You can add jumping worms to the list of things to worry about now. Yes, jumping worms. They’re the latest invasive species the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is warning us about.
Local scientists say the earthworms are native to Asia, and thrash and slither like a snake when disturbed. They are also constantly eating and turning topsoil into something experts say looks like coffee grounds, leading to erosion.
University of Minnesota researchers say the invasive jumping worms are primarily in the southeastern part of Minnesota including the Twin Cities. There are actually no earthworms native to Minnesota or any northern states.
Laura Van Riper is the Minnesota DNR’s terrestrial invasive species program coordinator. She joined WCCO’s Susie Jones with details about jumping worms, how they move around Minnesota and what we can do to stop their spread. Van Riper says the jumping worms were first discovered in Minneapolis in 2006.
“The issue with jumping worms in the U.S. is they can reach these really high population densities,” explains Van Riper. “You get lots and lots of worms, they move really quickly through the soil, it increases erosion and makes it hard for some plants to survive.”
Van Riper adds that it is very important to stop the spread of the species and there are a couple of things you can do to help.
“On their own they can’t move that far, but if they are put in a bucket in a car, they can move all over,” Van Riper tells WCCO. “If you have jumping worms in your backyard, they wouldn’t want to dig up a plant and give that to a friend across town, or take it to a cabin. Worms can be spread in the soil.”
They also have tiny egg cases according to Van Riper who warns about moving any soil because those eggs can be in there unseen.
Van Riper says they’re still doing research on the worms and what it means long term for Minnesota, including how the worms handle our harsh winters.
“Can they maybe not survive further north in Minnesota, and there’s still a lot we’re learning,” Van Riper says.
What should you do if you find jumping worms? Van Riper says simply seal them in a plastic bag and throw them in the trash. They do hatch from small eggs in the spring so they are very small and hard to identify until later in the summer. That’s when you would start to see a whitish band around their body.
Van Riper says take photos and send them to her at the DNR website for identification.
Keys to jumping worm identification include:
Look for soil with a similar appearance to coffee grounds. As jumping worms eat and excrete waste, the soil gets a unique texture like coffee grounds.
Jumping worms are very active, move like snakes and secrete yellow mucus when agitated (see video from Wisconsin DNR (link is external) showing their movement).
When a jumping worm is disturbed, its tail can break off and continue to flail.
The ring (clitellum) on adults is closer to the end than on nightcrawlers, milky pink to milky gray in color, encircles the whole body evenly, and is barely raised above the skin.
Setae (tiny hairs the worm uses to move) are evenly spaced around the entirety of each segment, not in pairs or concentrated on the bottom or sides of the body.
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