the long, dark worm pictured below in a toilet bowl. “Please help.” He provides no further context, and we must say that the photo he provided is quite dark and not the best quality, which makes it harder to see the worm’s physical characteristics (other than the obvious ones). With that said, we can still make an educated guess as to what it is, and in any case, we would guess that it is some kind of detritivore. Detritivores are organisms that feed on decomposing organic matter, and there are plenty of worms and worm-like organisms that fit this description, including earthworms and millipedes.

In fact, it is not entirely uncommon for earthworms to find their way up people’s toilets, and this worm may just be an earthworm. Our reader might be thinking that earthworms are pink or brown, not this dark color, but it should be noted that there are more than 7000 species of earthworms, and they come in all sorts of colors. The reason they come up through people’s toilets sometimes is usually because there is a leak somewhere in the underground piping through which the earthworms crawl. And since they feed on decomposing organic matter, of which there is plenty in sewage pipes, earthworms have no reason not to explore those pipes and see where they take them.

Obviously, a leak underground is outside of our reader’s own control (unless he is a plumber), but he can check for signs of a leak, which include: smelly water, foul-tasting water, discolored water, and changes in water pressure and/or temperature. If he notices any of these signs, he might want to contact a professional to have it checked out. As for the worm, we recommend he just moves it outside. When doing so, we advise avoiding skin-to-skin contact, since our identification of the worm is not 100% certain, and making contact with unknown organisms could result in unforeseen allergic reactions. On top of that, we want to add that detritivores are not harmful to humans or pets whatsoever, so if this worm really is one, our reader has nothing to worry about.

In conclusion, we think that the long, dark worm our reader found in his toilet is likely an earthworm. It is nothing to fear, as they are not harmful to humans. We hope he finds this article helpful, and we wish him the very best!

Summary

Article Name

Long, Dark Worm in Loo is Likely a Detritivore

Description

"I found this in my loo", writes this reader about the long, dark worm pictured below in a toilet bowl. "Please help." He provides no further context, and we must say that the photo he provided is quite dark and not the best quality, which makes it harder to see the worm's physical characteristics (other than the obvious ones). With that said, we can still make an educated guess as to what it is, and in any case, we would guess that it is some kind of detritivore. Detritivores are organisms that feed on decomposing organic matter, and there are plenty of worms and worm-like organisms that fit this description, including earthworms and millipedes.

Author

Worm Researcher Anton