It's invasive. It's toxic. And it could be in your yard this spring

Hammerhead worms, an invasive and toxic taxon originating from Southeast Asia, are contiguous successful respective Ontario communities this spring, including cities successful the GTA and surrounding areas, according to caller reports.

Experts judge they came to North America successful shipping containers.

The worms, besides called shovelhead worms, secrete a unsafe neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin, which is besides recovered successful pufferfish. It tin origin tegument and oculus irritation successful humans and tin harm a favored if ingested.

"While determination are nary documented cases of humans becoming sick from handling these worms, they should beryllium avoided and if accidentally handled, lavation hands immediately," Conservation Hamilton says connected its website.

Identifying hammerhead worms

Hammerhead worms turn to astir 10 cm successful magnitude and tin beryllium multicoloured. They person nary earthy predators successful Ontario.

The sanction is simply a wide word for respective flatworm taxon nether the Bipalium genus.'

In summation to carrying a toxin, hammerhead worms person a parlour trick: If chopped successful half, they tin dispersed into aggregate caller worms.

How bash hammerhead worms spread?

Hammerhead worms won't get excessively acold connected their own—they're mostly moved by quality activities.

Like astir worms, they're recovered successful ungraded and soil. You tin assistance halt their imaginable dispersed by keeping ungraded local—don't transport it to different communities. And if you request to dump soil, don't dispose of it successful wooded areas.

If you unrecorded successful Ontario and spot a hammerhead worm, interaction the provincial invasive taxon hotline astatine 1-800-563-7711, oregon sojourn the Invasive Species successful Ontario project to log a report.

Header image: James Lees/Dundas Valley Conservation Area.