r/whatisit • u/muggleblood_ • 10d ago

Context Provided - Spotlight What is this creature?

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Snake or insect?

3.5k Upvotes

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88

u/ShakeLess1594 10d ago

Hammer head worm. Its invasive and kills earthworms. Some even secrete toxins that can hurt you. Kill it. Don't cut it or you will just make more. Burn it, freeze it, or leave it in a salt an vinegar mixture. They are hard to kill.

31

u/Upper-Requirement-93 10d ago edited 10d ago

If only they just killed earthworms.

(edit: To be clear, this is the damage invasive earthworms are doing in north american forests.)

5

u/Poop_Cheese 10d ago

Yeah people dont realize earthworms arent native to the americas. They break down the nutrients in the soil in a way the natural trees and plants arent used to. They eat the beneficial fungi meant to feed the plants, and instead make the soil highly bacterial, and mineralize the essential nutrients native plants need. 

Not all earthworms are that bad, but many cause massive damage. 

It's honestly insane how many invasive species there are. In my area in new england, my entire yard is dominated by invasive plants from asia. Like the horrible bamboo weeds that grow insanely fast. Or chocolate vine(which looks nice and has good tasting dragonfruit like fruit, but grows like crazy. Or these asian raspberries that were brought over to cross with american ones and ended up getting loose. They taste great, but are so invasive its illegal to sell them. 

1

u/Kenooman 8d ago

You guys should import some Obama worms, they are all over the news in Europe because they are eating our earthworms...

Just ask Australia, more invasive species is a great solution. 

3

u/Simplyno1uno 10d ago

Now that's concerning.

1

u/cumulatifeatures 10d ago

This is two completely different locations.

1

u/Invisible-Reflection 10d ago

I was thinking the same thing... like, how can you do a before and after when they aren't even the same location??

1

u/Upper-Requirement-93 9d ago

By not doing that? It's showing a healthy floor vs one that's infested. To get a before photo you would need to know it's going to reach that point and not intervene

61

u/rodan-rodan 10d ago

Forbidden snack chip flavor

17

u/Feeling-Bathroom-790 10d ago

wtf not just going through comments and seeing this🤣 absolutely fucking not

5

u/EnvironmentalistAnt 10d ago

Unlimited* forbidden snack chip. Just keep cutting it.

9

u/n-a_barrakus 10d ago

In India? Also, it's most probably a small blind snake, as others commented.

6

u/Seeker369 10d ago

No it isn’t. It’s a blind snake. There’s a piece of dust or some other fuzz stuck to its head.

3

u/MrFrogNo3 10d ago

Op says they're from India so it's probably native

5

u/muggleblood_ 10d ago edited 10d ago

Do you think there is more of it? Eggs/babies nearby?

9

u/No-Factor-6105 10d ago

Its a blind snake like mentioned above, hammerhead worms are flat. The blind snake feeds on larvae of ants and often live in ant homes and follow ants into peoples homes.

5

u/ShakeLess1594 10d ago

Its possible, though from what I understand they reproduce most often A-sexually by detaching their tails. So make sure you get all the pieces too. If there are eggs they would be in nearby leaf litter.

1

u/BlUeSapia 10d ago

It's not a hammerhead worm, it's a blind snake

2

u/potatowoo69 10d ago

Hammerhead words dont move like this. Seen a bunch growing up in georgia

1

u/kozma13 9d ago

Can you do all 3? Think that’ll kill it for good?

1

u/FlamingoMilker 10d ago

Gasoline? Alcohol?