Adam Ingle, a resident of Keller, told NBC5 of the underground monster that reared its hammerhead in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas, “It was terrifying, like these are truly the end times, even the worms are demonic.”
These foot-long invertebrates, so named because of their flat, ball-peen-like noggins, release neurotoxins that can irritate human skin when they come into touch with it and poison pets who consume them.
The ecosystem may be impacted by these intruders’ predation on native species, such as earthworms that care for the soil.
The worms have been in the Lone Star State for decades, but since coming to the US from Southeast Asia in the late 1800s, they have proliferated all across the country, from the Pacific Northwest to New York and, most recently, North Texas.
As witnessed in numerous viral TikTok videos of the ground-breaking phenomena, these wiggling menaces were forced to the surface by the torrential torrents, despite their preference to stay underground out of the sunshine.
“In one of the creepy videos, the worms are wriggling on the surface of the soil like a miniature version of the monsters from “Tremors” while another shows a lengthy specimen inching its way across an envelope.”
One of the vacuum-headed creatures is shown crawling over a screen in a third.
“Houstonnn we have a problem!!” the poster wrote in the caption. “You don’t want this guy in your garden or near your pets!”
Since they reproduce asexually, splitting them in half would just increase their numbers, thus getting rid of this little menace is no easy task.
“Don’t kill it, don’t squish it, don’t cut it up, because it makes three or four more worms,” warned Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, per NBC5. “Tear it in half, now you’ve got two worms.”
Experts suggest either putting hammerhead worms in a salt and vinegar solution or bagging them and freezing them for up to 48 hours.
Even if they are already dead, homeowners should not handle them without gloves or other protective gear due to their toxic nature.
