Tiny Mud Balls - Ask Extension
I’m in the process of making a small flower bed for sometime in the future. I cleaned up the area and put mulch on top to keep anything from growin...
Knowledgebase
Tiny Mud Balls #870855
Asked May 30, 2024, 7:31 PM EDT
I’m in the process of making a small flower bed for sometime in the future. I cleaned up the area and put mulch on top to keep anything from growing until I’m ready to plant. Looking at the spit this evening I noticed clumps of dirt made up of tiny dirt balls. Some of them were on top of the mulch while others were just below the surface. What insect is responsible for this?
Montgomery County Maryland
Expert Response
Unfortunately, we're not sure what created those structures. Earthworm castings sometimes can look like this (Maryland is home to several species, many of them non-native). If you find more going forward and see any insect activity that appears to be associated with it, feel free to send more photos of the insect in question. In either case, though, the creator of the soil pellets shouldn't be anything that needs intervention.
Miri
Miri
