“Small, cream colored worms” have been found by this reader on the concrete on her patio in the mornings. She does not know where they are coming from and thanks us for any insight we can give into why they are showing up and how she can get rid of them.

Firstly, it is important that we note that without a picture, it will not be possible for us to identify this critter, whose physical appearance is quite generic, thus meaning that it could be any number of worm-like species. Secondly, we want to provide the rest of the context that our reader lays out in her query. About one-and-a-half months ago, our reader had a concrete patio put down in front of her house, and it is slanted so as to allow water to run downhill, away from the house. She used to have potted plants on the patio, but has since thrown them out, thinking that they caused the appearance of the worms. Now, she has another concrete patio behind her house, this one being put in two years ago, but no worms have shown up there. Our reader has lived in this house for 17 years and this is the first time she has seen worms like this anywhere near her property.

Now, as we said, we cannot tell the exact identity of the worms that our reader has been finding on her patio, but we suppose that is not the question our reader asked us anyway. Her question remains, why did these worms decide to show up just now, and how can she get rid of them? Well, their appearance may have to do with the placement of the patio. Perhaps where the patio was placed was the natural habitat of these worms; maybe they dwell underground, and the conditions were favorable in this exact spot in the soil, and since the patio has been put down, the worms have been surfacing and crawling about on the patio, wondering what happened to their home. This explanation might be a tad farfetched, but given that we do not know the species of worm, we are grasping at straws here. Alternatively, perhaps the worms are maggots, and there is something decomposing (like an animal or plant) near the patio or underneath it, and so the worms are attracted to this particular spot. That might explain why there are no worms at the back of the house.

Regardless, our reader still wonders how she can eliminate the worms. Firstly, our recommendation is that she applies an array of general methods one can use to deter various species of worm-like creatures from coming near one’s home. For example, our reader might remove any leaves and mulch that might be piled up against the outside walls of her home to discourage those creatures that are attracted to that (eg: earthworms and millipedes). She may also want to ensure there are no other piles of leaves, or rocks, or other organic materials under which some creature may be hiding. We also recommend that she does look around her property for any dead animal or rotting plant that might be attracting these critters.

Secondly, when it comes to getting rid of the worms already present, we simply suggest discarding them in another location. Naturally, we advise caution if and when handling the worms, since our reader does not know what they are; even if they are not poisonous or dangerous in any direct way, one can experience allergic reactions when touching unfamiliar creatures. Our reader may find it simpler to kill the worms, but since we do not usually recommend going to that extreme and we do not know if such measures are called for, we leave that up to the discretion of our reader. To be clear, we will not list methods of killing worms that we do not know are harmful to begin with, so if that is what our reader was looking for, she will unfortunately have to look elsewhere.

To conclude, we are not sure what worms our reader is dealing with. There are various reasons they could be showing up on our reader’s patio and there are a number of general methods one can apply to control and eliminate a worm infestation, and we hope that the information we provided in this article proves useful to our reader. If she wants more specific information, she is welcome to send pictures of the worms and provide more context. Otherwise, we wish her the best of luck!