Colleen:  Would you be able to attach a photo of this worm to aid us in the identification?   Thanks!

Colleen:  Someone from the Extension Master Gardener office has shared this photo of newly hatched jumping worms.  Does this look like the worm you are seeing in your garden?

https://ask2.extension.org/file.php?key=cd3k5tqlhc775q2gn36al9mogfphzfz8&expires=<personal data hidden>&signature=6be41d104bf3ab483ce57e4e47d075379d3f2335&id=1784412



Colleen:  One way for you to tell if the worms in your garden are jumping worms is to touch them and observe their movement.  Jumping worms will jump and thrash around more violently than an earthworm when touched.  Also, they may move in an S figure, as a snake does.

You mentioned that you haven't added plants recently to the soil.  They also may be introduced to the garden with the addition of soil or compost.  One way to avoid this is to solarize the compost to kill the worms and eggs, by covering the soil/compost with clear plastic and leaving the covered soil in the sun and letting the soil reach a temperature of 105 degrees for 2-3 days.

Also, be aware that there are no registered pesticides available for killing jumping worms at this time.  Removing by hand and destroying the worms that you see is the recommended method.  Research is ongoing on this problem.

Finally, we still don't know that you actually have jumping worms, so if you could submit a photo and/or observe their behavior (thrashing around) we may be able to help you further!

https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Extension-Community-Horticulture/Resources/JumpingWormHomeOwnerGuideUVMEMG.pdf

Jumping worms (umn.edu)

Colleen:  We never received the video that you sent because the Ask Extension site does not accept them.  I assume you tried to send a video showing how the worms reacted to you touching them, but we never saw if they were thrashing around or not.

If you think you have the jumping worms, you could try to solarize the soil by removing the top two inches of soil and placing the soil on a sheet of clear plastic.  Remove any worms you see and place them in a plastic bag and freeze the bag, (or drop them in soapy water) then place them in a plastic bag and throw away in the trash.  Fold over the clear plastic containing the soil and seal around the edges.  The cocoons and any worms will not survive a temperature of over 105 degrees.  Let the soil "cook" for two or three days.

You may also want to cover the raised bed with clear plastic and seal around the edges.  Jumping worms usually stay within the top two inches of soil.  Some of the worms may work their way deeper into the soil, but this will still kill many of them and also the cocoons.

I am attaching a link to information on solarization from the University of Maryland Extension site.

Invasive Jumping Worms | University of Maryland Extension (umd.edu)

Thank you for submitting this question, asking for help in controlling the worms.