bugs millipede toronto

Toronto is celebrating its most disgusting bugs and it's already terrifying

There are just oh, so many ways to get in the spooky spirit for Halloween, but Toronto Forestry is taking it to an uncomfortable level this week for people who aren't fond of bugs.

Instead of offering up tips on how to avoid damaging trees with Halloween decorations or the type of seasonal content you'd typically expect from a city-managed Twitter account, Toronto Forestry is tapping into our collective fears of things that have entirely too many legs.

The TOTrees Twitter account (I seriously don't think they know what they did there) will be spending the scariest week of the year "celebrating Toronto's creepy crawlies."

It's only Monday, but they've come out of the gate swinging with a terrifying start, announcing the week of shiver-inducing critters with possibly the most alien-looking of them all.

Apparently, (and don't squish the messenger) the American giant millipede (Narceus americanus) is something that lives right here in Toronto.

And while this absolute nightmare fuel of a creature can grow up to a serpentine 10 centimetres and might make you want to reflexively reach for the heaviest book in your home, they're apparently nothing to be afraid of.

The tweet refers to the species as a "recycler extraordinaire," helping to enrich forest soil by eating decaying plant matter and other debris.

So don't worry, you aren't going to wake up with a miniature version of the sandworms from Dune on your pillow.

No promises about house centipedes though. Those things are everywhere, can run like the wind, and can rip pretty much anything smaller than them to shreds.

And that's not even mentioning the bedbugs that run rampant in this city. Those things will eat you alive while you sleep.

So think about those pleasant thoughts when you're tucked into bed tonight, because if this is what Toronto Forestry drops on us for day one of the week, people might want to steel themselves up for much scarier local critters to come.

Lead photo by

Toronto Forestry


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