The Invasive Forest-Destroying Earthworm: What To Do About the Asian Jumping Worm
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- Опубликовано: 8 июл 2024
- Video Summary: Steve talks about Asian Jumping Worms, why they're so harmful, how to identify them, and what you can do about it if you find one
Read the Ultimate Guide to Vermicomposting
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Read our Article on Asian Jumping Worms
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Video Timeline:
0:00 Start of Video
0:17 How Steve first learned about the Asian Jumping Worm through his efforts at regular composting
1:16 How Steve learned about the damage Asian Jumping Worms do to the forest floor
1:38 The difference between non-native and invasive species and why red wigglers are non-native but not invasive
3:19 How to identify the Asian Jumping Worm
3:26 How BioFiltro's installations help farms avoid methane emissions by aerobically digesting the solids from watewater
4:53 What can we do to combat the spread of Asian Jumping Worms?
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Хобби
Here's some more things that weren't mentioned in the video.
Disclaimer -
I'm just a gardener doing research on a gigantic problem I now have.
I'm not a scientist of any kind.
I don't pretend to know everything.
What I DO know is the more info we ALL have, the better we can hopefully at least slow them down by possibly erradicating them from our own yards.
Mostly, everyone should do their own research!
What is out there is pretty easy to find.
● Ever since I found out I've got them here in Central Texas, I've been deep diving research.
There's not much info out there.
Not even the official researchers know EVERYTHING!
But one thing's for sure -
These worms are prevalent here in our country - EVERYWHERE!
● They are in more places than what is mentioned in the video.
I've talked to people in comment sections all over the country who have them.
From coast to coast.
From Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
It seems they've traversed the continent.
Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, California, up the West coast all the way to Oregon, Canada, Colorado, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan, and more.
● The worms at my house aren't dying at 85°f.
▪︎ THAT'S a fact!
(Central Texas Hill Country,
zone 8b) (I'm NOT in the desert)
The first one I randomly found was crawling above ground.
I measured the ground temperature under the leaf cover - it was 90°f. (in the shade).
So apparently they are acclimating to my warmer temperatures.
And since we sometimes don't have any freezes in the Winter here, (Altho the last 3 haven't been the mild Winters we usually enjoy!) I suspect the adults probably are living longer than one year.
But, I have no proof on that.
● Canada's not safe either because they tested the egg cocoons & they just DON'T FREEZE -
LIKE EVERRR!!!
Part 2 continued in next comment
(Sorry, this is a loooong one...)
(I had to break it up into 4 parts to get it to load. So if that's too much information for you, then I guess you should just quit reading now.)
Part 2
● There are 3 different types of these horrible creatures.
You can easily research those names.
The clitellum - the white band spoken about in the video that's used for ID -
it's NOT ALWAYS white.
The ones at my house are mostly the same color as the soil & the rest of the worm.
I know there are other worms that do not have a white Clitellum,
I assure you, I am not confusing them.
There are official researchers who have verified that the jumping worm in question can have a darker clitellum.
● But the PLACEMENT & SHAPE of the Clitellum (which is the sex organ, btw) IS in a bit of a different place than an earthworm's clitellum.
Which makes it a little easier to tell them apart.
▪︎The jumping worm's clitellum is much closer to the head, being approximately 13 "rings" from the anterior end of the worm.
▪︎Where the earthworm's clitellum is very much more in the middle of the worm.
▪︎Also, and importantly, the earthworm's clitellum bulges out larger than the sides of the rest of worm's body.
▪︎The jumping worm's clitellum is smooth to the sides of the body with no bulging.
● The jumping worm does not need a partner to create viable eggs. They can do that all by themselves.
▪︎So it only takes one to begin an infestation.
▪︎ It is reported the average adult releases 2 cocoons per week during its lifespan.
● Then supposedly, the adult worm dies during the Winter.
And the eggs in the cocoons will hatch the next warm season.
(THAT was the original thought.)
● The cocoons are described to be about the same size and color as a peppercorn.
Basically impossible to see in my color of soil.
● The jumping worm will somehow eject its tail as a defense mechanism, just like a lizard does.
● The jumping worm moves in a snake-like manner, and it said to thrash around very excitedly.
● They do not like loud thumping noises.
(Maybe time to get those old boom boxes out!)
● Biochar is not proven to do anything except MAYBE irritate them.
● Diatomaceous Earth will NOT harm them.
How to test an area for worms:
● Mix ⅓ cup of dry mustard powder, with 1 gallon of water.
Mix well.
Then pour half that mix into a small area, and let it soak in,
then pour the rest of the mix into the same area.
This will cause every kind of worm (and earwigs too!) to come to the surface where they can easily be collected.
(SO GROSS!!)
However, don't pull a worm that is sticking half out of the soil.
Wait for it to come all the way out so it doesn't detach its tail.
(I'm not sure WHY it's a bad thing to have just a tail in the soil ! Except that they DO stink when dead.
So there's THAT.)
I had previously only found ONE adult in my yard.
I did this mustard test in a 2 square foot area with my husband, because I am not too fond of handling worms.
They began to pop up immediately, not even waiting for the 2nd half !
All the ones that came up were small, so I'm guessing juveniles?
We counted between 20-30 of them in that one small area!
It was devastating to me to see.
There was no indication of them being there beforehand.
I just thought it was too shady for anything to grow there.
(Part 3 continues in next comment)
Part 3:
Back to the information:
● The adults are said to stay in about the top 2 inches of soil.
(I suspect they go deeper in hotter climates.)
● Adults are thought to die during the colder Winter months for those states that have those.
But this is not a proven fact for every place.
