Worms in my mechanical filter - identify and destroy (trigger warning - worm photos)

[Phaewryn]

Are these something that pets/humans can catch from the pond water (I've been putting my arm in there with minor cuts/scrapes and I'm now having a minor anxiety meltdown)? Will the fish (fancy guppies) in the pond carry them? If so, how do I treat the fish? Can/should I kill them in the pond water itself? If so, how? There were three (that I found/removed) in my foam media filter pad in the box filter in the bottom of the pond. From Googling, I *think* they are Horsehair worms, and come from crickets, which I have pulled out of the pond when skimming. If so, I think they are harmless, but still, I have a minor phobia and really would prefer they not be in there at all, so what chemicals can I use in the water that will kill them and ABSOLUTELY NOT harm the neighbor's cats who drink from the pond? Also, I need to know if I can be infected as if so I need to reach out to my healthcare provider for treatment, and if cats can be infected as if so I need to inform my neighbor that his cats need treatment. What a mess! Help!

(images should be attached)

 

[j.w]

Looks like Horsehair worms: https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/horsehair-worm
If so not harmful to anything but insects.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Yeah - horsehair worms are weird creatures, but absolutely harmless to you, the cat or your fish. I wouldn't worry about trying to eliminate them. If you find one & want to remove/relocate it, that's fine, but putting anything in the water to try & kill them will probably do more harm than good.

 

[Phaewryn]

Yeah - horsehair worms are weird creatures, but absolutely harmless to you, the cat or your fish. I wouldn't worry about trying to eliminate them. If you find one & want to remove/relocate it, that's fine, but putting anything in the water to try & kill them will probably do more harm than good.

Cool, so long as I know for sure they are 100% harmless to me and the cats, I'm OK with them, I guess. I guess I will have to start buying a new filter mat every few months, as it's difficult to get them out of the one I've been rinsing and reusing. I have other bio-media, so don't need the mat for bacteria growth. Wasteful, but seems like the only way to manage it? That's what I did, I relocated them to the dirt behind the house's foundation. I assumed they would probably not die there, but if they are aquatic, maybe they will?

 

[j.w]

Hey @Phaewryn how'd ya get that weather thingy? We used to have them here but then they would not work. Yours looks different then the old kind we had from Weather Underground.

 

[Phaewryn]

Hey @Phaewryn how'd ya get that weather thingy? We used to have them here but then they would not work. Yours looks different then the old kind we had from Weather Underground.

Oh I am just really good at stealing things. I found a working one on another forum and copied the code, edited it and voilà (it does seem to be working, as the temp has gone up since I added it to my signature)! Here's the code, just edit it to your weather station code, city, state (you can also replace the "blueglass" with "bluestripe" if you like stripes more):

 [IMG]http://weathersticker.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/banner/ban/wxBanner?bannertype=wu_blueglass&airportcode=KVSF&ForcedCity=Springfield&ForcedState=VT[/IMG]

 

[Lisak1]

I wanted the weather thingy, too, and I got something but I must be missing a piece:

 

[Lisak1]

Ah! Now I got it!

@j.w I added the "K" in front of ORD for O'Hare airport and it worked. Not sure what that means, but it was one of my choices for airport codes.

 

[j.w]

Can somebody help me before I go crazy,lol! My city is Arlington, Wa. 98223 and I can't get the right code for some reason. If you can find my code let me know. I have tried everything.

I tried this:

But it only ends up w/the name and no temps, etc.

 

[j.w]

oh no it won't let me post the letters. Ok I will try again w/o the ['s. http://weathersticker.wunderground....waarlin54&ForcedCity=Arlington&ForcedState=WA

 

[j.w]

Won't work.

 

[j.w]

Lord have mercy.................I finally did it yahoooooooooooooooooo!!!!

 

[Lisak1]

And it's funny now because it looks like you had it all along!

 

[j.w]

Yes but I went through Hell to get there,lol! I tried all kinds of different things. Then I noticed I had { instead of ] on the ends.

 

[Phaewryn]

I found one other "design" as well:

Code:

http://weathersticker.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/banner/ban/wxBanner?bannertype=wu_bluestripes&airportcode=KVSF&ForcedCity=Springfield&ForcedState=VT