07/02/2024
Gardeners keep your eyes peeled for these hammerhead worms, they have different colours if you find one, as someone on Prospect Street, Ontario, put them in a plastic bag with salt, they are an invasive and harmful worm capable of growing to three feet long has been discovered in Ontario, Canada. The hammerhead land planarian is toxic and, experts warn, can pose a threat to pets, small children and small animals.
Why are hammerhead worms immortal?
Hammerhead Worms: The Bad, The Ugly | Home And Garden ...
They have been described as immortal because if you step on one or cut one in half within two weeks each of the separated segments will replicate into another monster. Flatheads are unique because they are the only invertebrate known to produce tetrodotoxin, the same poison found in the deadly pufferfish.
"They're here. People are surprised to see them because they are very unusual. People are not used to seeing them. They are originally a semitropical organism," John Reynolds, a laboratory biologist and worm expert, told CTV News Toronto.
According to iNaturalist, an online platform where people can report sightings of invasive species, the initial presence of hammerhead worms in the province dates to a couple of years ago, but the number of sightings in the province have increased over the past 12 months ā with reports as recent as yesterday.
The flatworms are native to southeast Asia and thrive in moist soil, and have been a longstanding issue in the United States and Quebec. Now, they are making their way to new locations, possibly via greenhouse plants
"The predatory land planarian is no friend of earthworms. In fact, they are parasites that eat earthworms and can wipe out entire populations," said Howard Garrett, a gardening and landscaping expert in Texas, on his website The Dirt Doctor.
"It seems that it is only a destructive pest that needs to be gotten rid of," Garrett said.
Control and Management. If you encounter a hammerhead worm, picking them with a shovel or with covered hands and disposing them in soapy water or vinegar and salt in a sealed container or Ziploc bag. Once killed you can dispose of them in the container or Ziploc bag
What happens if you squish a hammerhead worm?
These worms have a fascinating ability to grow back from their severed body parts. So if you were to cut or squash a Hammerhead Worm, each piece could potentially grow into a whole new worm. This might unintentionally make the problem worse by creating more worms instead of getting rid of them.