So don't count on that.
● The worms grow very fast.
From a juvenile to adult in just a few short weeks.
● The average adult worm drops an average of 2 cocoons per week.
● The cocoons are wrapped in a silk covering.
▪︎This silk covering is 100% impenetrable by all synthetic chemicals.
▪︎So theres NO POINT in poisoning your soil.
● The silk covering allows the cocoons to:
▪︎ Float in water, which means any rain causing moving water can bring them in to your yard.
▪︎ The cocoon can lay on top of the soil and stick to the bottom of a shoe, or a work person's equipment, and on any tires, etc. and move from place to place that way.
(As I mentioned, if it survives a predator's digestive sytem, it probably gets moved from place to place that way too.)
▪︎ The silk cocoons protect the eggs from freezing too.
There has been research done to see if they would live through the coldest of Canada's Winters.
The little buggers lived.
▪︎ The only thing I read that would kill them is high temperatures of heat.
▪︎ Every researcher is saying the same thing on the point of heat.
(Might they be repeating each other? I don't know...)
▪︎They all say the cocoons will die if they are subjected to a temperature of 135°f for 3 days.
▪︎However, there are no details that go along with this information.
Such as Time Limits!
▪︎And if this temperature is being reached by way of solarizarion, what happens at night when the temps go down?
My question is:
▪︎Does the temperature need to be a continuous 135°f for 72 hours?
(Which seems more likely to me...)
If anyone knows the answer,
the absolute answer,
I would be happy to listen!!
I created a small space in my yard - the only space that has full sun for 6 hours -
And I lay a clear plastic sheet down,
- then add leaf litter and soil in a very thin layer, (that's another question - HOW THIN/THICK of a layer? I suspect it would take longer to reach the higher temps, so I opt for a super thin layer.
(It's very tedious!)
- then cover that with the other half of the clear plastic sheet.
- I also add a thermometer down under the leaves, which I can read the temperature on a separate screen indoors.
The temperature stays at 158°f for a solid 6 hours!
(Finally something good comes from this hot Texas sun!)
So I'm just hoping 3 days of cooking any cocoons at THAT temperature will actually kill them!
But I have no way of knowing gor sure.
I suppose I would have buy a microscope, then sift through the soil to find a cocoon?
Part 4 continues in the last comment
Part 4:
● It is suspected that the worm MIGHT be leaving a chemical trace in the soil which either destroys our other earthworms.
Or at least drives them away.
● The worm may also have an exodate which basically ruins our soil's general biome.
Those 2 things are not proven.
● What IS proven is the soil is left void of nutrition.
Anyway...
● This worm has quite a few mechanisms for keeping the species alive.
So I also suspect that the cocoons do not perish by traveling through any predator's digestive system. But rather they simply end up back in the soil ready to hatch!
● Speaking of hatching -
One research group tested the cocoons to find out how long it took the cocoons to hatch.
Is "hatch" the right word?
I'm just going to use the word hatch.
Well, the bad news is that not every cocoon hatched the next Spring/Summer !
A certain percentage waited to hatch the FOLLOWING YEAR!
AND EVEN WORSE -
Another percentage waited for 2 years to hatch!
AND -
ANOTHER percentage waited until the THIRD YEAR to hatch!!
ugh.
As it stands, the jury is still out on exactly how many years just one adult worm would lay eggs which are still viable to hatch farther into the future because that research was only 3 years old at the time of reporting!
Which, btw, was only one year ago. So perhaps they now know there was another percentage that hatched in the fourth year?
I mean...
I feel it's just Diabolical.
Heres a story about what happened that really cemented the problem with the cocoons for me.
(I'll try to make it short!)
The one adult I randomly found, was about 8 inches long and as big around as a pencil.
After I was sure what it was,
I euthanized it in a small bucket with a lid.
I did that by adding a tiny bit of water in the bucket, and lid on,
and I left it in the sun.
I don't know what I expected to see, but the next day I opened the bucket and that's where the REAL education began.
Here's what I saw:
The majority of the worm was intact.
Because there was moisture in there, the worm did not dry & shrivel up.
From the head to the clitellum,
it looked normal.
But the next 2 inches from the clitellum down, that section of the body was disintegrated.
Then, where the disintegrated part stopped, the rest of the worm looked normal again.
It was kinda like looking at a train wreck...
You don't really WANT to see,
but you just keep looking anyway...
And the more I stared at that disintegrated area, the more I realized what I was seeing.
It was the eggs!
The cocoons!!
There they were - plain as day!
And now, they were meant to be "released" into the wild!
That sneaky adult worm died,
but also released the eggs at the same time!
UGH!!
OH!
And can you guess how many there were???
There were FOUR !!!!
FOUR BLASTED COCOONS
Ready or not, here they come!
Ugh.
It was really gross y'all !
So my lesson there was just another way of survival of the species that this worm has.
I don't know,
maybe ALL worms do that?
What I do know is
I already know
WAY TOO MUCH
about these worms!
Certainly more than I
ever wanted to know!!
What I REALLY learned is that I can pour mustard water all over my yard all day long and scoop the live worms up,
but if I leave those eggs
in the soil,
I'll never have a
decent garden again!
So all in all,
for me,
I'm after those dang cocoons!!
I know this is a SUPER long comment.
Thanks to anyone who hung in there!
I can't help it.
I just feel like details matter.
I also hope anyone with any other information will add to this long list of bad news.
If I got anything wrong,
PLEASE let me know.
There's SO MANY things about this subject I would LOVE to be wrong about!
Good Luck everyone!!
(& don't forget to get those eggs!!)
