“I keep finding these worms that are super skinny and an inch or two long with two tiny antennas”, writes Chase in his submission regarding the “skinny” creature pictured below. “They are in my bathroom and are only on the walls and pop up after I’m gone all day or have been sleeping all night. They don’t look like typical earthworms either. It looks like there are segments but I’m not sure. I’ll attach a photo and video.” To start with, we have to note that since the photo is quite blurry, we cannot make out these segments that Chase is referring to, as well as other smaller physical details that might further reveal the identity of this creature. That said, based on his description of the organism, we think Chase has been finding centipedes on his walls.

“I keep finding these worms in my bathroom,” writes Chase in his submission regarding the long, thin worm pictured below. “First two times I was in the shower, then by my sink. I see them only on the walls. What are they? I am in Arizona.” The photo is somewhat blurry, so we cannot make out the finer details of the worm’s physical characteristics, but based on what we can see, as well as the fact that it is climbing Chase’s walls, we think this could be a flatworm. Generally speaking, flatworms are predatory creatures. We say generally speaking because there are thousands upon thousands of flatworms species and a good portion of those are parasites. Not to worry, most flatworm parasites cannot survive outside the body of a host, so when someone finds a flatworm in the wild, 99% of the time they will be a predator.

“I have been finding these little things crawling up my rough patio wall and my patio floor,” writes Kelli in central California about the brown, worm-like animal pictured below. “Also, they’ve been trying to get in the door. I would like to know what they are called and how to get rid of them. So far, ten tons of salt doesn’t kill them: they crawl through it. And are they harmful to my little Yorkie terrier and to humans? The pictures I’ve included are magnified so that you can see exactly what they look like. They are anywhere from 1/2 an inch to approximately one inch in length. They are very thin (thinner than a branch from a tree). I didn’t notice until I took a picture that one of them has a lot of legs like a millipede. But their actions don’t appear to be as explained. Also, they crawl a little faster than a slug. They come out no matter if it’s nice and sunny, cold, rainy and wet, or morning, noon or night. They also curl up in an almost circle when you sweep them. Please help me identify them, and tell me how to get rid of them once and for all, as well as if they are poisonous to pets and humans. By the way, I have no plant matter on my patio to my apartment, but the grounds do have trees, bushes, and some plants and wood chips. I love in central California and want to enjoy my patio! Thank you.”

“I am finding these dead, dried worms on the pavement and on the exterior wall of my home”, writes this reader about the black, worm-like creature pictured below. “They range in size from 1/2” to 1 ½” long. I live in southeast Florida.” Right off the bat, we will have to say that we will not be able to identify this worm accurately, and that is because when a worm has dried out to this extent, their bodies look little to nothing like they did when they were alive: their coloration, size and shape changes completely. All we can do is give our reader some advice on how to keep worms away from his house.

“We started seeing an infestation of dead worms/worm-like creatures around the edge of part of the pool,” reports this reader in a small town outside Sacramento, California. The worms in question appear to have segmented, yellowish bodies, and have small legs protruding from one end of their bodies.