jumping worms investation - Ask Extension
I have discovered jumping worms in the soil,while preparing the garlic bed to plant for next year. What can I do? info on line says use tea tree meal ...
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jumping worms investation #852483
Asked October 07, 2023, 2:57 PM EDT
I have discovered jumping worms in the soil,while preparing the garlic bed to plant for next year. What can I do? info on line says use tea tree meal to get the worms to rise and then kill them. But what happens to their eggs? Considering the weather, this year's garlic crop seems OK, But if I plant the bulbs now will the worms damage the soil structure and use up the rest of the nutrients n the bed? Also, since we have seen them in the grass and in other vegetable beds, what can be done on a larger scale to rid my (1/2acre) yard of the worms?
-Sutton, VT
.
Caledonia County Vermont
Expert Response
Hi, Martha. You have my full sympathy, as I also have jumping worms in my garden. It sounds as though you have done your online research well, but here are some links to good jumping worm info in case you need more:
Cornell Jumping Worm Info
UMass Jumping Worm Info
Vt Coverts jumping worm webinar (1 hr), with references at the end. (Full disclosure, I'm the presenter on this one!)
To address your questions:
1. Tea seed meal shows good potential for fighting jumping worms, as it has saponins, which kill worms. It's also used as a fertilizer. However, I was not able to find it to buy earlier this year. We were told that the manufacturer is working to get it certified as a worm pesticide. Fingers crossed that it will be available in the spring. That would be the approach to use on a large scale, I believe.
2. Mustard seed powder, used as a "drench", is suggested as a way to bring worms to the surface, as it irritates their skin. Mix 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mustard seed powder with a gallon of water and pour it over a 50 cm square area. (This is easier said than done, in my opinion!) You can buy restaurant-sized containers of mustard seed powder online. (By the way, any worms I find in the garden get dropped into a container of soapy water.)
3. The recommendation from UVM's Dr. Gorres is to till in the worm castings to take advantage of nutrients and to keep the castings from acting as insulation ("thermo protection") from cold. Doing this in mid-May to mid-June disrupts the life cycle of the juvenile worms. Tilling in general during that time may kill young worms and prevent them from maturing into cocoon-laying adults.
4. The eggs/cocoons are the real problem! The adult worms (which may have each laid 30-60 eggs) will die as soon as the weather cools. The cocoons will survive the winter to hatch in May and June. Besides tilling, you can make the environment less attractive for hatching by minimizing organic amendments like leaf mulch. Worms like moderate temperatures and moisture, so "solarizing" with plastic where practical can help by heating their environment.
5. So - what to do about the garlic?! Here is what I plan to do: Remove any adult worms from the bed, of course. Till any castings into the current soil to use their nutrients. Add less compost than I might normally (although that will mean smaller garlic next year.) Or alternatively, solarize any compost I add in clear plastic (to 105F - which kills cocoons) before adding. Instead of mulching with hay or leaves right away, I will wait until we've had some frosts to insulate the bed. Then I will keep an eye on the soil next spring. If I start to see castings there, I'll have to go worm hunting between the garlic plants, trying not to disturb the roots too much. I'm a bit concerned because although most organisms don't like alliums, I recently found worms had chewed through the roots of my chives. I hope they don't like garlic!
Well, this turned into a very long answer! I hope it helps. Please let me know if you'd like clarification or have more questions. Good luck!
Cornell Jumping Worm Info
UMass Jumping Worm Info
Vt Coverts jumping worm webinar (1 hr), with references at the end. (Full disclosure, I'm the presenter on this one!)
To address your questions:
1. Tea seed meal shows good potential for fighting jumping worms, as it has saponins, which kill worms. It's also used as a fertilizer. However, I was not able to find it to buy earlier this year. We were told that the manufacturer is working to get it certified as a worm pesticide. Fingers crossed that it will be available in the spring. That would be the approach to use on a large scale, I believe.
2. Mustard seed powder, used as a "drench", is suggested as a way to bring worms to the surface, as it irritates their skin. Mix 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mustard seed powder with a gallon of water and pour it over a 50 cm square area. (This is easier said than done, in my opinion!) You can buy restaurant-sized containers of mustard seed powder online. (By the way, any worms I find in the garden get dropped into a container of soapy water.)
3. The recommendation from UVM's Dr. Gorres is to till in the worm castings to take advantage of nutrients and to keep the castings from acting as insulation ("thermo protection") from cold. Doing this in mid-May to mid-June disrupts the life cycle of the juvenile worms. Tilling in general during that time may kill young worms and prevent them from maturing into cocoon-laying adults.
4. The eggs/cocoons are the real problem! The adult worms (which may have each laid 30-60 eggs) will die as soon as the weather cools. The cocoons will survive the winter to hatch in May and June. Besides tilling, you can make the environment less attractive for hatching by minimizing organic amendments like leaf mulch. Worms like moderate temperatures and moisture, so "solarizing" with plastic where practical can help by heating their environment.
