“I live in South Louisiana and have recently been having worms in my bed sheets”, states this reader in her submission regarding the minuscule organism pictured below. “They are black to white in color. I think they might be moths as I have let some clothes stay outside in the laundry room, but would like a more clear identification.” Upon zooming in on the photo, we would say that these are probably not moth larvae, but rather flea larvae. Not to worry though, flea larvae are not harmful to humans or animals, unlike their adult counterparts. While the adult flea is an external parasite (ectoparasite) that attaches itself to the skin of mammals and sucks their blood, their larvae solely feed on dead insects, faeces, hair, fur and other dead or decomposing organic matter.

“Can you identify these worms I’ve found around my new rental house since moving in?” asks this reader in Ontario about the worm-like organisms pictured below. The creatures range in color and shape, and she found some of them in her dog’s waste.

“Can you identify this worm?” asks this reader about the striped, red worm pictured below. “I found it right next to my dog’s poop.”

“I live in South Carolina, and woke up this morning to dozens of these”, states this reader concerning the white larva-like creature pictured below. “What are they, how can I get rid of them and prevent them in the future?” she asks.

“What is this?” asks this reader about the black organism in the screenshot below. The creature was found next to our reader’s car by dog excrement.

“This morning I went outside to find one of her dog toys absolutely covered in these tiny worms/maggots,” states this reader in her submission. The worms she is referring to appear to be an off-white color, with semi-transparent skin and segmented bodies.

“I woke up and saw this next to my dog’s poop” states this reader in her submission. “What is it?” she asks about the small, pink-colored worm in the picture below.

“My neighbor found this worm attached to her dog, wrapped around its leg,” says this reader about the creature displayed below. The worm is very long, black in color (with a gray underside), and appears to be a flattened, rather than tubular, shape.

There are many wonders and joys to owning a pet, but along with the enormous responsibility they impose, there are unfortunately also a lot of complications that one might have to overcome, such as health problems. One of the health problems that both dogs and cats alike can face are intestinal worms.

A reader of ours contacted us about finding a little worm crawling on him after coming inside with dogs. He asks that we help him identify this worm, which appears to be clear, with a black inside.

A reader recently informed us that she found a worm in her sink after blowing her nose, and has become paranoid as to whether it came from her or not. She describes the worm as being a wriggling, tiny thread; it was more than 0.5cm (0.2-inches) long and about 0.1cm (0.04-inches) wide.

A reader has found a small, worm-like, critter in his dog’s bed and he is wondering what it might be. He has sent a photograph showing the worm near a dime, so that we can get a sense of the worm’s size.

We received a question on the All About Worms Facebook page about worms that are harmful to dogs. The question…

A concerned reader wrote to us recently about a long, black worm he found in his house. He is worried that his dog has “a terrible worm of some kind.” We are of course highly sensitive to his concerns, but the reader makes no explicit connection between his dog and the long, black worm he found. He merely mentions that he came home (and presumably found the worm) and is worried about his dog. He didn’t mention any behavior of the dog that implies it has a worm infection, nor did he say he saw the worm come from the dog’s body. We are therefore slightly puzzled why he immediately linked the worm he found to his dog. In any case, he only asked us to identify the long, black worm, so hopefully in helping with this we can provide some guidance.

You can identify them by becoming familiar with the way common parasite worms look or you may browse through images online.

In the earliest stages of heartworm, there are no abnormal signs of infection. Even in mild cases, however, coughing is present. In the moderate stage, you may notice more intense coughing, exercise intolerance, and abnormal lung sounds.

Before examining your pet’s feces and paws, it is important to know the difference between how certain parasitic worms look. Roundworms look like spaghetti and tapeworm segments look like grains of rice.

Garlic, wheat bran and pumpkin seeds are considered common organic dog worm cures by some, unfortunately, most organic “cures” do not work.

If you don’t find what you are looking for at Pic Search, Photovalet or Photo Vault, there are several ways to determine which type of worm your dog might have. You can check for specific symptoms as listed below or you might be able to identify the worm by comparing the way it looks to any of the physical descriptions listed here.

In addition to recognizing signs of worms in dogs, it is important to recognize what the different types dog worms look like. Round worms look like spaghetti and tapeworm segments look like grains of rice.