“This critter was found on the top edge of a shower tile, where it meets the drywall” states this reader about the pink, segmented creature below. Our reader asks if this is a centipede larva, and we will do our best to answer him.

We identified the brown organism our reader found in her shower as a millipede. These arthropods are considered to be harmless and are not parasitic as our reader feared.

We received a question from a reader recently via the All About Worms Facebook page about what we think is a millipede or centipede in her shower. The question has a bit of a backstory, so we’ll quote the relevant part of the reader’s message and then move on to address her concerns: “I had an episode of Vertigo yesterday and I thew up in the trash can. I cleaned the trash can out in the shower. So I am kinda freaking out thinking that it might have been inside me! Or hopefully it is just a coincidence that is was in there.” The reader is first of all wondering what she found, and she is also wondering if the creature has its origin in her body.