@@gardengatesopenALL. OF. THIS!!! 🤌👏🙌
I knew all of this except 2 things. First, I’m now annoyed again…I never considered that other wildlife could be shedding the cocoons INTACT in their feces or stomach content 🤯😩🤬 Second, I’ve been questioning why no researcher has done any necropsy/autopsy on these blasted abominations? But apparently they’ve tested some cocoons so that’s a start.
So to clarify, the clitellum is NOT where the viable cocoons are kept, just where they start & then move away from it…like an etopic pregnancy?
One thing I will share that I’ve learned, the hammerhead worm is there predator. But many people don’t know this & kill it when they see it. Unfortunately it’s also non-native, invasive & toxic.
Well, THANK YOU for taking the time to write this all out!!! Isn’t doing REPUTABLE RESEARCH awesome?! I wish more people would do this everyday!!!
@NthGbsn30
Thanks for appreciating the efforts!
I feel sometimes I'm just standing on my soapbox all by myself!
It's good to hear what everyone thinks...
And I didn't know where the eggs "sit" or move to in their bodies, or anything like that.
Obviously!
Just that I saw the eggs afterward.
So thanks for clarification on that!
All info is good info!
I also didn't know the hammerhead worm was their enemy.
THAT'S good to know they have one at least!
But like you said, since they too are invasive and toxic, I'll not be opting for introducing those!
NO WAY!!!
Something I CAN confirm this May of 2024, after coming out of a mild winter, is that the adults in my yard did not die over the Winter.
Ugh.
We only had about 3 quick freezes that never lasted very long.
And this Spring has stayed cool a long time. It actually wasn't until today that the mercury rose over 90°.
So the bad news that I can confirm is exactly this:
The adults from last year - or whichever year they hatched, are STILL alive and kicking (literally kicking!) in my Central Texas soil.
Again - Ugh.
I wasn't out there looking today, it was just too humid and hot.
But just the day before (so that's in May, and air temps were around 80°f, but soil temps under the leaves & mulch are still around 60°f) I was moving the mulch off my bulb bed, and without even digging into the soil at all I found FOUR live adults, and several younger ones one a small area!
When I found the 1st big one - oh my gosh it made me jump! Scared the beejeebies outta me!!
Pffffthhh!!
I guess I thought it was a snake!
I just wasn't ready!
I mean, I've been finding lots of little ones all Winter, and only a couple big ones. But none of those ever jumped around like they do in the hot months.
I think I just got complacent!
But this time this adult was really big, and it was a tiny bit lively too!
When I moved it, it did give a couple of twisty movements, then laid still as if it were all out of energy. It was like I had woken it up for a second, but then since there was no more "attack" from me, it just laid still. Didn't even try to run away.
Anyway, I got over myself pretty quick, and snatched up that big boy as fast as I could & into the jar it went!
I think this means they are adapting to our weather to live thru the Winter.
Wait.
No.
I'm going to rephrase that.
There's no doubt about it.
They ARE adapting to at least MY climate!!
It's happening out in my yard right now!
Some scientist should come scoop them up out of my yard, and then study them to find out just how long one worm will live in their ideal climate.
I certainly cannot stand to do THAT research!!
So -
The temps when I found them were still too cool to keep them very active.
Each and every one of them were all very sluggish & cold.
One adult I found was slightly imbedded into the soil, just like if I had picked it up without moving any of the moist soil, it would have left a perfect imprint of its body.
So obviously it had been resting,
or maybe even hibernating?
Hibernating in that same area for a long time, a good 5 months anyway.
Hibernation seems like a good word for it...
When I catch them, I put them in a jar
(with a lid) until I can finish what I'm doing in the yard.
Then they go right into a burning fire.
In the hot Summer months they ALWAYS try to crawl out of the jar immediately.
But I've been finding them all through these past Winter months, and when they're cold, they don't try to climb out.
They hardly move at all.
So it's obvious they may be IN my soil during the Winter, but they definitely aren't "active".
Ugh, It's all SO depressing!!
I'm planning on soaking as much of my property as I can this year with Mustard Seed Powder mixed in water.
Nothing else is growing in my soil anyway.
Well, except my bulbs, kinda...
They did come up.
And they DID grow leaves.
But zero flowers!!!
And I can't think of any other reason except these worms as to why the daffodil bulbs wouldn't flower.
But of coarse, I have no proof.
My best guess is they were just too weak. The worms must be doing something to the soil chemistry & the bulbs are just fighting to stay alive, but not enough energy to make a flower.
At least with me using the mustard seed, that way I'll be irritating THEM as much as they irritate ME !!!
And then when they come up for air I can scoop them up (with my shovel) and into a fire they'll go.
I have no mercy for them or their cocoons!
I collected over 200 of these today from a pile of wood chips that I had started to spread in my garden. I throw them in the road after the sun has heated it up and they die rapidly. They dry out nearly instantly. Despite always removing those I find, they get worse every year here in CT. it doesn't help that some people are selling them😠.
I'm in CT also and last year started seeing the coffee ground piles I'm seeing everywhere.
@@laattardo Are you new to CT or just didn't see them before. I started seeing them on my property in 1999, 24 years ago.
@Connecticut Worms & Gardens I am from CT but hadn't my own property until I bought my parents house. I really only noticed their distinct poop piles a few years ago and hadn't known about them till just a couple years ago when I joined a ct native plant group.
@Connecticut Worms & Gardens but it really feels although they have exploded in population here in the past couple years
They've been in the U.S. for about 100 years now.
Seriously, I feel like they should've been erradicated by now!
It makes me mad the bait shops still sell them too!!!
