“I found the worms in the attached photo in the toilet in my basement which is not frequently used”, writes Emma in her submission regarding the mass of worms pictured below. “This is the second time we have found worms in this toilet in the past six months. Would you be able to identify them for me? Thank you!” Unfortunately, Emma’s photo is taken so far away from the worms that when we zoom in, the details become too blurry for us to give a confident and accurate identification. That said, we will still give an educated guess based on the general shape and coloration of the worms.

In our opinion, these are probably earthworms, given the location in which they were found. It is not entirely uncommon to find earthworms in one’s toilet if there is a leak somewhere underground. Signs of a leak include: foul-smelling or -tasting water, discolored water, and/or inconsistent water pressure and/or temperature. If Emma notices any of these signs, we recommend contacting a professional to have a look at the issue. That said, the leak can be so far away that a professional would not be able to fix anything in the near vicinity. In that case, worms can still come up through people’s toilets, but they especially will show up in toilets that are not used that often, like the toilet Emma is talking about.

Why does this happen? If toilets are not flushed frequently, the water becomes stagnant. Once it does, algae, bacteria, and other microorganisms begin to grow on the water that attract worms to it. Likewise, since the toilet is probably also not being cleaned regularly, it has become an even more attractive spot for microorganisms to grow and attract more critters. What we recommend doing is moving these worms outside (flushing them will only bring them back up at a later time), and frequently cleaning and flushing this toilet, even if it does not get used. That should help prevent more worms from showing up. Likewise, making sure to consistently clean any other drains in that bathroom will help prevent invasions of other critters.

To conclude, we think these might be earthworms in Emma’s toilet, though we are not sure. In any case, the advice we gave above rings true for whatever worm-species they are. Just avoid making direct contact with the worms when moving them to avoid any potential allergic reactions! We hope this helps, and we wish Emma the very best.

Summary

Article Name

Worms in Basement Toilet are Likely Earthworms

Description

"I found the worms in the attached photo in the toilet in my basement which is not frequently used", writes Emma in her submission regarding the mass of worms pictured below. "This is the second time we have found worms in this toilet in the past six months. Would you be able to identify them for me? Thank you!" Unfortunately, Emma's photo is taken so far away from the worms that when we zoom in, the details become too blurry for us to give a confident and accurate identification. That said, we will still give an educated guess based on the general shape and coloration of the worms.

Author

Worm Researcher Anton