jumping worms - Ask Extension
I have 3 large piles of soil that are contaminated with jumping worms. I have removed many, put some of the soil in plastic in the sun. The piles are ...
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jumping worms #876957
Asked July 12, 2024, 11:13 AM EDT
I have 3 large piles of soil that are contaminated with jumping worms. I have removed many, put some of the soil in plastic in the sun. The piles are too large to do this with all of them. I live on the side of a hill where rain washes the soil down. Having these piles hauled away is an option but they will still be in the soil somewhere!! Please advise.
Windham County Vermont
Expert Response
Hi Betty,
You are definitely on the right track with covering the infested soil with plastic. The idea is to solarize the soil to at or above 104 degrees for 3 or more days, and that will kill the jumping worms and cocoons. You probably won't be able to eradicate all of them, but you can significantly reduce them. Spread the soil out so that it is only a few inches deep. Fold up the sides of the plastic and weight it down with something heavy. This is a huge task but worth the trouble to help the environment. You should do this now and keep the infested soil in the plastic until spring as June is the best time to solarize the soil.
Here is a link to the UVM Master Gardener Extension website. Open "Invasives" and there are four articles/fact sheets on jumping worms. I recommend reading through them to get all the information you will need to stop the spread.
https://www.uvm.edu/extension/mastergardener/gardening-resources
You are definitely on the right track with covering the infested soil with plastic. The idea is to solarize the soil to at or above 104 degrees for 3 or more days, and that will kill the jumping worms and cocoons. You probably won't be able to eradicate all of them, but you can significantly reduce them. Spread the soil out so that it is only a few inches deep. Fold up the sides of the plastic and weight it down with something heavy. This is a huge task but worth the trouble to help the environment. You should do this now and keep the infested soil in the plastic until spring as June is the best time to solarize the soil.
Here is a link to the UVM Master Gardener Extension website. Open "Invasives" and there are four articles/fact sheets on jumping worms. I recommend reading through them to get all the information you will need to stop the spread.
https://www.uvm.edu/extension/mastergardener/gardening-resources
