Christmas Worms aren’t actually worms. They are a member of the millipede family and, as the name suggests, they tend to be most visible around the end of the year when the nights are longer and cooler, and the days shorter and drier.
Adult Christmas Worms are just about an inch long and the body is about 1 mm wide, 2 mm including the legs. So they are quite tiny and more of a nuisance than anything else. Never mind how air tight you think your house might be, they will find a way in as they are so tiny.
If you sweep them away or step on one by mistake, they give off an unmistakeable, pungent and unpleasant odour. They don’t bite, they’re just a nuisance. They collect in little armies in corners and when they start to move, they go in all different directions, so one is bound to find it’s way inside.
When they get inside, I just try to sweep them gently onto a dustpan and toss them outside where they belong without having them give off that offensive smell. I know they serve a valuable purpose on this earth, I just don’t know what it is, and they are too small for my camera to get a decent pic ... sorry.
If you’d like to read more about Barbados, please visit my other blog, Things Barbados.
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