Such idiots!!
Thanks for this video! I think more content like this is necessary even if it's not the most cherry topic to talk about. Keep up the good work!
You got it Mikko! Thanks for the encouragement.
Steve, I have Asian Jumpers. Big ones! I found them while raking composted leaves around a big tree in my yard. I’m pretty sure there are more than I even want to know! You think DE is the answer for now.
I’m even tempted to freeze leaves and compost that I usually use to add to my bins. I freeze because of insects but I’m assuming it will kill these worms? I could also sift the leaves and compost after freezing and before adding to my bins. Help!
@SheilaG971 In the video he tells you freezing will not kill the eggs, only the adults. Heat ( to 105°)kills both adults and eggs, so solarize you compost or make sure all of it reaches that temperature. Watch out for cool spots if you have the compost in mounds.
Great video! I had no idea about these worms and it is definitely a need-to-know! Please keep doing these 'unpleasant' types of videos!
Ha! Will do Nina! Thanks!
You really know your stuff! This is a very articulate informative video! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing this info.
Just discovered these jumping worms in one of my perennial beds. (Vermont) 😮. They are very disturbing. To hold them in your fingers is a horror show. You can feel their muscles wriggling for freedom. I find it’s hard to open the zip lock bags when one is squirming in my fingers. Maybe a twist tie? They Will get out of the bag if not sealed. One squeezed into the knot I tied in the end of the bag. Very, VERY determined. He died before he got out!! They will slide away snake-like on top of the ground!! Fast. So I’m thoroughly disgusted and work hard not to throw them into the air from the “ick” factor. They keep me out of my gardens. I don’t even want to check all my other gardens.
Thank you so much for getting this info out. We need more. More info and more kill-tactics!!
Oh how I can relate to your disgusted and hopeless feeling! My once beautiful yard, which I worked very hard to create from being just woods, is being dismantled and destroyed by these little nightmares.
One piece of advice I can leave you with if you want to harvest them, carry a bucket, preferably with a handle, filled half or 3/4 way with a strong mixture of white vinegar and water. I wear gloves and weed to disturb the ground, that drives them out, and I grab them and toss them in the bucket where they die. I have tried the gallon of water mixed with 1/3 c ground mustard sprinkled on a one square foot area, it does drive them out of the soil. Who ever method you try you have to be quick, because they come out fast and many at once too. Maybe a buddy to help harvest would be good. It is disgusting but satisfying to kill these destructive pests.
Take a plastic container with a cover you were going to throw out anyway. Put a bunch of salt in the bottom and drop them in. They will die quickly and not escape. Cover the container before you throw it in the trash.
You can buy kosher salt in large boxes.
@@meeshellh7376just make sure you’re not tossing the European ones into the bucket also because the will wiggle to the surface to get away from the Mustard.
Excellent Steve, thanks for doing this.
Cheers
You got it, CCG. I appreciate it.
It would be helpful to have side by side comparisons of the good vs. bad worms. Visually seeing how each of them look and act is a better way to understand the differences than simply describing them - at least for those of us who are visual learners. Thanks for the video.
I noticed these buggers a couple years ago and mistakenly thought they were good, aerating the soil and leaving their castings. Now two years later I am so infested it is very depressing. They are killing my hosta, ruining my soil and endangering many of my plants. In some places I have large patches of their disgusting poop on the surface, I cannot walk outside barefooted anymore. Near a couple expensive hosta’s I bought which I absolutely love, I can dig down 4-5 inches and there is NOTHING but their castings, no soil left at all, that I can see. I am afraid next spring these hosta will not come back. I have tried hand harvesting but I know this is a losing proposition. I cannot possibly harvest them all. And then there are the eggs for next year.
I live in CT and am surrounded by woods. Think that is how they came in, but who knows. My neighbors have them too.
I just want to cry at how they are ruining the work I have done here to make a yard out of what was just woods.
Now i wonder if hostas can be used as a trap plant...
I think I would remove the hostas, wash off the roots, pot them, solarize the area if it's not too shady, or bring in a raised bed. Worth a shot maybe.
@@bethb8276Raised beds won't work. I have jumping worms in my compost piles at the top and they are 3 ft tall.
I did the exact same thing, I'm in my second year of fighting them. I pulled my blueberries up today , they were dying. I hate these worms
I’m so sorry. I was depressed when I found 2 last year doing gardening. Btw, we can transfer them to our property from an infected place by: our shoes, buying or sharing plants, not cleaning our tools after being used somewhere else or in an area on our property that’s infected, transplanting around our property, landscaping service, town/city compost….I’m in a FB group & those who have them bad either don’t see terrible damage because they amend the soil & or plant natives that have deep root system (where the AJW doesn’t go that deep).
I can't believe that the earthworms that I grew up thinking were natural and normal, are actually an invasive species. I certainly have the Asian Jumping Worms and we've always had them. I'm in Jacksonville, Florida. Who knew.
Yeah, they are much more prevalent in the Southeast. The term Alabama Jumpers actually refers to their cousins.
I just learned last Fall so don’t feel bad.
Thank you, very good to know.
You got it Gloria!
Thanks
You got it!
As a new and "accidental" vermicomposter (neglected my hot compost WAY too long!) I may have seen one of these while harvesting today. You mentioned they were a problem from the upper mid-west through the eastern seaboard. But... I'm in southern California and wondering how common they might be here? Thanks for the great ID tips and visuals. Next time I'm digging in the bucket I will be better prepared to do a positive ID.
