Slick, Black Worms Found in Florida

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A reader recently wrote to us about a black worm she found on the wall of her house. The worm is also described as “slick” and is about four inches long. The reader’s house is on the east coast of Florida, in a town called Fort Pierce. So, the reader’s worm is from Florida – it is a Florida worm, if you will, although of course the worm she discovered might be found in any number of other places depending on what it is. The reader was also concerned if the worm is dangerous or harmful, as she has a nine-month-old baby in the house. What is this black, slick worm from Florida, and is it harmful?

The reader sent in this picture of the worm:

Worm in Florida

This isn’t the most detailed picture of the worm, but we can at least see that it is somewhat long and black (or possibly a really dark brown). The reader said that she thinks it is the same worm that another reader sent us a picture of a few months ago, which you can find in this article about the long, black worm he found.

That reader never told us where he found the worm, so we’re not sure if he discovered the creature in Florida too. The two worms do look very similar, though, so we think there is a reasonably good chance they found the same type of worm. Unfortunately, we are in the same position now as we were when we attempted to answer the other question, which is to say we are not sure exactly what our reader from Florida found.

Since the reader found the worm on her house, we know the worm is a terrestrial species, meaning it’s not a ribbon worm, which is a creature we speculated about when answering the other question. The only other thing we were able to say to the other reader is that he perhaps found a worm that belongs to Oligochaeta, a subclass of animals in the phylum Annelida. There are approximately 10,000 species in this subclass (about half of all annelids), several of which are the various types of earthworms. The worm pictured above does indeed look like an earthworm, although it doesn’t have a clearly discernible clitellum, a thickened section of body wall found in the middle of earthworms and leeches. And speaking of leeches, this is another possibility. Leeches also belong to the phylum Annelida, although they are in the subclass Hirudinea (and thus are not oligochaetes). Most of the 700 species of leeches live in water, but there are nevertheless about 90 terrestrial species, so it is definitely possible to find them outside of aquatic environments. It is also possible to find leeches clinging to vertical surfaces like walls, just as the creature pictured above is doing.

If our reader found some sort of earthworm, it shouldn’t pose any threat to her baby. However, given that (among other things) the reader found the worm attached to the wall and we haven’t heard of earthworms doing this, we aren’t very confident that the reader found an earthworm. We also can’t be too confident that she found some type of terrestrial leech, but if she did, she should exercise caution and get rid of it. Most leeches feed on the blood of various types of animals, including humans, so she definitely wants to take care if the creature is around her child.

Unfortunately, we just aren’t sure what the black, slick worm our reader found in Florida is. It would appear to belong to the phylum Annelida, but we recognize how limited of a response this is. We would recommend that our reader investigate leeches more because she is worried about her baby. If she found a leech, she should get rid of it and stay vigilant, but if she didn’t, there is likely nothing to worry about (because she very well might have found some sort of harmless worm). However, we can tell our reader that her question appears to be rather common – while researching possibilities, we did see several questions related to black worms found around the house in Florida. Alas, there weren’t any answers, but we’ll keep our eye on this creature to see if we can find definitive information, and if we do, we’ll be sure to write an article about it.

 

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11 thoughts on “Slick, Black Worms Found in Florida

  1. I found a black slug going up my front door outside. It was long & thin. The ends look ed like they came to a point, but it didn’t have antenna or feelers. When I tried to put a piece of paper in front to pick up. Didn’t crawl on paper. I thought it started under the paper, but apparently drew back into itself because it was now shorter & wider. It reminded me of a line of ink the way it was flowing.
    I’m in Central Florida.

  2. Found 3 3″ long slick, black, slimy worms under a bucket of screened compost [bottom of bucket had a crack]. When picked up, they stretched out smoothly to a very fine point without any rings. Just took them back to the compost pile here in Ajijic, Mexico, a small village on Lago Chapala, south of Guadalajara [elevation 5000 ft].
    Also find velvet worms when sifting the compost which are a few hundred miles north of their reported habitat. Most frequent critters are earthworms and crane fly larvae [cockchafer]. Apologies for no photo, next time.

  3. I found a shiny black worm on my floor that the cat was
    watching , it was whipping around like a snake. It was about 3inches long . I cut it into trying to kill it , but it kept moving . What could it be ?

  4. Any update on identifying this worm?
    I found 1 outside my patio. It was crawling up the wall, like the one in the picture. I don’t know if earthworms can do that. it was about 2-3 inches long very sharp ends, almost needle-point like.

  5. I have killed 3 or 4 of them in the past month and just got one out of my pool! They are New Guinea Flatworms and, according to the information I have found, are an invasive species. I can tolerate a lot of creepy crawlies but worms and worm-like things cross that line real fast!

  6. In the last 2 months we have found 3 worms. 2 or 3 inches. We are in a apartment on the 2nd floor. Totally screened in. Looks like a little twig. My cats look and stare. I almost picked one up. Then it moved. I scream. My partner gets rid of it. This is the third in a couple weeks. What is this? Moved from Chicago to Florida. The apartment is clean. Even have a housekeeper. I can deal with bugs, bees etc. not wormy things lol

  7. I have seen a few of these around my property in FL. Not sure what they are, but my initial guess is some kind of leech. I sprinkled it with some salt and it reacted just like a slug. First time I have seen them on my property is this year (2016). I have pets, so I don’t having unidentified critters crawling around.

  8. I just found 2 black leech like worms on a bag of soil that was in my yard, they are about an inch long, and 1/8 thick , I’m south of Miami, and I’m gonna keep them and use them for bait.

  9. I have the same exact thing. I’m pretty sure it’s a leech. I have a video of it too. It’s disgusting and I’m also trying to figure out for sure if it is a leech. I’d love to send it via email to see what this really is. I’m in Texas and they come out after the rain.

  10. I just found a long, thin, black worm on my laundry room floor today in Vero Beach (about 11 miles from Ft. Pierce where other worm was found).

    It was propelling itself by flopping around (so I don’t think it was a baby snake as snakes move smoothly). It was about 8 inches long, relatively shiny, and very regular in width (@ 1/4 inch wide) with no lumps. It became very agitated when I tried to pick it up. I was finally able to sweep it into dust pan and crunched it up in garbage disposal.

    Sorry, I was so traumatized that I didn’t think to take a picture. I also have a cat, but my worm doesn’t look anything like the photos of cat parasites.

    I can only hope this will not become a regular occurance.

    Best regards,
    Marcia

  11. ?I have found 2 black looking worms just crawling in my home. They are about 3/4 – 1″ long.
    Are they dangerous? How to get rid of them.
    I am on the SW coast of Florida.
    I have a cat.
    Thanks.
    Cheryl

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