black worm like pest

calendula · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 4:11 pm Post subject: black worm like pest

Does anyone know what a black worm like pest is that has appeared in my garden over the last few years. I first found it feeding on strawberries in my polytunnel. Now I find it all over including recently all over a dead rat!

up to 3cm long, 1mm wide, very black, very soft, rear heads up.

Anecdotal reports from friends of finding hundreds of a black worm like creature climbing up walls - but I didn't see them so don't know if they are the same.

Greengage · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 5:09 pm Post subject:

does it have tiny legs I dont think it is a worm could be a leech or diploda
any chance of another pic and more info. so I can get my experts on the case

calendula · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 6:44 pm Post subject: black worm like pest

garden organic advice service in the UK mentioned a leech but I wasn't sure.
Have attached 2 more pictures but not sure it will help much. Will try and get some better ones in the next few days.
Thanks for your answer.

calendula · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 6:45 pm Post subject:

No legs visible to the naked eye

Dr. Sunny Thomson · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 7:39 pm Post subject:

Looks like a leech to me. Reason being is we had one of these suckers stuck onto our dogs paw one day after he walked through some wet grass. We could not pull him off the pup so a neighbor said it looked like a leech to him and the way they used to remove them was to light a match, quench it, then put it to the leech straight away. We did that and he practically fell from the puppys paw.

kindredspirit · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:14 pm Post subject:

The one in the piccie looks like leech. Horrible creatures.

The black ones climbing up walls are probably millipedes. Millipedes like to do that.

Greengage · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 4:55 pm Post subject:

Ill go with a leech as well

tippben · Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 11:13 am Post subject:

Definitely a european horse leech. Not dangerous, just a small nuisance. It's a shame really. If it'd been a proper medical leech, you could've started selling them to the health service, and made a lot of money...

calendula · Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 11:51 am Post subject:

Thanks for replies. I have looked up horse leech and some pictures look quite like my ones but others are much bigger and fatter. Also they talk of it being 15-30cm and mu guys are only 3cm extended. Looks like the european horse leech is green at least on its underside and these guys are black all over. But when I next find some I will try looking under a magnifying glass.
So I'm still not convinced it is a horse leech.

Greengage · Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 5:54 pm Post subject:

we have had previous posts of this and the general agreement was it is a leech
It is a Leech.

Bradeen · Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 2:48 am Post subject:

It's a small pest but look to dangerous .I want to know from where you found it and tell me some more about it.
I am always interested to get information about these kind of little but dangerous pests. These for i am here to get some more information about it.Please help me about this matter.Which baiting system is the best?