Great run down on the Asian Jumping Worm. I’ve seen them in my compost down here in Tampa FL so they are spreading everywhere. Excellent video Steve!!🪱🪱🪱
I have them really bad in the woods around my house and I live near Atlanta. I'm curious, do the ones in your area seem to die off in the winter time or are they alive year round since it doesn't get that cold?
I think we have them in Springfield IL aswell.
Thanks VLD!
@@robclower9606 Down here in Florida I actually see them more in the fall/winter time and less in the summer...Which makes sense based on what I learned in this video about the heat killing them at higher temps.
I have them also here in Boca, just wondering if any body noticed that the Geckos eat them?? Every time I'm in the garden I see them hunting them once they crawl above ground😮
Would love a video on the treatment measures if at all possible
We definitely have them here in So Cal. 6:25
I am down in australia and this seems to work on them "Tea saponin" extracted from camellia tea seeds.
Hmm...interesting!
@UrbanWormCompany I am using it on my whole yard now. I just discovered a major hatch in my raised beds. I am going to try the liquid created by soaking the meal in water for awhile and applying to garden beds. The number of tiny hatchling is hundreds if not thousands per square foot.
Just be aware that the tea mixture also kills off many other good living organisms. But if you aren’t very cautious, you can reintroduce the AJWs again with your shoes, tools, plants, landscapers, etc or they can come back from neighboring infected soil.
I encountered one on the sidewalk yesterday. I was able to identify it as an asain jumpping worm, but couldn't remember if it was invasive or non-native. I didn't want to just step on it or leave it as it was, so I ended up moving it over to the side of the sidesalk.
I wasn't considering that plastic, ziplock(?) bag method as a way to kill them before now either.
Appreciate the info!! Setting up my 2nd bin and dude told me to use those also . So glad I saw this and not gonna get them. Lol.
Yeah, they're no good!
These worms have been in SE Illinois for decades. I was aware of them in the "70's". I only found out a few yrs ago they were invasive. I am 2 hrs East of St. Louis, Mo., and they DO overwinter here.
Interesting. I always wondered why some worms seemed lethargic while once in a while I would find a very active worm that would wriggle wildly and then rip in half when I picked it up. Anybody who looked under rocks or logs when they were a kid has seen this
We are in NC and I see these worms 😨 Thanks for spreading the info so we know. I will NOT be putting these in my Urban Worm bag!
I found a ton of 6-8” worms in my potato buckets. There must have been 25 in each pot. They are abnormally active and jumping all over but they don’t have a white band. Is the white band a definitive characteristic?
Apparently there are different breeds of these worms, the thrashing behavior is a telltale sign they are the baddies. Someone commented that the band,(clitellum), can be closer to the color of the body, but the jumping worms have it positioned near the head, while an earthworm has it closer to the middle of their body.
@@meeshellh7376yes I believe there are 3 types of these “jumpers”. There are some that the clitellum is pinkish & flat. But yes, AJW’s are closer to the head,
I’m confused. I heard that diatomaceous earth doesn’t hurt worms, so how can jumpers be being eradicated through the use of DE and bio char?
That's a good question. It could be a combo of the two....I'm not sure exactly what testing they are doing. Also, *food grade* DE doesn't hurt worms, but the kind you put in swimming pool filters may very well hurt them.
I am being invaded by these demons. My research brought me to using tea seed meal. I was concerned because it is said it kills off all worms, but the state my garden is in, there aren't any earthworms or beneficials to speak of anyway. Seems I need to wait until the fall when I am finished gardening to do this. I am wondering if the use of DME + BioChar is to actually create the biochar yourself which will kill them?
The tea seed will kill off other beneficial insects & microbes too.
Is biochar bad for worms?
I have an important question, but first ive been invaded by these jerks this year and have spent hours digging up crops and throwing them in bucket of soapy water. They are totally freaking me out. I live in Georgia and half of my garden is hard red clay. I have moved dirt in to garden. The way these eat i wonder if they can at least break up the red clay???. I have read that they stay closer to surface than our beloved earthworm. The way its looking i wonder if my dirt will have any nutrients left😢 for next season. One thing to note is their casting grounds always have tons of rolly pollys. Oh can i just mend my red clay with their large casting grounds? Which i fear will become my entire garden...HELP NEEDED IN GEORGIA. PS i even contacted my county agent like Green acres. He said the only way is to heat them out using plastic. Way too much for me.
Yeah they suck don't they? I don't think they will consume red clay but you very well might be able to use their castings to help amend clay-heavy soil.
@@UrbanWormCompany wouldn't that risk perpetuating the eggs though?
I'm in North Carolina &their all over my yard,flower beds&compost..🤔🧐🤨😲😯😮
Yeah, once it hits mid-summer and later, you see them all over the place
2005. Catskill mountains. Tent worms ate every tree on the mountain. You needed an umbrella to go outside. You could hear them popping under your tires. By July, not a green leaf on the mountain. Looked like winter.
Yeah, the tent worms suck too!
OMG now I’m scared to go Google tent worms!
Oh those look like Gypsy Moth caterpillars. It says Tent Caterpillars rarely kill a tree or shrub unless it’s already diseased. Are you sure it was the Gypsy which does?
super interested how biochar and DE have an effect on them ... These are both things i have added to my worm bin eeek
According to latest research, neither biochar nor DE has any effect on them. They don't even die when hit with roundup. Centipedes are the only known natural predator.
Yeah, I'm not familiar with the study....all I know is this is what the DNRs are experimenting with.
@@daveshields4527 Not related to red wigglers
@@daveshields4527 From what I've read the Jumping worms themselves are out competing the red wrigglers anyway, wrigglers are dying off. Worse to think the Jumping worms ruin soil instead of benefitting it the way wrigglers do.
