Category: Animals

We all love bugs, don’t we? Actually, don’t answer that. It’s safe to say that a significant portion of people in the United States either can’t stand bugs or at least dislike them greatly. There’s plenty of reason for that, and it’s not just the aesthetic. Bugs are known to do some nasty things, even if it’s just to survive. If you’re looking for a few reasons why bugs are considered gross, here are some of the biggest ones.

5. House Flies Poop EVERYWHERE

We all have to deal with house flies, especially in the summer months. It seems that if you leave your door open for just a nanosecond, one or two of these little buggers sneak in and all of a sudden you don’t go fly-less in your house until winter comes. Every time you see a fly land, you might want to start retching, too. That’s because every time they land, house flies defecate. Not only that, but flies eat their own vomit as part of their liquid diet. Needless to say, these disease ridden pests are gross.

4. Cockroaches Have Milk

No matter how clean your house is, you might have a cockroach infestation, and it’s extremely annoying. Now, when we think of cockroaches,we think of scurrying and the gross little antennas. We don’t think about milk as that type of talk is reserved for cows or even goats. Cockroaches do produce milk, though, which is packed with calories and protein. In case you wanted to be even more grossed out, cockroach milk has been considered by some to be a superfood thanks to a recent study that showed the nutritional breakdown.

3. Caterpillars are Jacked

You might think you’re pretty strong, and there’s a good reason for that. After all, the human body consists of 629 muscles that help you to move around and lift heavy objects. What if I told you that a caterpillar makes you look like a weakling in terms of scale, though? It’s true, though, as caterpillars have 248 muscles, and that’s just in their heads. Overall, caterpillars have more than six time the amount of muscle as humans, totalling in at about 4,000.

2. Slugs are Super Stretchy 

Slugs are one of those gross looking little creatures that you don’t run away from, but you tend to not want to touch. Nobody can really blame you, as there are some weird things that slugs do. Not only do they leave behind a trail when they move (in their weird little way), but they are also incredibly stretchy. Slugs can squeeze through just about anything because they can stretch to 20 times their normal length. Oh, and by the way, they have about 27,000 teeth.

1. Praying Mantises Eat at a Weird Time

The mating ritual for a Praying Mantis is a pretty weird and morbid one. To attract a mate, a male mantis will literally fight a female. If the male wins, then they get to mate. The stakes for losing are incredibly high, though. That’s because the female will eat the male if he can’t show his prowess in battle. Why do the females do this? Well, for the nutrition while they’re pregnant, of course.

Could your garden be doomed by a predator smaller than a drinking straw? If you’re unknowingly hosting the invasive hammerhead worm, the outlook could be grim, indeed.

You’ve likely heard of hammerheads, but you probably never expected to find one hanging out in your own backyard. Hammerhead worms feed just as aggressively as hammerhead sharks, though on a much smaller scale. But don’t let their size and innocent appearance fool you. Depending upon where you live, hammerhead worms may have already invaded your garden and begun wreaking havoc on your backyard ecosystem. And their favorite snack, unfortunately, is the common earthworm. Here’s why you don’t want to find the carnivorous hammerhead worm tunneling among the roots of your freshly planted garden.

So, Who Cares About Earthworms Anyway?

Earthworms are like tiny tillers, aerating the soil and leaving castings (worm poop) behind that is highly beneficial to plant life. Thanks to the common earthworm, tough, impenetrable soil becomes loose and well fertilized. This allows crops such as corn, wheat, and soy to flourish. It may also be why you have the prettiest roses on the block.

If the earthworm population were suddenly to vanish, life for humans could change pretty drastically. There would be less food produced, more pollution in our soils, and heavier flooding. Since the ancient days of Egypt, when earthworms churned and fertilized the soil in the damp river valleys along the Nile, earthworms have long been touted as one of the more influential species on earth.

And now they have a serious predator that’s completely capable of decimating the entire population. And it could be happening right beneath your feet. Enter the hammerhead worm.

Where Did the Hammerhead Worm Come From?

Hammerhead worms are native to Southeast Asia, but they’ve infiltrated other countries through the import of nursery plants. To date, hammerheads have been found in the United States in various southern states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida. They’re carnivores whose preferred buffet is a nice, juicy earthworm. Just like the hammerhead shark, they’re especially aggressive hunters. Scientists think they’re capable of tracking earthworms beneath the ground. When they find one, they emit a deadly neurotoxin that causes paralysis.

What to Do If You See a Hammerhead Worm

Essentially, a hammerhead worm looks like a normal worm with the exception of its unusual, hammer-shaped head. Don’t handle it without gloves. Don’t feed it to pets or livestock, and don’t cut it into pieces. Like many worms, the hammerhead can reproduce asexually. So, if you cut it into three pieces, you’ll eventually be left with two additional hammerheads.

The Texas Invasive Species Institute recommends dowsing hammerheads in salt, vinegar, or citrus oil to kill them. Use gloved hands to place the worm in a plastic baggie and then add your killing solutions. Wash your hands well afterward.

Hammerhead worms may be the worst predators visiting your garden this year, so glove-up when you’re digging in the soil, and be on the lookout for the predatory hammerhead worm.