{"id":4566,"date":"2013-11-07T14:31:41","date_gmt":"2013-11-07T19:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/?page_id=4566"},"modified":"2019-03-27T12:29:14","modified_gmt":"2019-03-27T16:29:14","slug":"horsehair-worms","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/fact-sheets\/common-name-listing\/horsehair-worms\/","title":{"rendered":"Horsehair Worms"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"a<\/a>
Horsehair Worm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Horsehair worms<\/b>–also known as Gordian worms–are, to say the least, rather mysterious creatures to anyone unfamiliar with them.\u00a0 These thin, spaghetti-like worms can reach lengths upwards of 3 ft. and resemble the ‘hair’ of a horse’s tail or mane, and belong to a phylum called Nematomorpha because of their morphological resemblance to nematode roundworms.\u00a0 The larvae of these peculiar worms are parasitic, but are harmless to humans, livestock, plants, and pets.\u00a0 Their host organisms are commonly crickets and grasshoppers, but beetles, cockroaches, spiders, and some crustaceans can also be infested.<\/p>\n

Horsehair worms–free living as adults–are considered beneficial, since crickets are such a common host.\u00a0 Therefore, no control measures are needed if you find one of these interesting worms.<\/p>\n\n\t\t