toxic worms - hammerhead worms

see also:

• toxinology
• https://australian.museum/learn/animals/worms/shovel-headed-garden-worm/

• Bipalium kewense (“hammerhead worms” or Shovel-headed Garden Flatworm or land planarians) are an invasive pest originating in the closed forests of Indo-China / Vietnam
• they are 10-20cm long with a hammerhead appearance
• they have spread around the world since the 1890s via horticulture in the soil of potted plants
• they are also now found in many of the main coastal cities and towns where soils are moist and humid including in Australia (especially around Sydney) but fortunately, rarely seen
• some species of Bipalium including this one are toxic by handling them as their secreted mucus contains tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin which may cause irritation to the skin or mucous membranes
• if eaten by cats may cause vomiting
• it propagates from sections of its body regenerating into whole worms

• wash hands thoroughly afterwards and avoid getting any mucus in your mouth or eyes

• NB. just chopping it in half will not kill it - it will just regenerate into two worms
• NB. just trying to capture it may result in it fracturing into pieces - each segment of which can move and then regenerate
• wear gloves
• place in a container or bag from which it cannot escape and place in direct sunlight for a few hours or add salt into the container then dispose in trash bin