Posted in Pest Worms

Fat, White Worms with Big Heads

On a recent morning, a reader found three white worms in different parts of her house. The white worms, which are actually not entirely white worms because they have some brown coloration on them, is about three quarters of an inch (or 20 millimeters) long. The worm is also “fat,” according to the reader, and has a big, round head. Finally, the worm’s body appears to be segmented and it has what look like “small pinchers” on its posterior end. So, the reader is dealing with a fat, white worm (plus some brown coloration) with a big head, a segmented body, and small pinchers, and her find has left her “so creeped out.” What might this fat, white worm be? Is it even a worm, or might it be a larva (or rather, larvae, since our reader found three)?

Posted in Earthworms Segmented Worms Annelida

Pink and White Worms? Probably Just Plain Earthworms

We received a rather bizarre question (actually, it was more like a statement) from a reader recently about a pink, white, and red worm she found. (Perhaps we should write pinkish, whitish, and reddish worm, as the worm isn’t really any of these colors precisely.) The subject of the “question” isn’t very bizarre – it clearly centers on a white, red, and pink worm – but its execution is. The reader’s message, written in all capital letters for no apparent reason, asks no question, but it does describe a worm found in a garden, and it ends with the statement “I am curious,” which is written in a larger font. Because of the message’s considerable ambiguity, we’ll have to just assume that the reader simply wanted to know what the worm is. What is the white, red, and pink worm our reader found in the garden?

Posted in Interesting Worms

Long, White Worms

Some time ago, we received a question from a reader about long, white worms he has been finding in his back yard. He has found the worms on multiple occasions, and he was wondering what kind of creature he might be coming across. In addition to being long, they are evidently quite thick as well, as the reader describes the white worms as being “as big around as a finger.” What are these long, white worms in the back yard? Are they worms at all, or are they another type of creature, perhaps a caterpillar or some other type of larva? Let’s find out.

Posted in Gross Worms

Little, White Worms in the Kitchen

A reader recently found little, white worms in his kitchen. The reader left “dirty washing” (perhaps something like dirty plates or dirty rags) on the kitchen floor over night, and in the morning there were lots of little, white worms on the kitchen floor, directly underneath the “washing.” We receive a lot of questions about little, white worms, and ironically these questions are rarely about little, white worms at all. Rather, they tend to be about maggots, which are indeed little and white, but they are not worms (for reasons we’ll explain in a moment). We think the white “worms” our reader found are maggots, but we’ll also throw out a few more possibilities for our reader to investigate.

Posted in Composting Worms

White Worms (Whiteworms) in Compost

A reader wrote to us a while back about some white worms she is finding in her composter (that is, a device used for composting). The white worms appear to be multiplying, and she is worried about the red worms that are part of her composting operation. We believe that the white worms our reader found are actually, well, Whiteworms. “Whiteworms” is the common name given to the worms that go by the scientific name Enchytraeus buchholzi. (Whiteworms – sometimes spelled as “White Worms” – are also called “Grindal worms.”) The reader was wondering if the Whiteworms she found are harmful to her red worms, and she is also wondering if she can get rid of them without harming her red worms.

Posted in Gross Worms

Maggots in Your House

We were recently sent a question about small white worms, which a reader has been finding around his house. Of course, the reader wanted to know what these small, white worms are. He also sent us a picture, helping us better identify the worm in question. In this particular instance, we are fairly sure our reader didn’t find a worm at all, but rather a maggot. More precisely, he found maggots, as there are two small creatures in the picture we were sent. Why do we think he found maggots?

Posted in Gross Worms

Groups of Maggots

We write about maggots a lot. We’re not entirely sure why, but many a reader question centers on the ubiquitous (or so you would think) maggot. We’ve written about maggots on the bathroom floortwice – and we’ve also touched on maggots found in bone marrow and maggots and dogs. What’s more, all of these maggot-related articles were written recently, within the last half year or so. Clearly, there is no shortage of reader queries about maggots.

Posted in Interesting Worms

Furry Worms that are Black, Gold, and White

We recently received a very straightforward question from a reader: “I found a worm, it is furry, black, gold and white. What is it?” While direct and simple language has its virtues (think of Hemingway), it can make worm identification difficult. Regardless, we’re always interested in investigating a worm-related question, so we’ll try our best to identify this multicolored furry creature.

Posted in Gross Worms

Small White Worms With a Black Dot on the End, a.k.a Maggots

A reader recently asked about a tiny white worm with a black dot on the end. This reader indicated that they found the worm in an ice machine. Given these two facts, the answer is that this “worm” is most likely a maggot, which is the larva of a fly.

Posted in BookWorms Worms in Art

Lair of the White Worm

The Lair of the White Worm is also commonly referred to as The Garden of Evil. The book was published in the United Kingdom the year before Stoker died and it was made into a movie in 1988. The book itself is not generally considered a Stoker masterpiece.

Posted in Gross Worms Parasite Worms

Maggots

If you’ve ever opened up your garbage can and spotted hundreds of “tiny white worms” writhing about, chances are they were not worms. Those nasty little creatures are called maggots.

Posted in Garden Worms Interesting Worms Pinworm

White Worms (Pasta Worms)

While white worms come in all sizes from small pinworms to larger worms, one of the most common white worm sightings is the variety that most resembles spaghetti or angel hair pasta.