Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Jumping Worms
Jumping worms continue to be a big topic. It’s an Asian earthworm that turns your soil into something like coffee grounds while destroying your plants and lawn.
It’s been in the Twin Cities since 2006 and has been confirmed in over a dozen states in the Midwest. Wisconsin started seeing it in 2013. They’re called “jumping worms” because they wiggle intensely when disturbed and sometimes appear to be jumping. The video below is from 2019:
It’s believed that they were spread by people moving potted plants, soil, compost, mulch, traded plants and fishing bait. They’re a poor choice for bait because they break up into segments.
They eat leaf litter and even larger chip mulch. If you get an infestation, especially on a slope, it is primed for erosion because the soil is so loose.
When a garden dries out, the jumping worms cluster around roots of plants and eat the fine ones that absorb moisture, eventually killing the plant. Shallow rooted plants have the toughest time.
With garden clubs having special plant sales, it’s especially important to examine the plants. Here is a link to the University of Minnesota Extension with much more information on the jumping worms that includes plant sale recommendations. There is a LOT of information, including disposal, through the MN DNR. Jumping worm distribution map.
There are no pesticides labeled for worms in the United States. To control jumping worm populations in smaller areas like your garden, researchers suggest removing any adult worms, place them in a plastic bag, leave them in the sun for at least ten minutes and then throw them away.
If you think you’ve seen them, please report it to your State’s DNR office.
