Sarika's anti-ant antiques reminds me of some more down-to-earth problems
that we are facing with representatives of the crawling creatures clan! To put in a nutshell, the earthly problem that we are facing is that earthworms have started making excursions out of the bathroom drains, and taking sight-seeing tours of the bedroom next to it.


Now, when we signed up the agreement to move into this new house, we frankly expected to share the house between the two of us, and not have to entertain guests on a daily (or rather nightly) basis! And specially when the guests are of the slimy, spineless variety, who prefer wriggling around the floor, their visits are particularly unwelcome. I suppose everyone will agree to me on this count.


After spotting the first specimen of the species, we did plan a counter attack against the worms. We armed ourselves with phenyle and some bleaching powder (which had been thoughtfully left behind by the previous tenants, or so we thought), we proceeded to wage war against the worms with zeal. I was slightly surprised when I discovered that the bleaching powder lacked the familiar odour of chlorine, but nevertheles continued to apply the same to the drain. Only, I discovered, it was not actually bleaching powder, but lime (chuna) that I was using!!


Meanwhile, the steady flow of the earthly molluscs (thats what they are, i suppose? My biology is a bit rusty!) continued with a small change. The worms still came out of the hole but, started to die off once they reached outside. Maybe it was the phenyle which caused their untimely demise, without having any oppurtunity to relay their plight to their peers and warning them!


It was at this point that our land lord stepped in, followed by an intrepid plumber with a bag of cement and a hammer. They dug up the drain cover, found a circular cavity around the side wall, and proclaimed that this was the source of the onslaught! They cemented up the hole, put the cover back and instructed us not to use the bathroom for half an hour, an instruction we abided to the letter.


Alas. All the efforts went down the drain. Or rather, the cement did, and it clogged it proper. As a result, we now had not only worms crawling out of the hole, but also water flowing back!! Fortunately our landlord returned with another member of the plumbing community, who dug up whatever the previous guy had left behind!


One problem was solved...the water now flows out without any further dissent. But the ughhly worms still continue their nightly misadventures! Any suggestions what to do?