Horsehair worms commonly form writhing balls with their long twisting bodies, which is often equated to the legendary “Gordian Knot. The worms can, however, become a nuisance at certain times of the year, which is often dependent on the existing insect population as well.

While they are indeed beneficial by finding such homes as roaches and crickets, these insects generally reach adulthood before meeting their demise. They do not damage plants or infect animals and humans, and as adults, they do not eat. They are harmless to everything but their larval host. They can appear in toilets, around sinks and any place the dead insect may be discarded.Įxperts do not recommend pesticides to treat horsehair worms. When someone squashes a host insect, the worm will escape. Horsehair worms can easily find their way into homes through this type of parasitization. Here you can meet members of the phylum Nematomorpha, creepy worm parasites that leave their victims scarred both physically and emotionally. While thriving internally, the worm is albino colored, but once living outdoors, it develops darker shades of yellows and browns. In the former case, the insect will die when the mature horsehair worm exits. They continue to grow in length, forming a tight ball and eventually escaping when the host takes a drink or is killed. Among them are flatworms, roundworms, and thorny. There are a variety of parasitic worms that can take up residence in humans. As a parasite, they feed on internal organs. Parasites are organisms that live in and feed off a living host. Once consumed, they continue thriving inside their insect host. At this stage, they become food for many types of insects, including grasshoppers, crickets, roaches, snails and other creatures.

Hatching takes place from two-twelve weeks and the young larvae seek out plants as shelter.

One female can lay millions of eggs at one time, often in strings that attach to aquatic plants. While more common in ponds or other bodies of water, horsehair worms also thrive in moist soil and mud.

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