A reader in Turkey recently sent us her story. A few months ago she moved into a new apartment and began noticing worms on the floor by the toilet. She thought the worms were around because of a leak in the pipes under the toilet so she had the toilet fixed. For a while her bathroom was worm free, but recently she noticed a worm again. This time it was crawling near the shower door, not near the toilet. She sprayed the worm down the drain and treated the area with bleach. She wants to know what kind of worms she has found and where they are coming from. She suspects there might be a nest of them under the shower due to bad construction and water issues in the apartment. She worries that her and her cat might become ill due to the presence of the worms. She said that she has talked to her landlord about the worms, but he is waiting to address the issue when the weather is warmer and the ground has dried.

The first photograph shows the organism on her shower door. It looks as though it is a brown/dark purple color, and it appears to be several inches long. On first glance, and based on the information from our reader, we think this is an earthworm. Let’s take a closer look at the specimen:

We are confident that this is an earthworm! Earthworms vary a lot in color. While some are dark brown, purple, or red, others, like the one our reader found, are light brown. We also recognize this specimen by its segmented body and the presence of a clitellum, which is a raised band that contains the reproductive organs. On top of all the physical evidence, earthworms are also found in bathrooms at least bimonthly by our readers.

We can’t determine how these earthworms are getting into our reader’s bathroom. While we suppose there could be a nest of them under the shower, they might also just be sneaking in through the window or door (our reader mentioned her bathroom is close to the ground.) We encourage her to speak to her landlord again when the weather clears, but we don’t think she should stress too much in the meantime. Earthworms are generally considered to be harmless towards both humans and cats. They don’t bite or sting, and they aren’t known to transmit or carry any diseases. However, if our reader is truly worried about her health because of these worms, then we encourage her to see a doctor.

To wrap up, one of our readers has been finding worms in her bathroom over the course of a few months. We are confident these worms are earthworms, which are not dangerous or harmful!

Summary

Article Name

Worms in Shower are Earthworms

Description

One of our readers has been finding worms in her bathroom over the course of a few months. We are confident these worms are earthworms, which are not dangerous or harmful!

Author

Dori Franklin