We recently got this message from one of our readers, “I found this worm in my bathroom on two occasions about a year apart. It came crawling out from underneath my toilet. What is it? Is it the infamous earthworm?” Here is the photograph of the creature in question:

We are confident that this organism is indeed “the infamous earthworm” that our reader suspected. As most earthworms tend to be, this creature is a reddish-brown color, has a segmented body and has a clitellum, which is a raised band encircling the earthworm’s body that is made up of reproductive segments.

What is this earthworm doing in our reader’s bathroom? Well, we can’t say for certain. Readers find earthworms in their bathrooms all the time! Often the discovered earthworms are swimming in the toilet, but some, like this one, are found on the floor. Earthworms need a lot of moisture to survive, so perhaps this earthworm was searching for a wet place to relax in our reader’s bathroom. Since our reader has only discovered two earthworms over the course of a year, we encourage him not to worry too deeply about these harmless worms. They might have crawled in through an open door, window, a tiny crack within the foundation of the house, or been dragged in accidentally on a shoe, coat, or pet. We encourage our reader to gently place this earthworm back outside where it can happily burrow into some damp soil!

In summary, one of our readers discovered a brown worm in his bathroom that he thought might be “the infamous earthworm.” We agree with him, the creature is an earthworm!

Summary

Article Name

Worm in Bathroom is the "Infamous Earthworm"

Description

One of our readers discovered a brown worm in his bathroom that he thought might be "the infamous earthworm." We agree with him, the creature is an earthworm!

Author

Dori Franklin