First Zombie Watermelons, Now Flesh Eating Worms

We're not even a full week into the new year and 2025 is already getting weird in Texas.

It's said that everything is bigger in Texas. Trouble is, things can also be weirder in Texas. For example, we've recently seen a spike in zombie oil wells, gardens are putting out zombie watermelons and we have dragons popping up on Texas beaches.

In addition to the dragons, you have to dodge the beach rattlesnakes and keep an eye out for these disgusting things too. Now, here come flesh eating insects 'cuz; why not?

They're called screwworms and they've been confirmed in Mexico, putting them just a hop, skip and a flesh destroying jump away from crossing into Texas. They can get into your eyes, nose, mouth, etc but they really, really like open wounds.

Cover up any cuts or open wounds carefully, you don't want a visit from a screwworm. Even the tiniest of wounds can attract a female screwworm who can lay 200 - 300 eggs at a time in the wound or open area. They hatch into maggots that burrow deeper into the wound, munching away on living flesh until they're grown and ready to move out.

What Happens If A Screwworm Gets You?

Yuck, right? If that's not gross enough, here's what happens while all that's going on:

Unexplained wounds or sores that do not heal
Skin wounds or sores that worsen over time
Bleeding from open sores
Feeling larvae movement within a skin wound or sore, nose, mouth, or eyes
Seeing maggots around or in open sores
A foul-smelling odor from the site of the infestation
Fever or chills from a secondary bacterial infection - kvue

These things wreaked havoc in Texas until the early 60's when a plan to sterilize them wiped them out in the lone star state. By 1966, they'd been completely eradicated across the USA.

Now, they appear to be migrating north across Mexico and Texas officials are getting really nervous that they're going to make it back here. Screwworms are no joke, Extreme cases can be fatal.

HEADS UP!

Texans along the southern border are asked to watch for the signs noted above in animals and/or people and to notify the Texas Animal Health Commission or the U.S. Department of Agriculture immediately if you suspect their presence.