We recently heard from a reader in New Jersey. She explained that she has been finding some worm-like organisms in her bathroom. At first she found three on the floor, and since then has found a few each day. She even found one in the toilet! She is fairly grossed out, especially because she keeps her bathroom very clean. She also sent us this photo:

The photo is a little blurry, but we can still make out a few notable features on this specimen. It is brown colored, and it has two distinct antennae coming off its head. We think our reader might be dealing with centipedes!

Centipedes are technically arthropods, not worms. They have segmented bodies with one pair of jointed legs per body segment. They also have antennae. Although we cannot see if the creature our reader found has legs or not, we still think it is probably a centipede.

Centipedes are common household pests. They like a dark, damp environment and are usually active at night. Readers find these arthropods in basements, bathrooms, garages, and crawl spaces. There are two things our reader can do to get rid of these unwanted visitors. First, she can prevent them from gaining entry into her home by sealing gaps around windows, siding, doors, pipes, and other structural voids. She can also make sure that all windows are properly screened when open! Second, she can make her bathroom and home less hospitable to these creatures. It sounds like she already keeps her bathroom quite clean, but she could install a dehumidifier to reduce the moisture levels.

To wrap up, one of our readers has found several worm-like organisms in her bathroom. We think these specimens are centipedes, which thrive in dark and damp environments.

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