I have seen these in my flower beds. There is mulch over the soil. I too hate snakes and these are very similar. Once these come out of the ground they slither just like a snake. Guess the next time I find these they’re going in a baggie.
Be sure to seal the baggie as you go. I had one escape rather quickly on me. I'm sure right now it's laying eggs. Meh
I heard Dawn dish soap in a bucket of water…vinegar in a bucket of water…then they drown.
Whats difference between jumpers and African NC
I can give you some of the differences.
The most notable difference is the way they move.
Jumpers travel on the open surface like a snake. The ANCs do not slither like a snake. Another noticeable difference is the clitellum, the band around the worm located at the anterior of the worm. The jumpers have a band that is milky white to cream color. The ANCs the band is the color of the worm or colors that can range from between orangish pink to brownish pink. The band on the Jumpers is very distinguishable.
When held in the hand Jumpers thrash and actually have the ability to jump out of the hand. The ANCs are much calmer when held in the hand.
With the jumping worms the castings look more like coffee grounds and even feel like coffee grounds or dry sawdust to the touch. The castings also release all the fertilizer properties at one. The ANC castings are formed more like mouse poop or like small gold nuggets. The castings release the fertilizer properties at a slow-release pace.
Overwintering outside in northern climates: The Jumping worms die off with the cold, the cocoons overwinter and hatch in the spring. The ANCs die off with the cold, the cocoons do not overwinter. So, there is no hatching in the spring. Also, outside the Jumping worms can move 30 to 300 Yards in a season with no encouragement. ANCs without encouragement move between 1 and 3 yards in a season. With encouragement the ANCs are more than happy to stay where they are. With encouragement the Jumpers will only have about 70% that stay put the other 30% will travel. One more thing to point out the ANCs need 2 worms to produce offspring. The Jumping worms only need one worm to produce offspring they have the ability to be parthenogenetic. Enjoy worms and have a great Day!
They actually have a defense mechanism, they flip end for end. When touched by the head area. And when picked up by the tail, it breaks off, allowing the worm to escape.
Thanks Charles!
Even though I do hot composting, the worms come up from the soil during the cooling phaseand infest rapidly. I have to put all my compost in clear padtic bags and solarize. During solarization, the baby worms hatch from cocoons and it is obvious that a cubic foot of soul can have hundreds of cocoons or baby worms you can't ordinarily see. They migrate to the cool side of the solarizing bag so are easy to see.
I've had these in my yard for many year's. Never understood the jumping and just freaked out attitude.
They are very large and everywhere. I've found them deep and in dry compacted ground.
How deep?
I'm still figuring everything out, so I'm gathering information.
And if you don't mind, where are you located so I can get an udea if your weather.
I'm in Central Texas, and have plenty of areas that are dry & compacted, even cracked ground from the sun being so hot.
I haven't checked for them there yet!
I was kinda hoping they wouldn't be in those spots...
@@gardengatesopen I live in southern Indiana,
And I have found them at least2.5 feet deep or deeper. They have been here for a long time. I just thought they were wacky night crawlers. Today I've seen them on top of the ground. It rained a little yesterday.
@@kevinesterline622
Oh WOW! 2½ FEET !!
Geez I hope they aren't that deep over here!
There's so much rock in our soil, and very little topsoil anyway.
There's no way to dig a hole that deep over here without heavy machinery.
Such bad news!!
I feel for ya, these worms are just awful !!
@@gardengatesopensame here in Central MA
@@kevinesterline622are you sure it was an AJW? There are some worms that look similar, not just the Nightcrawler & Red Wiggler. There isn’t much decomp matter for AJW at that depth. At least that is what was stated by a ?biologist/wormologist that gave a presentation on AJW. If I find his vid, I’ll come back (if I remember) & post the link.
Canada is having issues with these worms too
Yeah, I'd imagine.....
They are crazy snake like freaks.
However their babies are harder to tell the difference between red wigglers and asian. I've seen some babies At a quarter inch long thrashlight monsters and i've seen some An internet half Iethargic.i could be wrong but I think the asians white band is much closer to their head.
I qonder if controled Burns would have an effect on them🤔
I think they're so widespread that you'd have to burn everywhere....yikes.
And how long does it need to burn?!
I noticed them this iyear in eastern Massachusetts. they screwed up my topsoil, destination of all my beds. another pain in the ass.
might have to till this fall. all you can do is kill them on site. they are right under the mulch or poking around on the surface.
Central MA here, discovered 2 of them last summer after learning about them the year prior. I was so depressed but then said F it, they can be & I’ll just plant a lot of deep rooted native plants & amend the soil if needed. I’m NOT picking up any of those things!!!
Are AJW casting inferior?
The castings are hard like little rocks. When they dry out they are very hsrd to crush even. Plants can't live in the castings. The worms eat roots as well. I have found them 6 inches down so they don't just stay on the surface. I question the effectiveness of trying to solarize an in ground planting area. When young they are almost impossible to identify so all worms are guilty by association and must die. I am using tea seed meal in small areas. It does reduce populations. All my compost has to be solarized in clear bags.
These worms produce a lot of castings. However the castings don't have the nutritive value for plants that other worm castings have. The microbiome in the worm gut should determine the qualities of the castings. Some humans with digestive irregularities have benefitted from fecal transplants. I wonder whether the microbiome of a Canadian nightcrawler or red wiggler could be transferred to the jumping worms.
