Worm News

Latest species to invade Houston is an icky super-long predatory worm

They get their name from their "hammer" head.

Like red ants and killer bees aren't bad enough, there's another invasive species in Texas that has slithered into Houston: an extra-long worm — it can be nearly a foot long — disgusting on its own, but also predatory, in that it eats earthworms, which are essential to maintain healthy soil.

It's called a hammerhead flatworm, and The Texas Invasive Species Institute confirms that they're starting to be spotted in the Houston area. The species is quite established in Southeast Texas.

Ashley Morgan-Olvera, the institute's director of research and outreach, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that they've received hundreds of reports of hammerhead flatworms in the past few weeks in Dallas, Tarrant, and Smith counties, and even as far north as Missouri.

They're called hammerhead worms because they have a flattened head that resembles the Hammerhead shark. Also known as hammerhead slugs, they're thought to be native to Southeast Asia, and accidentally introduced to North America during the early 1900s with the importation of plants.

They require humidity and can't survive in the desert, one good reason to move to the desert.

They're to be avoided: While preying on sweet gentle earthworms, the flatworms secrete a neurotoxin that is necessary for them to able to digest them — one that can irritate your skin and make your pets sick if eaten.

They also can transmit harmful parasites to humans and mammals, so you're advised to #1 not touch them with your bare hands; and #2 dispose of them properly, which means: place them in sealed bags with salt or vinegar and freeze them overnight (possibly a challenge if you're also not touching them).

Also: If you find one, report it to the Texas Invasive Species Institute, which has a page dedicated to the worm's habits, as well as a summary of the 800 or so other invasive species that have invaded Texas.

The Institute offers a warning: Do not cut the hammerhead worm in half or smash them into bits with your shovel in a psychotic fury. If you do, new heads will form within ten days, and you've created more hammerhead worms.

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Texas shocks as 7th worst state to have a baby, new study finds

Photo by Suhyeon Choi on Unsplash

The best places to have a baby are in the Midwest and the Northeast, not the South, according to the report.

Texas might be a family friendly state, but it certainly isn't baby friendly, according to a new WalletHub study.

Texas earned a dismal rank as No. 45 in WalletHub's 2026 report "Best and Worst States to Have a Baby," which compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 31 "baby friendliness" metrics, such as affordability, health care accessibility, infant care costs, and others.

The top five best states to have a baby, in order, are: Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

Texas ranked 7th worst overall in the U.S. because of how expensive it is to have a child in the state, and because of its low prevalence of healthcare professionals for mothers and children relative to other states.

Across the four main categories in the report, Texas landed 47th nationally for its medical costs, 42nd in healthcare quality, and its baby- and family-friendliness both ranked 34th best in the country.

WalletHub says the average cost for a conventional delivery in the U.S. comes out to more than $15,700, and families with health insurance have an average out-of-pocket cost of about $2,600. The report doesn't break down state-by-state charges, but it ranked Texas 35th and 36th respectively in the national comparisons of states with the lowest costs for hospital cesarean and conventional deliveries.

The cost of childcare is another factor bringing down the state's overall performance, as WalletHub says Texas has the 23rd "best" annual cost of early childcare on average.

Here's how the report broke down the rest of Texas' ranking:

No. 27 – Parental leave policy score
No. 27 – Infant mortality rate
No. 28 – Rate of low-birth weight
No. 44 – Midwives and OB-GYNs per capita
No. 36 – Pediatricians and family medicine physicians per capita
No. 33 – Childcare centers per capita

According to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo, expecting families should consider living in the states that "minimize costs while providing top-notch care for both newborns and their mothers."

"[The best states] also continue to be good environments for parents even long after the birth, with high-quality pediatric care, affordable and accessible child care, and a strong economic environment that makes providing for a child easier,” Lupo said.

Mississippi (No. 51), Alabama (No. 50), Florida (No. 49), New Mexico (No. 48), Nevada (No. 47), and South Carolina (No. 46) all join Texas at the bottom of the list as the worst states to have a baby.

wallethub texas reports families