WaPoo, Toxin-secreting hammerhead worms are invading the D.C. area. How to stop them.
The hammerhead worm immediately stops you in your tracks. The striped flatworm slithers like a snake and resembles a piece of whole-wheat spaghetti, led by its mushroom-shaped head. And it also secretes tetrodotoxin, the same debilitating neurotoxin found in puffer fish.
Last week, one was spotted in Oakton, Va. More accurately, Peanut, a 6-year-old miniature dachshund, stepped on a 14-inch hammerhead worm. The worm slithered from the grass onto the driveway, stuck to Peanut’s foot, flipped up and entangled itself around Peanut’s hind legs. Then, it broke into multiple pieces. Each piece can function as an independent worm, squirm away and regenerate into more slithering, sticky worms.
“These worms are one of the craziest creatures I have ever seen and are pretty darned creepy,” said entomologist Michael Raupp, who drove to Peanut’s house and collected a sample of the worms. Raupp, a professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, theorized the worms may have been introduced into Peanut’s yard with an application of mulch or with strips of sod that were placed near the driveway.
The hammerhead worm (Bipalium) is an invasive flatworm from Asia, probably spreading to many new locations through the exportation of exotic plants. A handful of sightings have been reported across the Washington area recently. According to the iNaturalist app, Arlington has 43 instances of the worms, D.C. has 16, Virginia has 248 and Maryland has 91 over the past 15 years.
Research shows the genus has spread across the world, especially along the East Coast of the United States. Computer models show the Eastern United States will continue to be a suitable environment for the worms, as the climate warms.
The good news is that the worm isn’t a threat to humans unless ingested or handled, biologist Amber Stokes said. “Yes, they are poisonous, but they are so small that you would have to actually eat many of them to have any ill effects. I feel pretty doubtful that most people are interested in eating them,” Stokes, a professor at California State University at Bakersfield, said in an email.
Experts said handling them can cause issues like skin irritation. Additionally, like many flatworms, they can carry parasitic nematodes. They can also be dangerous to pets if ingested. But the worms are sensitive to light and don’t usually appear when the sun is out, leaving most of the day worm-free for people and many pets.
I wonder if Snakeheads eat them.
One more thing to thank China for.
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