“I keep finding these worms that are super skinny and an inch or two long with two tiny antennas”, writes Chase in his submission regarding the “skinny” creature pictured below. “They are in my bathroom and are only on the walls and pop up after I’m gone all day or have been sleeping all night. They don’t look like typical earthworms either. It looks like there are segments but I’m not sure. I’ll attach a photo and video.” To start with, we have to note that since the photo is quite blurry, we cannot make out these segments that Chase is referring to, as well as other smaller physical details that might further reveal the identity of this creature. That said, based on his description of the organism, we think Chase has been finding centipedes on his walls.

Centipedes are largely disliked by people. They are one of the first things people think of when they hear “creepy crawlies”. This is understandably due to the fact that centipedes have dozens of legs, and people are typically not a fan of creatures with more than four legs, hence the common fear of spiders (and insects!). Centipedes are not insects nor arachnids though, they are arthropods. Arthropods are a phylum of invertebrates characterized by segmented bodies encased in an exoskeleton, with legs joined in pairs at each segment. Chase does say that this creature has segments, and centipedes have a lot of them. Of course, we cannot see these legs in the photo, but smaller species of centipedes will often have very fine legs that are either white or even translucent, which is likely why they do not show up in the photo.

Not to be confused with their slow, benevolent cousin, the millipede, centipedes are quite fast and defensive. They cannot cause any serious harm to humans and bigger bets (at least ones of this size), but they can still lash out with their pincers and cause some mild pain. The best way to handle them is by scooping them onto a dustpan, rather than making direct physical contact. We recommend that Chase do move them outside, and that he clean his bathroom thoroughly (and keep cleaning it regularly). Centipedes do not infest any given room unless there is prey for them to chase and eat, as centipedes are predators. So the fact that they are showing up in his bathroom likely means there is something there for them to eat. Keeping one’s drain clean in particular is paramount to keeping unwanted critters out of the bathroom. That said, it is also possible that centipede eggs were laid in the bathroom, and that is why a number of them are showing up suddenly, but our point still stands: regularly clean your bathroom and drains.

In conclusion, we think Chase has been finding centipedes on his walls, which is either due to a batch of centipede eggs hatching or centipedes chasing prey (or both!). We hope this helps, and we wish Chase the very best.

Summary

Article Name

Skinny Worms with Antennae Crawling Up Walls are Actually Centipedes

Description

"I keep finding these worms that are super skinny and an inch or two long with two tiny antennas", writes Chase in his submission regarding the "skinny" creature pictured below. "They are in my bathroom and are only on the walls and pop up after I’m gone all day or have been sleeping all night. They don’t look like typical earthworms either. It looks like there are segments but I’m not sure. I’ll attach a photo and video." To start with, we have to note that since the photo is quite blurry, we cannot make out these segments that Chase is referring to, as well as other smaller physical details that might further reveal the identity of this creature. That said, based on his description of the organism, we think Chase has been finding centipedes on his walls.

Author

Worm Researcher Anton