#<- just in case. it’s a scary wormy world out there. (I still love worms. theyre wonderful for the environment I just don’t like the jumps)

[worms-i-think]

In the most ironic turn of events, I think I have developed a fear of worms.

I’ve always liked worms because they seem like cute, harmless squiggles, and my url here was very much a random pick.

However, these last few weeks I’ve been living somewhere new (college) where worms are absolutely EVERYWHERE. On one of my fist days it was very hot and I found one stranded in the street, so I picked it up to return it to the dirt when it started jumping and thrashing about. I have this on video bc it was so bizarre, but unfortunately can’t share it because I ended up having to pick it up with my ID because it hated my hands so vehemently.

I wished it a well-meaning goodbye when I put it back into the ground, which I found a day later was probably not a good idea.

Turns out, these are actually jumping worms, which are extremely invasive here and are Not Good for our plants! They originate from Eastern Asia but thrive here due to our similar climates, and I cannot exaggerate how many of them I’ve seen this week. It rained a few days ago, and the path was covered in them.

C. O. V. E. R. E. D.

Like, the next day you could see from where the cars had driven in the streets the white goop trails of dried worm squish, each inches from the other.

I have never seen so many worms that spasm like they’re filled with a demonic parasite within them, especially not ones that big—the largest one I saw could’ve passed as a small snake from a distance. The fact that I’ve always been terrified of parasitic worms has NOT helped this experience. But I think that from the time I carried one and now watching where I walk whenever I go out in fear that they’ll jump (they can go up to 1 foot/.3 meters high) onto me and go crazy mode again and…

Guys I think wormy might be afraid of worms. Like I bet these guys are good for the ecosystem where they come from, but the fear of them being Everywhere and also being so Frantic has freaked me out super hard. I miss seeing my earthworm buddies.

^Anyway. If you’re from North America and you see these guys: they don’t belong here. And that’s not me being xenophobic toward worms, it’s just me recognizing invasive species. (And worrying because they’re worms on crack and they terrify me…they look so innocent…)

#unrelated #scoleciphobia #tw worms #<- just in case. it’s a scary wormy world out there. (I still love worms. theyre wonderful for the environment I just don’t like the jumps) #anyway good to be back. I keep reminding myself this is a hobby blog but I’m still playing ToT—just bogged down with work and life changes! #worms