Tag: white worms
The Key to Breeding White Worms (Pot Worms)
A worm breeder in Ashford, Kent, England contacted us about a problem he has been having with breeding white worms, otherwise known as pot worms. Despite experiencing rapid growth initially, the white worms quickly “crashed” after a while, and our reader hopes we can clarify for him what he could be doing to keep the breeding consistent, and efficient.
Reader Finds Multiple Pink and White Worms in Multiple Locations
Small, white or pink worms have been found in a multitude of places by this reader in College Place, Washington. These locations include various spots in her home, inside herself, and in her dog. Our reader is understandably concerned and asks for our help in identifying these worms.
Maggots and BSFL Found Near Bin and Litterbox
A puzzling case of separate clusters of worms of different species was discovered by this woman and her caretakers in the UK. The first cluster of worms was found behind “the bin/cat food/litter,” and were deemed to be maggots, while the second cluster of unidentified worms, which were also found in the same place, were dark brown in color, and segmented.
Parasites or Harmless Larvae? These Small White Worms Invade this Man’s Home
A man found small white worms in every piece of wood in his house and hopes that we can help identify what they are. The image sent in below is difficult to make sense of; there appears to be a smear of white in the center against the green background (which we assume is supposed to be the worm) as well as rings of white surrounding it on all sides.
Allergy-Inducing Worms the Size of Salt & Pepper Show Up in the Wake of Bedbugs
A woman reached out to us about a curious case of worms she cannot figure out. The worms, which she found in her home, appear to be minuscule in size, curled up in a ‘U’ shape, but come in two different colors. Our reader found both white and black/brown worms in her home.
What is this White Worm-like Creature Found in the Garden?
One of our readers contacted us about a white worm-like creature that they found in their garden. She and her husband were planting their annuals and found an 8 to 9 inch white worm-like creature. She is not sure if it had eyes or a mouth, but she said it was about the same diameter as a yellow pencil. They were unsure if this is a worm or a snake, but she said when her husband picked it up, it wriggled quite a lot. They saw it burrow into the dirt as well. Because we do not have very much information about this creature, we are unable to make a solid identification of this worm-like creature.
Tiny White Worms in Soil
We recently received a question from a reader who found a “very tiny and almost transparent white” worm in her soil. She sent a picture along with her question, and this does indeed show a very small worm or worm-like creature that is white and kind of transparent (or technically translucent, we suppose). The reader was only trying to identify the tiny white worm in her soil, so we’ll focus on identification and leave the matter there.
One-Inch White Worm or Larvae in Garden
We recently received a question through the All About Worms Facebook page about a white worm in the top soil of a reader’s garden. The white worm (or potentially white larva) is about an inch long (2.5 centimeters) and is fairly skinny. The reader was only looking for an identification, so we’ve concentrated our efforts on this matter. What could a one-inch white worm or larva in the garden be?
Tiny White Worms in Ham
The other night a reader found “a tiny white worm with what looked like a reddish brown head” in some precooked ham she bought. The reader bought and cooked (or technically recooked) the ham for dinner, and the following day she found the worm when eating leftovers. She looked through all the ham, but was only able to find one of the worms. The reader was wondering if we have any idea what the tiny white worms with the red or brown head might be.
Small White Worms in the Bathroom
A reader wrote to us with a question about a few small white worms she found in her bathroom. Actually, no question was explicitly asked, but she clearly wants to know what she found, also wants to get rid of the worms in her bathroom. She reports that the worms “creep me out,” and also that she has children and doesn’t want the worms in her home, like basically every person who ever has or will exist. What kind of small white worms did our reader find in her bathroom, and how might she get rid of them?
Swarm of Tiny White Worms with Black Heads on Ceiling
Recently we received yet another question about tiny white worms with black heads. This time, the small worms (or more likely larvae) were in a swarm on the ceiling. There are probably at least a hundred worms or larvae in the picture we were sent, and they are all in a small area of the ceiling, tightly packed together. The reader indicated that we had tentatively identified similar creatures in the past as moth fly larvae, and was wondering if the small white worms (or larvae) with black heads that he found are moth fly larvae.
Small White Worms in Potatoes: Wireworms, Potato Tuberworms, and Tobacco Splitworms
A reader sent us a simple question a little while ago – “is this wireworms?” – in connection with a video that depicts small white worms crawling out of potatoes soaking in water. These small white worms could be wireworms (or “wire worms,” as some have it), but they could also be potato tuberworms, which are also called “tobacco splitworms” (or more precisely Phthorimaea operculella). To call the worms “small” doesn’t quite capture their size; they are more like tiny white worms, only a few millimeters long and very skinny. This can’t really be seen, but the profanity-infused narration of the video indicates that the tiny white worms are actually coming out of the potatoes, evidently only after they were placed in water. From what we can tell, the worms coming out of the potatoes look more like potato tuberworms than wireworms, but we touch on both possibilities below.
