WASHINGTON — Ever since we told you about these toxic hammerhead worm sightings here in the DMV, it’s been one of the top trending stories on our website. Several of them were seen at a home in northern Virginia recently. Google search data in our area also shows people asking about them.
You know not to touch, but what should you do if you spot one?
THE QUESTION:
Why are hammerhead worms a problem in the DMV, and how can you get rid of them?
THE SOURCES:
Michael Raupp, University of Maryland Department of Entomology, and his blog, “Bug Of The Week.”
Floyd Shockley, entomologist and collections manager for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
WHAT WE FOUND:
This is a story that has WUSA9 readers talking — and it might just be saying, “ew.”
Don’t feel bad for wanting to get rid of them, though.
“They're not supposed to be here anyway,” said Floyd Shockley, entomologist and collections manager for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History .
That’s because they’re an invasive species, now making themselves at home in the DMV, usually hitching rides on the roots of plants.
“If you encounter one, you must assume that there are others,” Shockley said.
Looking similar to the shark of the same name, the hammerhead worm secretes the same debilitating neurotoxin found in another ocean species: the puffer fish.
"Tetrodotoxin is believed to incapacitate large prey so they can be consumed by the worm. This nasty toxin may also help the worm defend itself from its own predators,” says Michael J. Raupp, Professor of Entomology at the University of Maryland, in his blog post on the worms.
That can cause skin irritation if handled, or be toxic when eaten.
But it’s what the worms eat that Shockley says is the biggest issue: a steady diet of earthworms, which are essential for healthy forests, crops and backyard gardens.
“While most people probably also find earthworms kind of gross, they're incredibly important ecologically for us,” Shockley tells WUSA9.
So when you see one: don’t touch it with your bare hands or try to smash or chop it, unless you want double the problem, because these worms can regrow missing parts.
“The worst thing you could possibly do is cut them in half because no matter how you cut them, both parts will grow the part that you cut off and then you've taken one worm and you've made it two,” Shockley said.
"That’s right, slice these little guys in half and they fully regenerate the complementary portions of each body part, a miraculous two from one deal," writes Professor Raupp.
Instead, report it with an online tool like iNaturalist, for surveillance purposes, then capture it in a sealed container, and toss it in the trash. If you have the stomach for it, splash it with salt or vinegar, which will dissolve the worm.
“They can really build up quickly and create a big ecological disaster if the population gets big enough,” said Shockley. We want people to be out there, you know, doing surveillance for us, taking photos, reporting when they see them, and then and then going ahead and killing the worms if they can do so safely.”
Of course, worms live underground, most likely to surface and be easiest to spot in the early morning hours or after a rain. If you think you have suspicions you might be struggling with a hammerhead takeover but haven’t spotted any above ground, there are soil treatments available, but you need to be careful not to overdo it and create an even bigger problem. So consult a lawncare expert for help with that.
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