unexpected guests

We have a screen door and a front door and neither has much space between it and the ground. You certainly couldn't shove a pencil outside without first opening both doors. Yet, somehow, this arrangement is not proving to be enough of a barrier for a very determined set of earthworms.

Why earthworms would want anything to do with our foyer is beyond us. We assumed they wanted nothing more than to scoot around underground and occasionally visit the surface after heavy rains. But you know what they say about assumptions and apparently earthworms in Seoul want to live inside. They are literally crawling under our front door and parking themselves in our foyer.

Before you ask I'll clarify that the worms aren't washing in with flood waters and they're not hiding in the treads of our shoes. These damn things are choosing - out of the vast geographical space available to them - to squeeze under two sets of front doors and then coil themselves up in our home.

The worm in the photo is one of six that have made the journey. When I picked it up to throw it out the front door it squirmed and twisted with a force I didn't know could come from a worm. The way it jerked and coiled between my fingers was absolutely disgusting and I have to admit that there were screams. (Thankfully not from the worm.)

You expect spiders inside. Anyone who's been in a basement is used to seeing roly poly bugs and thousand leggers. But earthworms? That's going to take some getting used to.