Jumping beans prompt bomb scare

CARLSBAD, Calif., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- A California bomb squad investigating a package making a ticking sound said the parcel turned out to contain Mexican jumping beans.

Carlsbad police Lt. Greg Koran said a U.S. Postal Service worker in Carlsbad reported the ticking package Saturday and police evacuated several homes about 3:20 p.m.

The San Diego Sheriff's Bomb/Arson Unit opened the package at the end of a 3-hour investigation by placing it in a grassy area and blasting it with a bomb disposal robot's water cannon.

The squad discovered there was no bomb in the package and the reported ticking sound was from Mexican jumping beans.

Mexican jumping beans are actually pods containing small moth larva. The pods move when exposed to heat.