Asian jumping worms can be hard to control - Grand Island Independent

Posted: 28 Sep 2019 08:04 PM PDT

Autumn is officially here. For many of us that means jumping for joy, for pumpkin spice latte, cozy sweaters and cooler temperatures. There is another jumping thing that won't bring as much joy into our lives as the lattes.

The Asian jumping worm is Nebraska's newest invasive species. Just as the name implies it is native to Asia. It was found in Wisconsin in 2013. There are about 17 species of jumping worms found in North America and have been reported throughout the eastern and southern United States, parts of the Midwest and Oregon. To date, Asian jumping worms have been found in Douglas, Lancaster, and Platte counties in Nebraska.

Asian jumping worms are also known as jumping worms, crazy worms, Alabama jumpers and snake worms. They get these names from their crazy behavior. They jump and move around wildly when handled, almost moving like a threatened snake. These worms can even shed their tail as a defense mechanism.

These invasive pests have a unique life cycle. Asian jumping worms can reproduce without mating and produce hardened egg capsules, known as cocoons, the size of a mustard seed that survive winter in the soil. The cocoons hatch in the spring and worms rapidly develop into adulthood in 60 days. Jumping worms are easily discovered in August and September when they are at their largest and wiggliest. The adults die each winter after producing more cocoons.

What damage do they cause? Jumping worms feed in large numbers at the soil surface. They eat organic matter like leaves and mulch. They replace the soil with their castings, which are small, loose, hard pellets that have the consistency of dried coffee grounds. This material lacks water holding capacity and lacks organic matter and is not favorable for plant growth.

Don't confuse the invasive jumping worm with our common worms. European earth worms and night crawlers are the common worms that we have in our area. These worms create a pile of castings, poop, in the soil and near the surface. Common worms improve the soil. Jumping worms leave a loose, granular soil. They completely strip the soil of nutrients.

Common worms have a raised pink clitellum, the narrow band near the head of the worm. Jumping worms have a clitellum that is smooth to their body, cloudy white to gray color, completely encircles the worm's metallic appearing body.

One way to know if you have jumping worms or earthworms is to pour a mustard solution onto the suspect area. Mix 1/3 cup of ground yellow mustard seed with 1 gallon of water. Clear a bare patch of soil and pour the solution slowly over the soil. The worms will move to the surface and you can determine if they are invasive jumping worms or common worms. If you find Asian jumping worms, please report to https://neinvasives.com/home.

Control of Asian jumping worms can be difficult, so prevention is key. There are no EPA registered chemicals labeled for control of jumping worms. Prevent the spread of jumping worms by educating others about this pest, buying plants from seed or bare root, avoid buying fishing worms advertised as any of the common names of this pest, carefully inspect potted plants prior to purchase, use caution when sharing or moving plants, and do not dispose of unused worms in the environment.

No need to get all wiggly just yet, with a little prevention you too can be jumping for joy and enjoying the latte.

Elizabeth Killinger is the Horticulture Extension Educator with Nebraska Extension in Hall County. Contact her at (308) 385-5088 or ekillinger2@unl.edu. Visit the Hall County Extension website at hall.unl.edu

How you can help clean up the White River, starting with your pet poo - Indianapolis Star

Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:11 AM PDT

Every time it rains, a toxic mix of animal poop, gasoline, oil, plastics, fertilizers, pesticides, solvents, litter, carcinogens and heavy metals — a mix that's often as filthy as sewage — washes into the White River from Indianapolis streets.

It gets there through thousands of stormwater drains, 87 billion gallons of it each year. And the problem is growing.

City officials are seeking ways to stop the pollution from reaching the river. But you, too, can help.

"We can't think we will create the kind of river we want by assuming enough will happen at the hands of other people," said Jill Hoffmann, executive director of the White River Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting water throughout Central Indiana.

"When does this become a personal issue for anybody?" Hoffmann added. "That has to be the future."

Here are five things you can do to decrease your contribution to stormwater pollution:

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that two days worth of dog waste from about 100 dogs would contribute enough pollution to close a beach and all watershed areas within 20 miles of it. Pet waste can transmit bacteria and viruses including tapeworm, roundworm, E. coli, Parvo, and more.

Residents may think their dog's poop in their yard could act as a fertilizer, or that it will break down, or that they can pick it up every week or so — but it can take close to a year to fully break down. And rain can wash it and dangerous bacteria away.

Instead, there are several ways you can dispose of your pet poo to keep pollution to a minimum. The tried and true way is to bag it up and throw it out. You could also flush it down the toilet, install an underground pet waste digester (much like a septic system), or bury it in several places about 12 inches deep around your yard.

A combined sewer overflow pipe along the White River that can contain raw sewage or stormwater runoff, which brings a myriad of pollutants into local waterways in Indianapolis, as seen on Thursday, July 11, 2019.

Dogs aren't the only animals to pose a threat to our waterways. While geese and other waterfowl such as ducks and swans may seem natural to the riverside, they can contribute heavy loads of pollution when present in large numbers.

People feeding the birds can cause overpopulation, bringing greater numbers into more concentrated areas. A single Canada goose can create as much as two to three pounds of waste per day, adding nutrients and pathogens that can infect humans — such as E. coli — to the river.

What should you do? Don't feed them.

Another way for residents to reduce the runoff pollution is to minimize the amount of water leaving their property in the first place. Every acre of impervious surface — be it sidewalks, driveways, roofs, patios — sheds one million gallons of stormwater every year.

One of the easiest ways to bring that down is through installing rain barrels or rain gardens. Rain barrels capture water from a roof and hold it for later use, such as on lawns, gardens or indoor plants. Rain gardens are depressed areas in the yard designed to collect rain water from the roof or driveway and allow it to soak into the ground. They are planted with native grasses and perennials.

Both tools help keep water from running off residents' property, but the gardens have the added benefit of helping to filter out pollutants.

Fertilizer is food for plants, which can be really helpful for lawns that are new or are lacking nutrients. But when established or healthy lawns get fertilized anyway, the nutrients the grass doesn't use are washed into the river with the next rain or irrigation.

When too much fertilizer enters the water, it can create an explosion of algae growth, which causes problems for water quality and aquatic life. Those nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, can also be dangerous for humans and animals if consumed at concentrations that are too high.

So get smart about your fertilizer application — it will save you money, too. Start with a soil test to understand the type and amount of fertilizer your lawn needs. Then make sure you follow the specific application directions for your fertilizer and be careful not to spread it onto sidewalks or driveways.

Also, don't apply fertilizer between Nov. 15 and March 1 or if the ground is frozen because it won't absorb and just runoff. And finally, if you use a lawn care company, ask questions to make sure it is not over-applying fertilizer — many recommend double the applications that a university does.

You could also try not fertilizing at all, at least not in the traditional sense. Every time you cut your lawn, you have a built-in fertilizer that you likely are bagging up and throwing away. Grass clippings are rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and oxygen and thus can serve as an effective slow-release organic fertilizer.

So try leaving grass clippings that are an inch or less in length on your lawns. There, they will filter down to the soil surface and decompose quickly. Clippings that are longer can shade or smother grass, but they can be used as garden mulch instead.

Doing so can also save you money. In fact, leaving grass clippings on your lawn can save lawn fertilizer use by up to 25%.

Much of this information and the recommendations came from Clear Choices Clean Water, a local program that works to engage with residents to protect the waterways.

Call IndyStar reporter Sarah Bowman at 317-444-6129 or email at sarah.bowman@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook: @IndyStarSarah. Connect with IndyStar's environmental reporters: Join The Scrub on Facebook.

IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

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