Everything is bigger in Texas.
Heavy rains around Houston are expected to bring out poisonous, foot-long worms that regenerate if cut in half, officials warned this week.
The nightmarish hammerhead flatworm is an invasive species that secrete toxins that can cause skin irritation to humans if touched.
The creepy crawler, which thrives in hot tropical climates, can also be poisonous to pets if ingested and is known to carry parasites.
They’re often scattered on lawns, sidewalks and roads after rainstorms flush them out of their underground burrows, putting people and animals at risk.
But do not cut them up into pieces to try and kill them, experts say.
“It will regenerate,” Ashley Morgan-Olvera, M.S., of the Texas Invasive Species Institute told KHOU.
“So if you chop it into two pieces, you get two worms,” she added.
Instead, put on a pair of gloves and place the worms in a plastic bag with salt and vinegar or citrus oil and put them in the freezer overnight.
Even once the worm is dead, do not touch it. If touched, officials recommend immediately rinsing the affected area with soap and water, followed by a douse of hand sanitizer.
The hammerhead worm, also known as a shovelhead or arrowhead, gets its name from its strange head shape, which is similar to that of a hammerhead shark. They can grow up to 15 inches long, and have been mistaken for snakes.
The pests prey on earthworms, which are vital for crops, gardens and natural environments.
They paralyze the earthworms by slathering them with their toxic slime before stretching out their “mouth” over part of the earthworm’s body and digesting it, Dr. Blake Layton Jr., an entomology expert with Mississippi State University, told KHOU.
The disabling toxin is the same poison that causes skin irritation in humans and makes animals sick.
In addition to their frightening ability to regenerate, they undergo a similar process when they reproduce asexually that sounds like a scene out of a David Cronenberg movie.
“A portion of the rear of the worm breaks off and grows a new head, producing a new flatworm genetically identical to its parent — a literal ‘chip off the old block,’” Dr. Layton said.
The worms, along with other members of the giant flatworm species are able to produce tons of offspring without a partner.
The head begins to form in about 10 days during the process, which may happen a few times a month, according to the Texas Invasive Species Institute.
The worms prefer dark, damp areas and are most active during the nighttime. They also taste terrible, making them undesirable for predators.
Hammerhead worms, which are native to Asia, are thought to have come to the US by hitchhiking across plant trade routes.
They’ve been reported in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
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