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Posted in Centipedes and Millipedes Interesting Worms Worms Generally

Spade-shaped Worm with Antennae-looking Appendages is a Mystery

“I’m hoping someone can help me ID this very weird worm I found in a drop of water in our shower stall (hours after its last use)”, writes Leah in her submission regarding the creature pictured below. “I’m in Eastern Ontario. I thought maybe it was a drain fly or centipede but have been told it appears to be a worm. Any thoughts? Sorry for the poor quality photo. I’d really appreciate any assistance!” We do agree that this is a very strange-looking worm. It has qualities that remind us of creatures we are familiar with: the triangular-shaped head reminds us of a hammerhead worm or even a snake, but the two thin string-like appendages at the rear look like antennae (which would normally be on the head of an organism) which remind us of centipedes, which Leah already picked up on. That said, we do not think it is a drain fly (or drain fly larva). We also agree that the photo is unfortunately quite poor quality, which makes it hard for us to discern any other identifying features and give a confident identification.

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Posted in Flatworm Garden Worms Hammerhead Worm

Slimy, Brown Worm Found in Shower is a Hammerhead Flatworm

“Flatworm?” asks this reader, who found a peculiar critter in his shower. The critter in question appears to be black in color, with a gray/beige underside, and a thin, but long body that is able to curl up on itself.

Hammerhead Worm
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Posted in Interesting Worms

Arrow-headed Worms in Water Tank

One of our readers sent us an email from Malawi, Africa. He said that he has discovered worms in his water tank. He described them as arrow headed and very slender. He said that they moved along the bottom or side of the tank, but do not seem to be swimming in the water itself. He wanted to know what could cause them to get inside of the water tank and if they are dangerous to his health at all. Without a picture, it is really hard for us to identify these worms, but since our reader mentioned that they are arrow headed, this could mean that they are hammerhead worms.

hammerhead worm
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Posted in Flatworm Hammerhead Worm

Fishing with Hammerhead Worms

We recently received a question from a reader about whether or not it is possible to fish with hammerhead worms. The reader didn’t actually ask about hammerhead worms specifically, but she sent us a picture of what we are basically certain is a hammerhead worm, and then asked if she can fish with it. We’ll first provide some basic information about these creatures, and then we’ll move on to the more specific topic of fishing with hammerhead worms.

Hammerhead Worm
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Posted in Interesting Worms

Hammerhead Worms on Ceiling of Carport

A reader wrote to us recently about “what appears to be hammerhead worms stuck to the ceiling of [her nephew’s] carport.” The reader only asked us if we “have ever heard of this,” so she evidently is only curious about the very limited matter of whether or not we have ever heard of hammerhead worms on the ceiling of a carport. We’ll limit ourselves to this question, but since we have written about hammerhead worms several times before, we will also point to some additional articles about these creatures.

Hammerhead Worm
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Posted in Interesting Worms

Long Worms with Black Stripes and Flat Heads

A couple of days ago we received a question from a reader in Northern California who found a six-inch “worm-like being with black horizontal stripes and a flat, fan-shaped head.” By “fan-shaped head,” we are assuming our reader means the worm’s head is, first, clearly distinct from the rest of its long, striped body and, two, somewhat flat and spread out, perhaps in half-circle shape. If this is true, we have a pretty good idea what our reader found: a hammerhead worm (sometimes spelled “hammer head worm”).

hammerhead worm in toilet
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Posted in Hammerhead Worm

Hammerhead Worms in the Toilet

“This morning I discovered a worm swimming in my toilet.” So starts a reader’s email that we were sent a few days ago. (The reader originally contacted us through our All About Worms Twitter account.) The reader goes on to say he believes the worm in his toilet is a hammerhead worm, and indeed it looks exactly like a hammerhead worm, but he wasn’t particularly worried about identifying it. Rather, he was curious how the worm got in his toilet. He was wondering if it was possible that the worm navigated its way through his pipes to the toilet, perhaps coming up from the sewer. He also wondered if his “worst nightmare [had] been realized,” which is that the worm somehow came out of his body. So, the question before us is: how did a hammerhead worm end up in a toilet?

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Posted in Parasite Worms

Long Black Worms and Dogs

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.

Hammerhead Worm
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Posted in Hammerhead Worm

Long Brown Worms with Black Stripes – Hammerhead Worms

A reader wrote to us a while back about a long brown worm with black stripes that she found in a decaying stump. Fortunately, she sent us an excellent photo of the brown worm, which we were quickly able to identify as a hammerhead worm (sometimes understandably, but incorrectly, spelled “hammer head worm”). The reader was merely wondering what the long brown worm was, so we’ve technically already answered her question, but if we stopped writing now, we wouldn’t have a very satisfying article to read. So, below we supply some information about hammerhead worms, which includes the reader’s excellent picture.

Posted in Hammerhead Worm

Hammerhead Worms: Are They Harmful or Dangerous?

A reader from South Africa (Durban, South Africa, more precisely) wrote to us about two hammerhead worms that he found in his home. He was wondering if hammerhead worms are harmful or dangerous to animals or babies, and he was also keen to discover what is causing them to enter his home. So, the question before us is this: are hammerhead worms harmful to humans or animals (like pets), and how do you get rid of hammerhead worms? (Technically, the reader didn’t ask how to get rid of hammerhead worms, but he was wondering how they got into his house, and in answering the latter we also answer the former.)

Posted in Hammerhead Worm

Hammerhead Worms

A reader wrote to us recently about a hammerhead worm, or what is believed to be a hammerhead worm, that she found on her kitten. The worm was found on the side of the kitten, and before the reader could remove the hammerhead, the kitten licked it. The reader was concerned that this might hurt the kitten, and was wondering if the kitten would become sick from licking the hammerhead worm. Unfortunately, this question falls outside of our purview. We are not veterinarians, so all we can ever say is that if something is questionable about your pet, you should go to the vet’s office. We can, however, take this opportunity to talk a little about hammerhead worms, explaining what hammerhead worms are and what they do.