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Posted in Earthworms Segmented Worms Annelida Worms Facts

Worm Crawling Up the Wall in Bathroom is an Earthworm

“I’ve been searching for an answer to what this worm is, since I’ve been seeing it sometimes since a few weeks ago”, writes Martin in his submission regarding the red worm pictured below. “I’m from Montevideo, Uruguay, and I found only three or four of them since I’ve started seeing it, this being the longest (like 25-30 mm). I’m worried because I don’t know a lot of worms (they disgust me) and I don’t know where they come from, but from reading some of your posts and comparing photos, it looks like a bloodworm. Still, I want a professional opinion. I found one in the bathroom sink, another one on the bathroom floor, and the third one, believe it or not, was up on the bathroom wall, close to the ceiling and the little bathroom window. The fourth one was down on the wall close to the floor and close to my house entrance; all of this in the duration of almost a month or so.

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Posted in Earthworms Worms Found in the House

Is Red Worm in Toilet Parasitic?

We don’t think the red worm our reader found in her toilet is a parasite, rather we believe it is either an earthworm or a bloodworm. Of course, it is good that she went to see a doctor, and she should refer to them for medical advice on the matter!

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Posted in Worms Found in the House

Can Bloodworms Live Inside the Human Body?

Today we responded to a reader who was worried that the bloodworms she found in her toilet came from her own body. We are confident that these larvae are coming from her plumbing system, not her body. However, we can’t provide medical advice and we encourage our reader to see a doctor if she is concerned about her health or safety!

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Posted in Worms Found in the House

Worm In Toilet No Cause For Alarm

We think the creature our reader found in her toilet could be either a bloodworm or an earthworm. It is also possible that it is a different species entirely, but these are two of the most common worms found in toilets, and they share some resemblance to the organism our reader found.

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Posted in Bristle Worms Gross Worms Worms Found in the House

Red Creature Staining Carpet is a Bloody Mystery

A woman in the United Kingdom has written to us with a rather odd query. She has found something that…

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Posted in Drain Fly Larvae Worms Found in the House

“Worm” in Shower is Likely a Larva

We received a query from a reader who found a worm in his shower. He would like to know what it is, and if it is harmful. He has included a photograph to help us identify it.

Bloodworm
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Posted in Interesting Worms

Worm Picking: The Multi-Million Dollar Hunt for Bloodworms

Unless you are a fisherman who lives along the Northeastern coast of the U.S., there is a good chance you haven’t heard of worm picking or worm digging, at least not as a profession. However, worm picking, or the gathering of bloodworms to be sold as fish bait, is a multi-million dollar industry with thousands of licensed practitioners. In any given year, hundreds of thousands of pounds of worms are gathered and sold. But before you quit your job and head northeast to strike it rich, you should know that worm picking can be a brutally difficult job that is really not that remunerative. A lot of luck is involved, and the competition for worms can be fierce. It is also potentially dangerous since a bloodworm bite can cause an allergic reaction.

Bloodworm
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Posted in Fishing Worms

Rearing or Cultivating Glycera dibranchiata (Bloodworms)

We received a very specific question from a reader a few days ago about cultivating the “marine bloodworm Glycera dibranchiata.” Glycera dibranchiata are commonly used for fish bait, so the reader’s motivation for rearing or breeding bloodworms – essentially, setting up a bloodworm farm – is presumably tied to fishing. The reader was first of all wondering if bloodworms can be cultivated “successfully,” and if so, he was wondering how he might go about doing so. He also wanted to know if there are any publications that are available to assist with the rearing task.

Bloodworm
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Posted in Interesting Worms

Long, Thin Red Worm in Air Vent of Bathroom

A reader wrote to us a couple of days ago about a long, thin red worm that she found in the air vent of her bathroom. The worm is about three or four inches (seven to ten centimeters) long and “about half as thick as your typical earthworm.” The head of the worm had two “‘horns'” on it. (The reader put the word “horns” in quotes, of course indicating that she is using the word loosely, and hence the double quotes in the preceding sentence.) The reader had only one question: what is the long, thin red worm (with some sort of horns) in the air vent of the bathroom, assuming it is even a worm?

Bloodworm
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Posted in Pest Worms

Thin Red Worms in the Shower and on the Shower Curtain

We recently received an email from a reader who found a small and thin red worm crawling on her shower curtain. The reader immediately goes on to say that she is “assuming the worm is a bloodworm,” and we think this is as reasonable of a suggestion as any. The reader planned to remove the small red worm from her curtain after her shower, but by the time she had finished, the bloodworm (sometimes written as “blood worm”) had disappeared. The reader thought that this might mean that the bloodworm “hitch-hiked a ride somewhere on my body,” which led to her question for us: are bloodworms harmful?

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Posted in Fishing Worms

Blood Worms (Bloodworms)

A reader wrote to us a while ago about the prospect of breeding blood worms (sometimes – nay, often – spelled “bloodworms”). He was wondering how to set up a successful blood worm cultivation operation, and sought our assistance to that end. This may seem like a fairly obscure question (and we guess it is), but we’ve actually been asked about breeding worms before; in fact, by far the strangest question we’ve ever received was about breeding worms. However, we’ve never written about breeding blood worms in particular, and we haven’t written a lot about blood worms in general either. So, below is some basic information about blood worms, including a bit about breeding blood worms for the sake of our curious reader.

Posted in Parasite Worms Pinworm Tapeworm

Types of Worms that Infect Horses

The bloodworm matures in the horses’ intestinal tract and then it makes its way into the intestines to lay eggs. Bloodworms can cause inflammation, aneurysms, and colic.

Posted in Cat Worms Dog Worms Interesting Worms

Bloodworms in Animals

The best way to protect your horses from bloodworms is creating “a good prevention program.”

Posted in Gross Worms Interesting Worms Parasite Worms Pest Worms

Blood Worm

There are a few bloodworms that are transparent (you can almost see through them) but they are more commonly known as Glassworms because of their appearance.