Short White Worm as Thin as Pencil Lead
We recently received a very short email that asked us if we could identify a short, thin white worm. More precisely, the worm is about one quarter (1/4) to one half (1/2) of an inch long, or about a half to full centimeter, and it is as thin as pencil led. This is all the information we received, and in fact we weren’t even sent a specific question – the description of the worm’s body was only followed by a question mark (or actually three in this case). We presume the reader wanted to know what he found (assuming he even found something), so we’ll focus on identification: what kind of white worms are as thin as pencil lead?
White Worms with a Green Spot in the Basement
A little while ago a reader wrote to us about some white worms with a green spot that “appeared out of nowhere” in his basement. The reader got rid of many of the worms in the basement by taking them outside, but when he got back there were even more worms than there were before. The reader said the creatures in the basement looked like inchworms, but he didn’t seem very confident in this suggestion. He also mentioned that it was raining out when he made his discovery, and thought this might have something to do with the worms’ sudden appearance in the basement. What might the white worms with green spots in our reader’s basement be?
Small White Worms with Black Heads
A reader sent us a good, if slightly disturbing, picture of a large group of white worms with black heads. The worms with black heads have congregated around an unidentified mass on the wall, which we presume is serving as some sort of food source. The wall on which the worms were found is in the family room of our reader’s home, and so not in the more common places one finds pest worms (like a pantry or toilet). The reader didn’t seem particularly alarmed by what she found, merely asking if we have “any ideas” about the small white worms with black heads. We’ll therefore approach this as a simple matter of worm identification and largely focus on this matter alone. What are the small white worms with black heads that our reader is finding?
Small White Worms on Skin May Actually be Scabies
A reader wrote to us recently about some small white worms on his skin. The reader immediately indicates that his skin problem appears to be caused by a small white worm, meaning that he might not be dealing with a worm at all. Indeed, we think our reader is not actually experiencing a problem associated with any sort of worm. Rather, he may be experiencing symptoms associated with scabies, an infection caused by mites that is sometimes known as the “seven-year itch.” Below we outline why we think the small white worms affecting our reader’s skin are not in fact small white worms, but are rather mites that are causing scabies.
Small White Worms on Oak Trees Could Be Acorn Weevils or Nut Weevils
A reader wrote to us recently to ask “what kind of worm falls from the sky?” (The reader actually added three question marks, perhaps indicating his level of concern.) It turns out that the worms, which are small and white, aren’t actually falling from the sky, but rather from an oak tree (or so we surmise – more on this in a moment). The small white worms fall onto our reader’s car and truck, which are parked under an oak tree. The reader was first of all concerned with identifying what the small white worms on the oak tree are, but he was also keen to know where they are coming from. We address both concerns below.
Little White Worms in the Morning
We received a straightforward worm-identification question from a reader a little while back: “what were the little white worms that I found in the morning when I came downstairs?” This (paraphrased) question is simple in a superficial sort of way because it only asks one thing, but the lack of any details (or an accompanying picture) makes it almost impossible to answer. The short question gives rise to a dozen more: What exactly constitutes a little white worm? Is the worm an inch, a half an inch, a quarter of an inch long? Is it skinny (relative to its length) too? Is it actually white, or is it an off-white color, perhaps with some minimally noticeable body marking (faint stripes, for instance)? The list goes on. So, we might not be able to correctly identify the little white worms our reader found, but what we can do is put forward a few possibilities, possibilities that are relevant to anyone who finds some small white worms in their house.
White Worms and Pecan Trees
Evidently, readers are concerned about their pecan trees, as our very last article was about how Catawba worms affect pecan trees, and now we are charged with answering a question about a pecan tree infested with large white worms. The reader is wondering what the white worms are, and he is also keen to remove the pest. So, we have a classic identification-and-removal question: what are white worms on our reader’s pecan trees, and how can he get rid of them?
White and Brown Worms in the Pond
A little while ago we received a question from a reader about some worms she is finding in a pond. The pond worms are white and brown, although the proportion of each color varies from worm to worm; some worms are only slightly brown, with white serving as the worm’s main color, whereas others are almost entirely brown. (In any case, this is what we gathered. The email is a little hard to decipher; fractions like 3/4 are invoked to describe the worm’s colors, which is helpful, but it’s not always clear what color the fractions are referring to.) The reader also mentioned that the worms are small, in the 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch (6-12 mm) range. So, our reader is dealing with some small brown and white worms, and the question of course is: what are they?