Invasion of worms... (Are these different than the wiggling worms from last year?)
https://fox4kc.com/news/invasive-jumping-worms-spreading-throughout-missouri-kansas-and-more/
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A species of wiggling worms can jump a foot in the air, and they’ve spread to more than a dozen states in the Midwest, including Kansas and Missouri
The jumping worm, also known as Alabama jumpers, snake worms and other names, are invasive earthworms, originally native to east Asia.
They thrash wildly when disturbed, have snakelike movements and sometimes shed their tail in defense, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
These worms have experts increasingly worried as they spread across the country. But besides some odd jumping, what’s the big deal?
The U.S. Forest Service says Asian jumping worms eat a lot. “They are never satiated,” the agency writes.
And in the end, after feeding their unending appetites, the Missouri Department of Conservation says established populations of jumping worms can make the soil look like coffee grounds.
That soil won’t be able to retain moisture, and Smithsonian Magazine reports the topsoil will be depleted of nutrients, making it difficult for plants to grow.
To make matters worse, jumping worms grow twice as fast and reproduce more quickly than other earthworms, a Cornell University study says. The worm’s tiny eggs can even survive a Midwest winter."
New heros.....Moles and shrews and robins?
Time to avoid Bonny Plants?