Pickle worms, bed bugs, and more: The grossest stories of 2022 (PHOTOS)

The year 2022 was an eventful one, full of all sorts of significant events and news, and some of the grossest stories were some of the most memorable.

To say 2022 was a strange year would be an understatement. While some have put the pandemic in the rearview, it is still very real for others. Either way, 2022 was an eventful year and a surprisingly gross one at times.

From rats to bed bugs to worms in pickles, these are some of the grossest stories of 2022.

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Man finds a worm in a pickle and gets two coupons for his trouble

We’re putting this story at the top because this had to be the most vomit-inducing story of the year.

We received an email from a pickle enthusiast who made a horrifying discovery as he sat down for a savoury snack.

Travis Taylor was the pickle enthusiast, and he could avoid culinary disaster thanks to the fact that before he eats his pickles, he slices them in half. Unfortunately, we could see what his dissected pickle had in store for the rest of us.

Taylor bought Bick’s Baby Dill Pickles and enjoyed snacking on them with some cheese.

“So, luckily, I slice them and found it that way,” he said.

He initially thought it was just some garlic, but clearly, it wasn’t just garlic.

“You can see that the worm was eating away at it before it died during the pickling process,” said Taylor.

After speaking to Smucker Co. about the pickle he was in, the company offered him two coupons to get more pickles for free.

One thing’s for sure: pickles would never be the same.

“I’ll also never be able to eat a whole pickle again; it will have to be sliced.”

Canadian traveller shares Airbnb horror story

Bed bugs make this travel story an easy choice for one of the grossest stories of 2022.

A Canadian couple travelling with a toddler visited San Diego for a wedding. And when they returned to their home in Vancouver, they came back with more than memories.

Everything started great, according to Eugene Kaplan, but “it turned into an appalling and horrendous experience.”

Two days into their Airbnb stay, the bed bug nightmare began. Kaplan said his wife woke up to “about thirty welts all over her arms.”

He had a cluster around his ankle. The Airbnb host denied it was bed bugs, even though they had proof. Instead, the host claimed it was an allergic reaction to the sheets and even came by and changed them for the guests.

Based on all the evidence, the host seemed genuine in stating that they had no idea this was happening and that this was just an unfortunate and traumatic circumstance for Kaplan’s family with no ill intent.

Stink bugs are stinking up Metro Vancouver

Though this story focuses on Metro Vancouver, stink bugs are known to roam around many locales across Canada. They thrive in warmer temperatures, and much of BC experienced an unseasonably warm fall.

This led to many suggesting there was a stink bug epidemic in October, which was one of the warmest October months on record for BC.

Stink bugs are named as such because of their foul odour, and you don’t want to kill them if you come across one of these critters.