I'm not sure how that would work unless you did a transplant on all of the worms out there
Damn🤪 thought they were just earth worms. Collected and put in the compost pile.
why are there still forests in asia? are there different tree species unaffected by that?
different ecosystem so they are okay there. They're the native species in Asia and the trees and the plants and the insects and other species co-exist in balance. However, in the US (North and South America), these worms are not peacefully coexisting with our native species of vegetation or wild life.
Remember, even plants (aka trees included) have adapted to certain environments. You won't find a tropical mango tree in Canada unless it's in a greenhouse. It would die in a cold winter. So we can't just replace our beautiful native species and pretend it's always been like that.
These worms are very dangerous to our ecosystem. I hope that scientists come up with some sort of species specific poison or trap to help us deal with it. (and this is why I love taxes going towards pure research.)
Apparently hammer head worms are their predators but they are also non-native & invasive. Plus people kill them not knowing this & keep the AJW thinking it’s a regular worm…not knowing either.
They destroyed my backyard unfortunately here in Florida.
Oh man that stinks.....
My yard and raised beds are infested with them. Pretty sure they came from big box bagged soil.
I doubt they came from bagged soil. The worms are pretty hardy but I don't think they'd survive like that.
You can also get them or their eggs from purchased or shared plants.
Have you ever seen a worm that looks like roots from a grass. The size of toothpicks. White. That corkscrew themselves into dirt. They freeze in motion and look like a root but if the ground vibrates it will disguise itself in the movement. Then freeze again only this time less is showing. I dropped it and it stuck in the soil like a dart or an arrow with folds in the body. It always sticks in the ground like a knife. It never falls on its side. It will corkscrew and disappear fast when you can’t see it move because you shake the dirt.
No....this is a new one for me!
First off, we can just call them Jumping Worms. When I was introduced to them, they were called Georgia jumpers or Alabama jumping worms. It is best to just call them Jumping Worms, snake worms, crazy worms or Amynthas worms. There is no need to emphases the word Asian. According to research that I have done they were first brought to the USA to feed duck-billed platypus at the Bronx Zoo back in the 1922. Most likely people spread them to certain states as a fishing worm. Then to more states as fishing worms. I have read they were first collected in a greenhouse in the state of Maine in 1899, but then they were not officially discovered in Maine until 2014. So, I tend to believe the Bronx Zoo story. It is true the worms originated from Asia, but the spread was done by English and other European descendants.
I have read reports about birds dying and when investigated it led back to jumping worms being the cause of the bird's demise. The cause was mercury poisoning from the jumpers.
I do not recall which state that was in. The information is on the internet.
Not to far from where I live there is a woods I would pick mushrooms in, mostly Boletes, Suillus and Chanterelles from the forest floor and also Oyster mushrooms from beech trees.
After about 4 years of visiting the woods and picking no mushrooms, I was like what the heck is going on. I did notice that the leaves were pretty much gone by the first week of July in the whole forest. I started turning fallen down logs, low and behold it was not just Lumbricus worms, but also worms that moved like snakes. That was many years ago and they were identified as the Alabama jumping worm or Georgia jumpers for a common name or the scientific name Amynthas worms.
I choose to drop the state names and just call them Jumping Worms (it seemed a little prejudice to southern states). We do not call all other worms Euros or ENCs. Even though they came from Europe by European settlers The Dendrobaena worms are the only ones called Euros/ENCs or selective breeding of Eisenia fetida are also passed off as ENCs.
Except for a species up in British Colombia where the ice age missed/skipped they were all brought by European settlers.
There is another species Eudrilus Eugeniae the ANC that is commonly used for bait and casting production. Which have also been spread by European descendants. The worms are not invasive and don't have any negative connotations to them so therefore it is ok to call them African worms.
Same goes for the blue worms Perionyx Excavatus call them Indians or Malaysians.
With the negativity surrounding the Jumping Worm the word Asian should be excluded.
It may just go past the worm and to Americans of Asian descent. I know that is not the intention of this video, but that stuff does happen.
Very educational information and what Steve has said about putting them in a plastic zip lock bag and then sealing it up is the proper way to dispose of them. The State I live in the jumping worms are banned from all roads and state highways. If a person is transporting them on purpose, they not only will face huge fines but also lose their vehicle.
Enjoy worms and have a great Day!
You are reading way too much into this RACE thing man! this is what is wrong with the world today. If you get offended because I call a worm an Asian worm because it comes from Asia you have other issues. If I called them African worms because they are darker then the other worms that might be considered racist. If I call them African or Euros because that is where they come from that is not! Come on man they are just worms and if someone gets offended by you calling them from the region they come from, like I said you probably have other mental issues going on! Keep this crap out of the worm community. It's already ruining our country.
Thank you so much for this deep dive on the history of the jumping worms. And a special shout out for mentioning my beautiful Vancouver island Arctiostrotus vancouverensis ancient worms!
~ Sandra
Actually, there are several sub-species of jumping worms.
The specie that has bred out of control in Canada and United States *IS* the ASIAN jumping worm.
It's important to identify them as such as controlling them is species specific. What kills some types of jumping worm does not kill others.
"Amynthas agrestis, the worm taking over in the US is an epigeic (litter-dwelling) worm
that is native to Japan and the Korean Peninsula where it's name was generated
The name asian jumping worm describes specifically the Amynthas agrestis species of pheretimoid earthworm belonging to several genera.
Other species of Asian jumping worms include, Metaphire, and Pheretima, which are also native to East-Central Asia"
Not all jumping worms originated in Asia. The one in Steve's video did.
I think we're going too far in our concern to not offend based on place or name of origin. My South African boerboel dogs are named that by the AKC. There is no other recognized names. Another dog is ⅓ German shepherd, ⅓ Dutch Shepherd and ⅓ Belgian malinois. Validated by an Embark DNA test.
