Jumping Worms

Have they hit your garden/town/state / country?

They are heartily alive and spreading rapidly in Massachusetts.

Any other news of them else elsewhere?

 

My goodness, there is a pest that Texas doesn't have! We don't have any jumping worms and I sincerely hope we don't develop them.

 

I've read that they will eventually blanket the eastern part of the US.... as far as the Mississippi River. So you should be safe MG in Texas. And I haven't heard of them being in Europe.

 

Yuck!! That means they are 19 miles away

Jerry

 

I hate to say this Jerry but they are probably already in your town. Many yards have them but people are not aware of them as yet. We took a hike the other day sponsored by a climate initiative group & our town's conservation commission. It was well organized with 4 way stations manned by forestry experts. Actually very interesting. One station was about invasive species (from the plant kingdom). They weren't covering jumping worms so I asked about them, and began looking down at my feet. Sure enough, I spotted 2 right away. And this was in the woods, 1/2 mile from a road, on conservation land. It makes me sick at heart but I'm truly hoping mother nature will rebalance herself.

Best wishes to you in your yard & town.
PS look for soil that looks like coffee grounds. That's the frase from jumping worms.

 

Hey Cayu— define frase. I do not know that word.

 

Sjoerd, I didn't know the word until we took our master naturalist course. Frase is poop, but said more nicely.
Imagine a group of 20 or so people, looking at frase and identifying the animal that deposited it. I guess that's how you know if there are bears in the woods!

 

Jane— ohhhhh…Pooooooop. I see. I know the term, “worm casts” , but I have never heard this one. Thanks for the info.
Now, the pronunciation. What does frase rhyme with?
Are you saying that bears frase in the woods?

 

Ha ha. I think it's only used as a noun Sjoerd. And I think it's a short A, sort of. No not really. I can't think of anything that would rhyme with it. Maybe the first syllable of blaisé. What do you think Marlingardener?

I've heard of worm castings.

Marlingardener, I've heard other animal manure referred to as scat. Have you heard that?

 

Cayu— I have heard the term, “scat”. Confusing though because that sounds like one is trying to shoo a cat away. Haha.
I have also heard the term, “shait” used n the UK, but in a more colloquial way.

 

Cayuga, yes I've heard and used the word "scat" but not referring to a cat.
As to the pronunciation, definitely a short "a", and no great emphasis on the "sses".
One can have such interesting discussions here on the Stew!

 

Clever emoticon, Jane. You are right about the conversations.

Thank the both of you for the info on definition an pronunciation.

 

Oh yes. Some bright marketer called them "Alabama Jumpers" and they took off as bait here years and years ago. It is one reason I have learned to use charcoal in compost or soil because they will flatten my compost pile to a worm poo muck and we need aeration in this clay. They do not seem as fond of pine bark mulch as they are hardwood bark mulch, interestingly.

 

Also called frass