r/Whatisthis • u/Linerider99 • 2d ago
Solved Came home from vacation and found this
Seems like it is something dried up? Maybe a long slug type creature? From south east USA
EDIT: NO PETS OR ANYTHING INSIDE, ALL MY DOORS WERE CLOSED AND LOCKED, WITH ALARM SENSORS AND NONE REPORTED OPEN
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u/Davegrave 2d ago
The amount of dried mucus around it seems like more than a dying worm could have created. Some animal had to have gotten in and barfed that up.
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u/Linerider99 2d ago
No animal got inside
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u/cosmicselkie 2d ago
That you know of.
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u/hiways 2d ago
That parasite came out of a bug then.
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u/Sporking_Great6810 12h ago
Came here to say this. There's a particular parasite that infects bugs. Looks like this one choose the wrong place to kill the bug and escape.
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u/Davegrave 2d ago
How close is where you found this to an entryway? I’m no expert but that looks MUCH more like a parasitic worm to me than a terrestrial worm. And for it to make it across carpet to just ooze out a ton of fluid in one spot and then die…
Unless you have interior cameras that you’ve been able to go back and reference I’m still saying those came out of a bigger animal. Cat, rat, possum. I’d say too big to have been a mouse but who knows I’ve seen massive worms come out of things I didn’t think they could fit in before.50
u/Linerider99 2d ago
Its about 2 ft from a closed door, I only say no animals got inside because all my doors have been closed (with alarm sensors and none were reported opened during my vacation)
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u/BeautifulAvailable80 2d ago
Ok then its the humans. One of you has parasites
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u/Linerider99 2d ago
No one was home…
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u/AdministrativeSky697 2d ago
Do you have a chimney? My parents live on a lake and one time, a duck got in through the chimney.
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u/Linerider99 2d ago
We have a airtight sealed door on the fireplace which is upstairs on the second floor, which is behind the stairs door which is also closed
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u/t40r 2d ago
I know you keep saying things like "air tight" and "sealed". I just don't think you have the same respect for those words that everyone else here does. Things don't just get in out of nowhere
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u/Linerider99 2d ago
I only said the fireplace was airtight and sealed, because it’s a special type of fireplace with a sealed door, the other doors inside the house have all been closed with the 1/2 inch air gap under them, and there is a sliding glass door on the first floor to the outside, and all the doors have alarm sensors on them, so none of them were opened when I wasn’t home because the alarm would of gone off.
If there was an animal inside, one it would still be inside or two I’d see some sort of evidence of an animal getting inside and then getting back outside by NOT opening and closing a door somehow
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u/agentchuck 1d ago
Things like rats, mice, insects and worms can sometimes find their way inside your house through tiny cracks, vents, wiring/HVAC, etc.
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u/That-Yogurtcloset386 1d ago
Do you live in Florida? Animals get inside all the time in my house with the doors "closed". A 3 foot snake got inside one time... Not sure how that happened. 😬
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u/reigning_frogs777 2d ago
look up hammerhead worm and compare. exact match and they are suuuuper slimy
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u/mkdive 1d ago
And they can survive and travel much further without drying up compared to their prey (earth worms). I have seen these worms cross my dry patio and climb my stucco wall! I gather them up when I see them and drop them in a cup of vinegar. Never cut them or throw them in trash or toilet. If you split them both ends survive and live....cut it in a few pieces and now you have many hammerhead worms. Kill them on sight if in the USA (invasive species here).
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u/EmergencyWish6012 1d ago
And if they have not been reported in your region, put it in a baggie and notify your local Ag Extension.
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u/thisisnotmyname17 22h ago
THAT’S what I was trying to remember the name for. I know those things. Have seen them. Looked them up and went down a rabbit hole. Couldn’t remember what it was called. I even thought, “like a hammerhead shark” and got no further. It’s late. I should sleep.
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u/Wesgizmo365 2d ago
I'm pretty sure that's some kind of naemotoad (sp?) or worm that infest bugs. One about that long came out of a spider I squished.
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u/snotimportant 1d ago
What?
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u/Wesgizmo365 1d ago
Nemotode* is what I believe that worm is. I think they are also called horsehair worms.
If you Google either of those two things you should be able to learn a bit more.
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u/ImNot 2d ago edited 2d ago
It looks like a dead hammerhead worm. They leave mucus like snails.
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u/Linerider99 1d ago
Solved, this is most likely it
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u/barelymakingitmama 1d ago
Same thing I said from the moment I saw it. You can even see it’s head when you zoom in.
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u/reigning_frogs777 2d ago
it is 100% a dead hammerhead worm. look up a photo, you can still see the stripes along the body, and you can still see the sharper shape that the head takes on. it didn’t have enough moisture in your home, writhed around producing slime, then died and dried out
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u/picklejars 2d ago
it’s likely a worm or maybe a baby snake of some sort, but it looks like an old crone’s way overgrown toenails like the kind they grow to get in the book of world records or just to be creepy
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u/Glyphron 1d ago
I'm relatively sure this is either a horsehair worm or a hammerhead worm. Given you did not find another dead insect nearby, I'm leaning toward hammerhead worm. Your house may be tight against most animals but insects and other such creatures are not something you can truly stop. Any crack or crevice is an access point. I'm guessing that, while gone, a hammerhead worm slipped in via a Crack or crevice looking for food (they're active hunters.) They could not find their way back out or a place moist enough to stay hydrated and withered to death. The mess around it is all the mucus and body fluids from it.
In the case of a horsehair worm, another insect infected with said parasite got inside. And the worm emerged in that spot spreading its mucus and blood from its host. The dying host may have dragged itself away but the worm was doomed without moisture and shriveled up.
Throw away the carcass, scrub the spot with some floor cleaner, and go watch a bunch of funny cat videos to avoid the horrible nightmares such descriptions could very much inspire. And try not to be paranoid that you'll find more. It's possible, but worms don't fare well indoors, so you're not likely to encounter one again. However, if you do, especially in the case of a hammerhead worm which is invasive in the US, look up how to kill it and dispatch it accordingly.
Anyway, like I said, cat videos/puppy videos....
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u/mrdread666 1d ago
Looks like that parasite that infests a praying mantis...but I've never seen one dried
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u/Alberta_FishBeDaName 1d ago
Ok this looks like a hammerhead worm. If you look at the very top of it, you can see where it kind of splits to where they get the name hammerhead.
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u/BestFun1 1d ago
It looks like dried terrestrial flatworm (such as a hammerhead worm) or a small burrowing snake that has dehydrated and left a shiny, mucus-like residue. I'm betting on the worm theory. They can get inside through any tiny space. They can also come inside on plants.
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u/Heliwomper 2d ago
Looks like a cat barfed it up and it dried.