We recently heard from a reader in Texas. She wrote to us because she found a worm on her tile floor. She recently installed new grouting in the tile floor, so it is relatively clean. She has also discovered little worms in her shower, which she believes might have to do with the dripping shower head. She would like to know if these worms are harmful to humans. This is the picture she shared with us:

We believe this worm is either a bloodworm or an earthworm. After hearing about her dripping shower head, we are more inclined to think the specimen is a bloodworm, but the size is throwing us off. Both bloodworms and earthworms are a reddish color (though earthworms tend to be more purple or brown), but bloodworms are significantly smaller than earthworms. Since we don’t know the size of the tile in the photo, we aren’t able to estimate the size of the worm. If these are small tiles (about the size of a lime), then the creature is probably a bloodworm. However, if the tiles are larger (about the size of a square napkin), then the specimen might be an earthworm.

Since our reader has also discovered little worms in her shower head, we think she is probably dealing with bloodworms. Bloodworms, also known as midge fly larvae, need a lot of moisture and feed on decaying organic matter. Our reader could be spot on with her observation, the dripping shower head might be providing the moisture these worms need to thrive. Our reader should make plans to have her shower head fixed by a plumber, and in the meantime give a thorough cleaning to her shower and shower drain to eliminate organic matter that could be serving as a food source for these organisms. Also, we are happy to report that bloodworms aren’t known to transmit human diseases or parasites.

In summary, a reader discovered a red worm on her tile floor and in her shower. We believe she is probably dealing with bloodworms.

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