We recently received this short message from one of our readers, “We found these worms in our shower this morning. There were about 5 of them, some were dark and some were light. We have two indoor cats. They don’t usually go into the shower, so we don’t think they are related to the worms but we aren’t sure. We have had fruit flies in the kitchen, but it’s pretty far from the bathroom.” The photograph he sent shows two worms next to a penny:

One of the creatures is significantly smaller than the other, it has a white segmented body with black tips. The bigger creature has a black segmented body and is covered in tiny hairs. We are confident that these are both drain fly larvae! The smaller one probably recently hatched and the larger one is likely almost ready to pupate into an adult fly. Here is another photo of the creatures:

Drain fly larvae are really common and are fairly easy to get rid of, so our reader doesn’t need to worry too much about finding them. They feed on the organic matter that builds up inside a drain. So, to get rid of them, our reader will simply need to scrub out his shower and shower drain. He should use a cleaning agent that is designed to eliminate organic material and a pipe cleaning brush to get rid of all the gunk lining the drain walls. As soon as the grime is gone, the drain fly larvae won’t have a place to breed or anything to eat, and they should disappear! For good measure, our reader might consider cleaning out his sink and toilet drain as well. To prevent future visits from drain fly larvae, he should clean out his bathroom every 2-4 weeks!

To sum up, the organisms our reader found in his shower are drain fly larvae! Drain fly larvae breed and feed on the gunk that builds up inside a drain, so our reader will just need to clean it out in order to say goodbye to them. We are confident that these larvae don’t have anything to do with his cats, but if he is worried about his pets we recommend that he have them checked by a vet, just to be sure.

Summary

Article Name

Worms In Shower Are Unrelated to Cats

Description

The organisms our reader found in his shower are drain fly larvae! Drain fly larvae breed and feed on the gunk that builds up inside a drain, so our reader will just need to clean it out in order to say goodbye to them. We are confident that these larvae don't have anything to do with his cats, but if he is worried about his pets we recommend that he have them checked by a vet, just to be sure.

Author

Dori Franklin