While it may sound disgusting, various types of worms can appear in your toilet. If you have noticed this unfortunate issue in your own toilets, we can help! We will explain everything you need to know, including what it means if you find worms in your toilet, how you can get rid of the worms, and what you can do to prevent future worm infestations in your toilet.
How you get rid of worms in your toilet depends on the type of work you’re dealing with. If you have earthworms, check for cracks in your toilet and repair any that you find.
For drain fly larvae, thoroughly clean your drain pipe to eliminate the organic material that they like to eat. Horsehair worms, clean your toilet thoroughly, and use a chemical drain cleaner. Finally, for bloodworms, flush the toilet repeatedly and clean it thoroughly.
Can Worms Appear in the Toilet?
Unfortunately, worms can appear in your toilet and other areas of your bathroom. While it may sound disgusting, the worms are easy to spot, and luckily, they are easy to get rid of.
How Do You Kill Drain Worms?
Four main types of worms tend to appear in toilets. They appear for different reasons, and you will use a different technique to kill each worm. To make things easy, we will go over each type of worm you can find in your toilet and explain how you can get rid of that specific type.
Earthworms
In most cases, the presence of earthworms in a toilet means that there is a crack in your drain pipes. Earthworms and other types of critters can get into your drainage system through small cracks in the pipes. The moisture, nutrients in organic matter, and oxygen trapped in the pipes draw the worms in.
Getting rid of earthworms almost always involves repairing the crack in your drain. Once the pipes have been repaired or replaced, the earthworms will no longer have a way into your toilet. If you want to kill the existing earthworms, pour commercial drain clearing products down the toilet, or, if you would prefer a more natural remedy, you can simply pour curry salt or powdered salt down the drain and flush the toilet.
Drain Fly Larvae
Drain flies are commonly found in bathrooms, but few people recognize their worm-like larvae. They look like small, slender worms that are usually beige and black. As you would expect, the presence of drain fly larvae in your toilet is almost always a clear sign that you also have a drain fly infestation in your bathroom.
Killing drain fly larvae involves starving them by removing the organic material they eat from your toilet and drain pipes. Start by thoroughly cleaning your toilet bowl with cleaning chemicals and a brush. From there, flush a drain cleaning product, which will help eliminate the gunk the drain fly larvae eat. Be thorough and use the drain cleaner more than once.
Horsehair Worms
Horsehair worms are long, black, or yellow worms that are almost hair-like in diameter. They sometimes knot into a ball, which is why some people will mistake them for just a ball of hair. The eggs are usually passed to your toilet through insects, like cockroaches, so the presence of horsehair worms usually means you have another type of infestation. They usually appear during the colder months, as insects that carry the eggs will often retreat inside of homes to escape the cold weather.
You can get rid of horsehair worms by cleaning your toilet bowl and using a commercial drain cleaning product to ensure you kill the worms in the bowl and those in the sewer pipe. From there, work on sealing your home off from various types of insects. Remember, your home is a perfect habitat for most types of insects, so it is up to you to make sure your home is properly sealed during every season.
Bloodworms
While they look similar to earthworms, bloodworms prefer living in stagnant water, so they are more frequently found in bathtubs, shower drains, sinks, and, of course, toilets. They most often show up in bathrooms that are used infrequently, as they prefer still and stagnant water. They also feed on organic matter, which is why toilets are the ideal habitat for them.
Killing bloodworms is fairly simple, as all you need to do is repeatedly flush the toilet and make sure it is thoroughly cleaned. While commercial cleaning products and bleach can work well, you can also clean the toilet and kill the worms by using vinegar, baking soda, and boiling water.
Use equal parts vinegar and baking soda (usually about a cup of each). Pour them into the toilet and allow them to sit. Once they have fizzed for about an hour, you can flush and pour boiling water down the toilet. This eliminates the organic matter, which starves the bloodworms.
Are Water Worms Dangerous?
While you should still get rid of them and prevent them from reappearing, the worms you would find in your toilet are not dangerous. With that said, if you have a dog that tends to drink from the toilet, it can get quite sick if the water contains worms and larvae.
How to Prevent Worm Infestations in Your Toilet
Preventative measures depend on the type of worms you are dealing with, but in almost every case, keeping your bathroom and toilet clean helps. You will also want to flush all toilets at least once every two days, even if it is in a bathroom that is not used often.
Ventilation also helps, as worms prefer damp spaces filled with mold and mildew. You can also spray your toilet and other bathroom surfaces with vinegar monthly, as this helps to kill the eggs.
As mentioned, worms tend to enter your home and toilets from outside, so ensure your home is sealed, and there are no cracks in your pipes. If nothing can get in, you will not have to deal with worms any longer.
Final Words
By killing any worms, you see and adopting the right preventative methods, you should be able to keep all types of worms out of your toilets. If the problem persists, you may want to speak with an exterminator, as well as a professional plumber. That said, you can usually get rid of worms in your toilet quite easily on your own.
