LONGVIEW, Texas — Photos of hammerhead worms have gone viral across social media. They are poisonous, they are invasive, and they've made their way to East Texas.
With summer almost here, it's important to know why you have to be cautious around these worms and treat them differently then you would an earthworm.
A Longview resident found not one, but two hammerhead worms in her yard just this month alone.
"I definitely didn’t think that I would find one, but we saw one in the backyard and I thought it was just a regular worm until I looked down at it," Shelby Baker said.
Baker has two young kids and two dogs that love to spend time in the yard. After finding a hammerhead worm at her own house, she’s concerned.
"My daughter actually digs for worms and rollie pollies every single day, and I’m constantly having to tell her to be careful," Baker said.
Dr. Rafia Khan, assistant professor and extension entomology specialist at Texas A&M AgriLife in Overton, confirmed that hammerhead worms shouldn't be touched with bare hands.
"They will make some, like the nauseous feeling, they can numb your hand or fingers because of the neurotoxins. But If you are handling them more and more, that can be a dangerous thing," Khan said.
And on top of the harmful neurotoxins, they aren’t good for our environment like earthworms are.
"These worms, they are killing or they are predating on these earthworms. So that's why they are dangerous for our ecosystem," Khan said.
Khan also said that the best thing to do if you encounter one of these worms is to kill it by putting it in a closed container with salt or vinegar, and refrain from cutting it in half.
"When you are cutting them you are thinking like we are making it dead, but it’s not. You are making it in two actually because from there, the cutting part, they can make a new head within 10 days," Khan said.
Khan also said if you see a hammerhead worm, to take a picture and report the area where you saw it to help get a more accurate count on this species in Texas.