“I found these in our toilet after five days of no use”, writes Cindy about the swarm of black worm-like creatures pictured below. “One of my grandchildren used the toilet last. Could these be pinworms?” First and foremost, we have to make clear that we will unfortunately not be able to confirm or deny if these are pinworms. For context, pinworms are parasitic worms that situate themselves in the intestines of their hosts. They are very common in children, so we understand Cindy’s concern, especially since these were found in a toilet. However, we are not qualified or legally able to identify parasites, given that their presence indicates a medical situation. Only a medical professional is able to identify such organisms, as that identification acts as the diagnosis which determines what kind of treatment may or may not be needed for the person afflicted.

“This is really bizarre”, writes Sergio about the horde of worms he found inside a light fixture in his eight-floor apartment in Portugal. “I was recovering a room that was not used for many years. The ceiling light was out, so I dismounted the fixture and a lot of dirt was inside (possible biomass, in retrospect). I washed it all out, replaced the light bulb, mounted the fixture and I had light in that room again. A few weeks later I turned on the light and within a few minutes a worm fell from the ceiling. I discarded the worm down the toilet and didn’t think much of it until I caught movement in the light, and I found what you see in the video below. I’m sorry that I didn’t have the balls to dismount it and give a closer look but I’m kinda freaked out, especially because once I unscrew it they’ll start falling through the middle. Any idea what might be going on here? I took this video two weeks after the finding and they’re still moving once I turn on the light. I was hoping they’d die before I took it apart but it’s taking quite a while. I don’t see any opening but one fell through somehow so there should be one. Any idea what that might be? Are those larvae of something bigger or are those the final forms themselves? Is food getting in there? Are they eating each other to survive this long? Did some bug get in there and lay a bunch of eggs or is it possible that the eggs were in there the whole time and when I replaced the bulb they hatched with the heat? Can eggs survive for many years? I’m so confused. Here’s a video: https://youtube.com/shorts/1fQh6eDm1Dg”

“I found this worm-like insect on my t-shirt” says this reader about the black, spiky creature in the photo below. Although our reader provides no more context than this, we will do our best to identify the creature, or at the very least provide some helpful tips regarding the discovery of worm-like creatures such as this one.

“I saw this worm in the den on the carpet at my parents house” says this reader about the black, segmented worm-like creature pictured below. Our reader, who is based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, asks if we can tell him what it is.

Photographs of a worm was taken by this reader, who asks what it might be. The worm in question is black in color, with ridges that segment its body. It also appears to be have thin appendages that protrude from one end of its body.

Multiple black worms were found crawling up the walls in the home of this concerned man. The worms appear to have segmented bodies, with six legs near their bulbous heads.

A reader wrote to us recently about some plump black larvae he has been finding in his RV after a water leak. At first he only found the larvae under his trashcan, but he has since spotted them in other parts of his RV – “on the bathroom floor and the carpet and around the seams where carpet stops.” We are pretty certain our reader is finding black soldier fly larvae, but that only addresses the first of his three questions. He is also wondering why the larvae are in his RV, and also how to get rid of them.

A reader in Arizona wrote to us about a black and gray larva that crawled into her bed and bit her on the hand. Naturally, this concerned her, and she is trying to figure out what she found. The larva, which is about a half an inch (one centimeter) in length, was a bit menacing in that even after the reader removed it from her hand, it started crawling back toward her, and it was only when she shined light on that it backed away. What type of black and gray larvae might crawl into your bed and bite you?

A couple of days ago a reader found some small black and brown larvae on the blanket her cats sleeps on. The cats’ blanket (and therefore the larvae) is lying on a hardwood floor in an undisturbed corner that hasn’t been cleaned for a while. The larvae appear to be limited to this corner, and they aren’t found anywhere else the cats go in the house. The reader was wondering what the black and brown larvae are, and specifically indicated that they might be carpet beetle larvae.

A reader wrote to us recently about some small black worms that he is finding on the carpet under his desk. The black worms are only about an eighth of an inch long and they move quickly. In general, the reader isn’t especially concerned about the small black worms, as he doesn’t “mind them in particular if they were under the bed or something.” However, their presence under his desk is a problem because he is normally barefoot, and he is (understandably) “grossed out by the idea of them being there.” The reader is wondering what the small black worms under his desk are, and he is also wondering if they are dangerous and how he can get rid of them.

A reader from Texas recently wrote to us about some small black worms he is finding in his recreational vehicle (“RV”), and sent us a picture of one that is on his floor. On some days, he finds as many as six or seven of the black worms (which can also be “charcoal grey” worms) in his RV, but he has also gone up to a week without finding any worms. After struggling to discern where the worms are coming from, he finally concluded that they are entering the RV through the heat vents. The reader lives in his RV, and so was naturally wondering what he is finding, and he also wanted to know how to get rid of the black worms that have taken up residence in his RV.

A reader wrote to us a few days ago about some “fat short brown” larvae she is finding in the her kitchen cupboards. (Yes, she did actually refer to the creatures as larvae, breaking with the common practice of calling larvae “worms,” which they technically aren’t, insofar as “worm” has a precise meaning.) The reader found the brown larvae (which might also be described as black) near a dead mouse, which had recently been killed by a trap. The reader speculated that there might be some connection between the two, a reasonable enough assumption that we will pursue below. Although the reader only found two of the larvae, she was still understandably concerned about them. She asked us what the brownish, blackish larvae are, and if she should be worried about them.