Possible threadworm in my garden soil.

[fynyxrising]

Hi, does anyone know how to identify the difference between threadworm and some of the other similar types of 'worm'.

Basically I'm very new to gardening and am horrified to find my soil swarming with what looks identical to the threadworm my children had not so long back. Perhaps this is where they caught it from, rather than school.

If this is threadworm, does anyone know how to get rid of them without chemicals.

Thank you

Zoe.

[Suzie]

Hi Zoe and welcome to the forum

Worms are just the best ever helper a gardener can have. I'm wondering if you are referring to wire worms that you aren't happy with - can you post a picture of them?

Wire worm - not nice chaps



Earthworms - lovely chaps

[alan refail]

Hi Zoe

You can rest assured that they are not what you think. Threadworms live entirely in the human body.

[fynyxrising]

Thank you for the replies.
It's definitely not earthworms, although I do have thousands of those too. So yeah I'll see if I can get a picture of them on here.

(I always thought you could catch threadworm from soil...silly wives tales)

Zoe

[fynyxrising]

Typical! The batteries have ran out on my camera, however I did just find this info that kinda suggests that it could be threadworm.

Threadworm infection is caused by Strongyloides stercoralis, a roundworm that lives in soil and can survive there for several generations. Mature threadworms may grow as long as 1–2 in (2.5–5 cm). The larvae have two stages in their life cycle: a rod-shaped (rhabdoid) first stage, which is not infective; and a threadlike (filariform) stage, in which the larvae can penetrate intact human skin and internal tissues.

The infection is most commonly transmitted when a person comes into contact—usually by walking barefoot—with soil containing S. stercoralis larvae in their filariform stage. The threadlike larvae penetrate the skin, enter the lymphatic system, and are carried by the blood to the lungs. Once in the lungs, the larvae burst out of the capillaries into the patient's main respiratory system. They migrate upwards—usually without symptoms—to the patient's throat, where they are swallowed and carried down into the digestive tract. The filariform larvae settle in the small intestine. They mature into adults that deposit eggs that hatch—usually in the intestines—into noninfectious rhabdoid larvae. The rhabdoid larvae then migrate into the patient's large intestine and are excreted in the feces. The time from initial penetration of the skin to excretion is 17–28 days. The rhabdoid larvae metamorphose into the infective filariform stage in the soil.

Threadworms are unique among human parasites in having both free-living and parasitic forms. In the free-living life cycle, some rhabdoid larvae develop into adult worms that live in contaminated soil and produce eggs that hatch into new rhabdoid larvae. The adult worms may live as long as five years.

The signs and symptoms of threadworm infection vary according to the stage of the disease as the larvae migrate throughout the body. Patients who suffer from autoinfection may have chronic or intermittent symptoms for years after they are first infected.

[alan refail]

Hi Zoe

I was going on Enterobius.

[fynyxrising]

Problem (half) solved - it's sciarid fly larvae! Now I know what they are, time to sort them I guess!