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I'm finding many worms in my soil that don't sport the usual pink or purple hue. They have the same form & shape as 'regular' worms but their color is a sickly greenish grey. If a human was this color they'd have been dead for quite a while! Does anyone know if these are harmful?

Got pics?

TomatoNut95 wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 12, 2020 8:29 pm

Got pics?

Sorry, no.

Do they have legs at the front of their bodies? Grubs, maybe?

TomatoNut95 wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 12, 2020 10:52 pm

Do they have legs at the front of their bodies? Grubs, maybe?

No, they just look like ordinary worms except for the ugly grey-green color. Mostly about 2" long max and ? 3/16 thick.

If you could get a pic, that might help us.

A picture is worth 1000 words. If worms are not causing trouble leave them along. Get 2 Ginny birds they will dig and eat all the worms but will not eat plants. My father had these birds they run so fast dogs & cats can not catch them. They spend the day in the garden eating bugs & worms. They are quiet birds too you won't know they are there unless you accident scare one and it runs. Ginny is smaller than most chickens about 50% smaller.

my experience with guineas is that calling them 'quiet birds' is hugely inaccurate. they make very loud and crazy calls. I see people on homesteading sites fairly regularly getting rid of their guineas because of all the noise they make, posts like "at my wits end" type stuff.

I've seen a bunch of grey/green earthworms this year, too.

!potatoes! wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 13, 2020 8:29 am

my experience with guineas is that calling them 'quiet birds' is hugely inaccurate. they make very loud and crazy calls. I see people on homesteading sites fairly regularly getting rid of their guineas because of all the noise they make, posts like "at my wits end" type stuff.

I've seen a bunch of grey/green earthworms this year, too.

When you scare guineas they scream & run. Our garden was always 150 ft from the house guineas never made a sound until we went to the garden and we scared the birds. If you talk while walking toward the garden guineas hear your coming so they leave without screaming. Guineas like to keep their distance about 25 ft away.

@Vanisle_BC — Late joining in ... I missed this thread before.

In my experience, the blue-grey worms are the deeper delving mineral-digesting species — not the sometimes familiar red wigglers that stay near the surface and eat compost/decaying vegetation and organic matter. I have always randomly called them night crawlers but am not sure if that’s what they are.

In my garden, they turn blue-green/grey in appearance because they are digging in the blue-Green marl clay. Do you have that kind of clay or soil layer where you are?

Vanisle_BC wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 12, 2020 10:58 pm

TomatoNut95 wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 12, 2020 10:52 pm

Do they have legs at the front of their bodies? Grubs, maybe?

No, they just look like ordinary worms except for the ugly grey-green color. Mostly about 2" long max and ? 3/16 thick.

I just noticed you said they are only 2” long — the ones I’m thinking of get very big — Often 8-10‘ long and pencil-thick.

...do yours have the collar like the normal earthworms?

Earthworm - Morphology, Diagram and Anatomy of Earthworm
https://byjus.com/biology/earthworm-morphology-anatomy/

FYI
Earthworms of British Columiba
https://ibis.geog.ubc.ca/biodiversity/e ... umbia.html

Could they be these “Ice” worms? ...From melting glaciers...washed ashore?
These ice worms thrive on B.C. glaciers and now we might know why | CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british- ... -1.5182440

A couple of weeks ago I heard about the jumping worms that are invasive and considered a pest. I have never seen them but it may be your strange worm.
https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/invasives/fact ... index.html

Applestar; I don't have your kind of clay, or any kind in raised beds where I see these worms. Don't know about the worm collar. I haven't paid enough attention. Have to be more observant, with camera handy.

Another thing I found among the roots of 2 struggling Basils was one or two very small black worms no more than an inch long and less than 1/8 thick. Just looked like a small piece of stick but I think they were alive. Did I mention that some wireworms I dug up seemed to be dead?

PS - you haven't responded to my query (edit - probably haven't seen it) - how I'd pronounce Minowase in Japan .

Like — Me-know-wah-say

(Me know what {to} say?)

LOLOL -- reminds me of a still great long-time family friend who almost 40 years ago started our in-joke to say “Don’t touch {my} mustache” for the Japanese “You’re welcome” : do itashi mashite (doh eet-ash mush ee-tay)

applestar wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 13, 2020 11:55 am

Like — Me-know-wah-say

(Me know what {to} say?)

Thanks.
Min.O.Ways just didn't seem right - could be a gov. department.

Don’t touch mustache