JUMPING WORMS More Information

Wriggling Worms 

Reading articles about garden pests and diseases doesn't make much of an impact unless you are researching to solve a problem. However, personal stories from friends, neighbors and others often catch your interest. Recently, one of our local Master Gardeners was relating what has been happening in her gardens and I think it is important to hear about her real-life experience.

Today's topic: JUMPING WORMS (also known as snake worms, crazy worms)

Tracy S., Penn State Master Gardener in Franklin County, PA, shares her experience which underscores the information on these invaders.

 “You’ve likely heard the saying “the best offense is a good defense.” That strategy definitely applies to the newest threat to our landscape: jumping worms. Many of you may be thinking, ‘jumping worms? Never heard of them.’ While they are not new to the United States, they have been raising alarm among people who have seen their effect on the landscape.

 “I first noticed the worms on my property about 4 or 5 years ago. I moved a garbage can that had been sitting on my sidewalk for several days and saw several worms writhing around like crazy with snake-like movements. Despite what my husband said, I knew something wasn’t right about these worms. I have been an avid gardener for almost 30 years. I was the crazy person who went out at night with a flashlight to pick slugs off my lettuce! So, I know a regular worm when I see it.

 “I have spent years incorporating organic matter into my clay soil—chopped leaves, straw, compost, and mushroom soil. Worms love organic matter, but jumping worms devour it more quickly than other worms. That’s when the trouble starts.

Ground Coffee-like Soil (Knauss)

“My garden soil has gone from having a beautiful, loamy texture to something more like coffee grounds. Water just runs right through it. It is really hard to keep moisture in the top several inches where most of the vegetable plant roots are. The soil gets hard and forms large clumps that are difficult to break apart. I am having trouble getting smaller seeds to germinate—think lettuce, radishes, and carrots.

“The worms are everywhere and in large numbers. I pulled the straw back in a small area of my tomato patch. In just a few minutes I had collected enough worms to fill about one-half of a peanut butter jar, and I’m sure some got away!

 “I cannot emphasize enough that you must do everything you can to keep these worms off your property. As there is currently no treatment option for the worms, the only offense is a good defense.”

Key Things to Know About Jumping Worms  University of Maryland Extension 

 

• There are characteristics to tell them apart from the Asian earthworms that have become naturalized.
• The worms thrash wildly and move in a snake-like manner; their feeding produces granular castings that look like coffee grounds on the soil surface.
  
  
  
• They change soil composition, making it drier and depleted of nutrients, which limits normal plant germination and growth. (see photo)
• The best way to manage jumping worms is by prevention (e.g, make compost  (https://extension.umd.edu/resource/how-make-compost-home) at home, inspect potted plants, buy bare-root plants) and physical removal if they are detected. There are no chemical controls.

Prevention (From the University of Massachusetts article )

·         Learn how to recognize jumping worms and teach your family, friends, etc.

·         Look for jumping worm adults and their grainy, dried coffee ground-like castings. Not seeing the adults on the substrate surface, but have reason to believe they may be there? Try mixing a gallon of water and 1/3 cup of ground yellow mustard seed and pouring that slowly over the soil/area with suspicious castings. If present in that location, the worms will be irritated (not killed) and brought to the surface where they can be collected for identification. (Note: this is not a means of managing these earthworms, but merely a tool that can possibly be used for detection.)

·         Do not purchase worms advertised as jumping worms, snake worms, Alabama jumpers, or crazy worms for any purpose (ex. composting or fishing baits).

·         Anglers: never dispose of unused fishing baits into the environment. Always throw away unwanted bait worms [sealed] in the trash.

·         Gardeners: look for evidence of jumping worms in soil, compost, mulch, potted plants, etc. If you see coffee ground-like castings in these materials or notice jumping worm adults, identify them using the above guide. Try not to move materials known to contain jumping worms to new locations. Specifically, reduce human aided long distance dispersal of jumping worms, if possible. Jumping worms have been observed to move up to 40 ft. per year on their own (natural dispersal).

·         Composters: heat materials to the appropriate temperatures and duration following protocols that reduce pathogens. Recent research suggests that heating* the cocoons of jumping worms to somewhere around 104°F for 3 days will kill the egg-containing cocoons. *Note: UMass Extension has received many questions about solarizing home gardens or raised beds. Research into this is ongoing, and there are still many questions regarding what steps need to be taken to achieve optimal results. We currently do not have step-by-step instructions for using solarization to manage jumping worms in the landscape.

This Cornell sheet has information about the life cycle of the worms plus things  you can do to control the spread of the worms. 

Another link with information Cool Green Science, The Nature Conservancy.

Jumping Worms:  Creepy, Damaging Invasive You Don't Know

CKagan, Master Gardener

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