A regular All About Worms reader named Heidi has, after extensive research, discovered both what are these parasites that look like hair that are infecting humans (or at least her), and a cure to eradicate them!

A reader from Texas wrote to us recently about some “hairlike worms” he is finding on the sidewalk after it rains. The hairlike worms (or hair-like worms – both are correct) are six inches to nine inches in length, which is long given their incredibly thin bodies. The reader wants to know what the hairlike worms are, and we are virtually certain we know the answer: horsehair worms. We suppose we could stop here, having unraveled the hairlike worm mystery, but below we’ll provide some information about and pictures of horsehair worms to round out the article.