Bugging out: Swedish scientists use worm slime to kill roaches

In Sweden, scientists at Uppsala University have found that toxins in the mucus of bootlace worms can paralyze or kill cockroaches in addition to certain invasive crab species.

Ulf Göransson and his team say the Lineus longissimus work can grow to be up to 164 long and its mucus often smells like sewage. Nemertides in the slime disrupt cell-to-cell communication, rendering the creepy household crawlers paralyzed or dead. Göransson theorizes that the bootlace worm releases the toxin to discourage predators. Their work was included in a recent issue of Scientific Reports.