I think the drought drove the earthworms deeper and under my mulch piles. They will return after the soil cools and gets more moisture. I tilled the dirt after noticing the lack of worms. Usually, I don’t till if it is wet and they are plentiful.
How deep can earthworms go and still survive? That’s what Hubby and I were discussing. He dug even deeper than the 1 foot to 18 inches in some places and still no earthworms. I don’t recall how deep he did go.
It was a few days after several recent rains though.