5. So - what to do about the garlic?! Here is what I plan to do: Remove any adult worms from the bed, of course. Till any castings into the current soil to use their nutrients. Add less compost than I might normally (although that will mean smaller garlic next year.) Or alternatively, solarize any compost I add in clear plastic (to 105F - which kills cocoons) before adding. Instead of mulching with hay or leaves right away, I will wait until we've had some frosts to insulate the bed. Then I will keep an eye on the soil next spring. If I start to see castings there, I'll have to go worm hunting between the garlic plants, trying not to disturb the roots too much. I'm a bit concerned because although most organisms don't like alliums, I recently found worms had chewed through the roots of my chives. I hope they don't like garlic!
Well, this turned into a very long answer! I hope it helps. Please let me know if you'd like clarification or have more questions. Good luck!
Thank you so much! More info is better in this situation! We tried the mustard water on the garlic bed yesterday and had no response. We are in Sutton where the soil is cool and we think the worms may have dug down. Right near that bed, the potato bed had much different profile, with lots of worms, sluggish and easy to pop into the soap water. They take a rather long time to die, we noticed. Not a pleasant task, but it helped us understand what we have to do in the coming years: check, remove, check some more, keep removing until all the cocoons have disappeared. That's a long view, but what else can we do?
One thing I plan to do is to talk about these critters with all my friends and neighbors! I hope I haven't been part of the spread of these worms by sharing plants with friends. One, good thing was that as we were harvesting in other vegetable beds, we noticed lots of little earthworms still happy in our soils!
Wishing you all the best,
Martha
From: ask=<personal data hidden> <ask=<personal data hidden>> on behalf of Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>>
Sent: Saturday, October 7, 2023 4:33 PM
To: Martha Tack <<personal data hidden>>
Subject: Re: jumping worms investation (#0122408)
Sent: Saturday, October 7, 2023 4:33 PM
To: Martha Tack <<personal data hidden>>
Subject: Re: jumping worms investation (#0122408)
Good luck, Martha. Now is the time, as temperatures dip below 40F, that the jumping worms should all be dying. We have some respite before the eggs hatch and the battle resumes next spring!
As the autumn work continued, we realized we are inundated. Ours is a half acre space with lots of trees, shrubs, raised beds, not raised beds and the rest is grass and in some parts, wild undergrowth. Everywhere I look, I now see the characteristic crumbly soil. I will need to learn what to do for the entire area. I am still encountering (well, last week) I encountered live worms which we have been dropping into a bucket with water to drown them. Awful process.
Is anyone working on a 'solution', literally to kill the eggs in the spring? Can you give me a reference to follow?
How are they kept from destroying gardens in their natural habitat? Or are we way past that mark?
Many questions. Thanks for whatever new info as you receive it. I love worms and long thought these were some iteration of the night crawlers we brought in many years ago. I still see some of the ordinary, small red worms we know and love.
Martha Tack
Hi, Martha. I feel your pain! To answer your questions - The worms are apparently just a small part of a balanced ecosystem in their native setting in Japan. Yes, researchers are working on it. Dr. Josef Gorres and his team at UVM are at the front of the research. Below is a long list of resources that I used for a 1-hour worm webinar sponsored by Vermont Coverts in August:
Learn More about Asian Jumping Worms - Online Resources
August 9, 2023 - Complied by J. Burch-Clay
- Vermont Invasives: https://www.vtinvasives.org/invasive/jumping-worms
- UVM Extension resources: https://www.uvm.edu/extension/mastergardener/gardening-resources
- Cornell Guide to Worms: https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Extension-Community-Horticulture/JWORM_Homeowner_Guide_-_Jumping_Worms-Accessible_Version_2021-2.pdf
- Plant Sale Guidelines (worms): https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Extension-Community-Horticulture/Guidelines_for_Plant_Sales_to_Avoid_Jumping_Worms.pdf
- Link to U Mass Worm FAQ: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/fact-sheets/invasive-jumping-worm-frequently-asked-questions
- The Atlantic - excellent, very “readable” article on worms: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/01/jumping-worms-are-taking-over-north-american-forests/605257/
- Darwin and Worms: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/04/19/earthworms-darwins-last-manuscript
- YouTube Claymation explanation! (3 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB1ATzbGWKU&list=PLawi8sb0T_EH75VfLeGAt5fQrtyiefLM3&index=15&t=9s )
- Dr. Josef Gorres lecture for Londonderry Vermont Conservation Commission (1½ hours): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndHDIVw63dw&t=1797s
- Dr. Josef Gorres - Jumping Worm Research Update for EMG (1 hr): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je1D2Fcu064&list=PLawi8sb0T_EHwt8e1tvimJAypDPONOGuG&index=4
- Dr. Josef Gorres slide show - with charts: https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Extension-Master-Gardener/Josef_Intro_to_Snake_Worms.pdf
- UVM Entomology Research Lab: https://www.uvm.edu/~entlab/Forest%20IPM/Worms/InvasiveWorms.html
You might start by watching my August webinar, for a summary which pulls from all these resources. (This also includes my email address at the end, if you want to keep in touch.) Dr. Gorres' Londonderry talk is also a good start. Follow up with the Gorres research update for more detail.
Be well!
Be well!
