![]() Of course, as this identification is not completely certain, we still advise caution when moving the worm. We suggest that our reader move the worm outside to a body of water. Either way, we think this worm ended up here accidentally: infestations of horsehair worms in the home do not occur. ![]() Alternatively, it is also likely that the insect fell into the toilet (perhaps it was on our reader or someone else’s clothing), and by falling into the water, triggered its occupant to come forth in the toilet. Following this, it promptly started swimming up the pipes in search of a mate, which is how it ended up in our reader’s toilet. So, taking this into account, we think that an insect that was infected with a horsehair worm got into the pipe system (either through a leak or through the sewage system), and once the horsehair worm was ready to come out, it did. After this, the horsehair worm will search for a mate to reproduce with, so that they can start the process all over again. Once the worm is fully mature, it will wait until the insect is in or nearby another body of water before bursting forth from the insect’s body, killing the host in the process. As the insect goes about its life and eats the things it eats, the egg will hatch and the worm will start to grow. ![]() The eggs are laid in a body of water, as horsehair worms are aquatic, and after they are (accidentally) ingested by an unknowing insect, the eggs start to grow inside the body of the new host. Like most animals, the horsehair worm starts out as an egg. The process by which the horsehair worm infects their host is actually very interesting, albeit disturbing, and it ties into how this worm likely ended up in our reader’s toilet. ![]() We need to stress that they only take insects as hosts (at least, purposefully), so they do not pose a threat to the health of our reader and the other people potentially using this toilet. Horsehair worms are parasites that take insects as their hosts. For that reason, we should note that this identification is not made with 100% certainty. As our reader does not provide more context than that which is written above, we can only make this assumption based on the photo. Judging solely from the picture, we would guess that this is a horsehair worm. ![]()
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