I previously owned an English wolfhound which is NOT the same as an Afghan wolfhound. Do we need to modify the dog breeds to take out the place of where they came from?
We live in a world of the perpetually offended and it's going too far to try to protect everyone from everything by talking about normal things.
@@connecticutwormsgardens In the state I live in there a two different species of jumping worms identified Amynthas agrestis and Amynthas tokioensis. Metaphire worms are another type of jumping worm with the same place of origin. Frequently reported in the continental US and one of the two pheretimoid species recorded in Canada, M. hilgendorfi has been known as Amynthas hilgendorfi for a long time in North America. It was first recorded in 1948 in Kingston, New York (Gates 1954). Reproduction of this species is obligately parthenogenetic. Metaphire hilgendorfi was recently transferred from Amynthas to Metaphire by Blakemore (2010; 2013), but this change has not been reflected in North American literature, partially because all US specimens reported so far lack male pores. However, an USNM specimen identified by G. E. Gates (USNM 125091, collected from South Carolina in 1969) has a male pore in the form of an everted copulatory pouch on one side. Moreover, two recently collected specimens from Baltimore, MD (USNM 1421430, 1421432) apparently shows a male pore on one side inside a transversely slit-like copulatory pouch opening, unambiguously supporting transferring the species to Metaphire. Metaphire hilgendorfi is morphologically similar to A. agrestis and A. tokioensis, with the male pores usually lacking in all three species. Co-occurrence of two or all three of the species may be quite common. Metaphire hilgendorfi is an epi-endogeic species.
Pheretima is a genus of earthworms originating mostly in New Guinea and parts of Southeast Asia. Pheretima worms are administered as a medicine in China. The worm contains biological agents beneficial in rat models of stroke. In clinical practice, it has been recognized for its curative effects in the treatment of epilepsy, it contains hypoxanthine, lumbrofebrin, and lumbritin.
I understand New Guinea is south-east of Asia.
It is to bad, these beautiful and lively worms are causing such environmental and ecological damage (man-made-climate-change).
Thanks for the input and have a great day!
@@wormsforlife7352 Lots of good info, but not on point to what I was saying.
I think people are going too far in our concern to not offend based on place or name of origin.
My South African boerboel dogs are named that by the AKC. There is no other recognized names.
Another of my dogs is
⅓ German shepherd,
⅓ Dutch Shepherd and
⅓ Belgian malinois. Validated by an Embark DNA test.
I previously owned an English wolfhound which is NOT the same as an Afghan wolfhound.
Do we need to modify the dog breeds to take out the place of where they came from?
We live in a world of the perpetually offended and it's going too far to try to protect everyone from everything.
When talking about normal things that contain origin in their name becomes a sensitivity issue we really slid backward as a species
Yeah, the Asian worms are terrible. We just discovered them in our garden. We loaded up on Compost from a local farm this year and sells compost all over southern Maine. It's a bad situation.
I'm sorry to hear this!
Thank so much for all your info. I feel like a jerk now, I'm new to gardening in Florida and I found them on my garden thinking they were good I encouraged their reproduction 😭😭😭😭. Tomorrow I'll go out and do the mustard trick on them and will pick them out to trash them. The only good thing I see is that the little Geckos eat them! I'm hoping that they are a predator to the jumping worm here😢
Unfortunately, with all the resesrch I've been reading,
it's my guess the egg cocoons will survive any predators digestive system.
I'm just guessing on this.
But from all the species survival tricks this worm has, those egg cocoons are pretty sealed up.
So maybe just to be safe,
don't rely on the lizards?
No need to feel like a jerk! These things are proliferating with or without your help. Just do what you can.....
My husband was thinking the same way.
I feel like it's a pretty natural reaction.
And if I hadn't looked them up for an ID, then we would still be thinking we simply had super healthy good earthworms!
@@gardengatesopen Thank you both for your kind words, I truly got depressed after knowing I was doing more harm than good and thought of giving up gardening. Your words lifted my spirits. Thanks again and many blessings for you as well🙏🤗💜🌻🦋
@@UrbanWormCompany Thank you 💕 Many bountiful harvest and blessings for your support🙏💜🦋🍉🐦🍀🌻
I'd be wary of anything the government says about anything. Those worms have inhabited north Georgia for as long as I have lived and I have not seen any detrimental effects on our forests at all. I first noticed these worms at the age of 10 (I'm 65 now) when I would go to my favorite fishing hole down the street at a farmer's pond. He had a barn and along the edge of the barn was a good place to find worms. The jumpers, like you said, moved in a rapid snake like fashion and would easily break in half when you tried to capture them. We let them be. Fast forward 30 years. All that land was destroyed... not by worms, but by man, who paved paradise and put up a parking lot... I wouldn't worry so much about invasive worms if I were you and worry more about an invasive government. It's interesting you didn't name or show any specific forests these worms have supposedly destroyed. Nature always finds a balance and humans always screw it up.
I get it Paul, but there guys are a relative newcomer in the upper Midwest and Northeast and are actually a cousin of the Alabama Jumper. I think we can be wary of big government *and* these invasive species.
I can tell you this, they are one of the best fishing worm out there. I raise worms also. I do
not need to raise these .After a good rain I can pick them off the ground. I keep some
for fishing.
It’s advised not to use them as fish bait because you’re further spread them esp if they’re pregnant.
good to know
Not me collecting thousands of them to compost the leaves I collected from my neighborhood 😬
Enjoy your unusable granulated compost!