Invasive worms....

[kadee79]

We seem to have 2 different kinds that are not good for us our our soils...so aware & get rid of them if you find them...

First one is Hammerhead worm...  There is a pic of one at the link..

NORRIS, Tenn. (WATE) - They’re carnivorous, they’re potentially harmful, and they’ve now reemerged following a wet spring.

This week a Norris resident spotted a hammerhead flatworm outside of her home. It was slithering on her stone pathway. Inga Kemnitz’s discovery was made down the street from where four hammerhead flatworms were discovered inside a Norris man’s home back in October of 2021.

Pictures show there are differences between the flatworms discovered in October and the one discovered this week. Notably, they are different colors. Hammerheads are typically orange, yellow, or brown.

Experts say hammerhead flatworms produce a neurotoxin that can be potentially harmful to people or pets if touched with bare skin or eaten.

If you encounter the invasive species, the North Carolina State Extension Office recommends dissolving it in salt or rubbing alcohol, or putting it in a bag and freezing it.

Hammerhead worms pose threat to TN native earthworms

Kemnitz did not know a lot about hammerhead flatworms when she saw it, but she had a feeling it was harmful, so she says she says she squashed it.

www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/invasive-hammerhead-worm-spotted-and-squashed-in-east-tn/ar-AAXfgTQ?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=47ffabca64344f8cafb82b976879e2cd


Second one is Jumping Worms....

WISCONSIN — Several invasive species of jumping earthworms originating from Asia have been introduced to 34 U.S. states, including Wisconsin, and can chew away nutrients from soil and flip themselves up to a foot off of the ground, scientists said.

Several invasive species of worms originating from Japan and the Korean peninsula were introduced to Wisconsin and 34 other states. The worms can flip themselves up to a foot off of the ground, scientists said.

Amynthas agrestis, a litter-dwelling earthworm from the Japan and the Korean peninsula, was recorded as an invasive species to Wisconsin as early as 2017, data from the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International showed. Sometimes called Alabama jumpers, crazy worms and Jersey wrigglers, the worms are spread across the Eastern Seaboard, parts of the South and parts of the Upper Midwest.

The worms get their name because they "thrash around," USDA Forest Service soil scientist Mac Callaham said in a agency website post. "They can flip themselves a foot off the ground."

While beneficial earthworms nourish soil, the invasive worms have the opposite effect: Amynthas agrestis can pose a risk to horticultural materials like soil, leaf litter, compost and mulch after they eat away the dead plant matter that new plants need to grow, CABI's description said.

Nightcrawlers and other earthworms "get elbowed out of the way" by the jumping worms, Iowa State University entomology professor Donald Lewis told KCCI. Jumping worms were found in 12 counties in Iowa.

Jumping worms are parthenogenic, meaning they can reproduce on their own without a partner, according to the extension service at Iowa State. With the ability to clone themselves, jumping-worm populations grow quickly through a couple of generations a season.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/jumping-worms-that-destroys-soil-spotted-in-wi-34-other-states/ar-AAXfbk9?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=d95409bd2ea54d6f9663508a5c62647f

So, gardeners beware while you are out digging.

[Opti]

The jumping one seems tricky to identify for me. Here's another pic.

[dannylion]

It's always something.  Now, apparently, it's roving gangs of rogue worm thugs.