The first question – what type of worms are in our reader’s lawn? – has a simple answer: earthworms, or in any event this is likely the case, as earthworms and lawns go to together like deer and the forest. Anyone who has a lawn has probably seen plenty of earthworms, but we’ll provide some quick background anyway. Earthworms are a part of the subclass Oligochaeta, which belongs to the annelid phylum. There are around 10,000 species of terrestrial and marine worms in the Oligochaeta subclass, some of which are the various kinds of earthworms. Okay, enough taxonomy.

How can earthworms make a lawn uneven? First, earthworms aerate soil, or at least the top two feet of it, by digging tunnels through it. As any gardener will tell you, this is a good thing because aerated soil is conducive to plant growth. So, worms in your lawn indicate that healthy soil is beneath it. However, tunnels dug by worms can collapse, and this might cause the surface of your lawn to become slightly uneven. This isn’t a major an issue, though.

The bigger problem is this: because worms consume organic matter as they tunnel around your lawn, they will inevitably leave behind worm castings (vermicast, worm humus, or worm manure, to list a few other names). Again, this is largely a good thing, as worm waste is nothing more than nutrient rich fertilizer. Worm castings become problematic in excessive amounts because as they accumulate over time, your lawn can become bumpy, which in turn can cause you to cut too many green shoots while mowing, a problem called “scalping.” Scalping can give rise to brown spots on your lawn and can also encourage weed growth. Apart from producing too many castings, an excessive number of worms on your lawn can also attract animals like moles (because moles eat worms), which can lead to additional yard troubles. (When moles dig around your yard, it can obviously be a problem.)

What can you do about the worms in your yard? It should be stated up front that you don’t want to remove worms from your lawn because they are so helpful in keeping your soil healthy. That said, you should avoid over-watering your yard because this will encourage worms to stay near the surface (worms love moisture), causing them to leave more castings on the surface and potentially attract additional pests like moles. Also, when worms castings are found, wait for them to dry and then rake them into your lawn. (Note: It will be fairly hard to “find” worm castings, as they basically just look soil. So, if you notice that worms are living in your yard, as they likely will be, you should rake periodically.) This will prevent the castings from building up. Following these two bits of advice should keep your lawn fairly level. However, if your lawn is already severely bumpy from years of worm-casting accumulation, some form of lawn restoration may be necessary.

Before we get into earthworms and Nebraska, we should point out that earthworms are also part of the composting process – they are just slower at converting organic waste into fertilizer, which is why red worms are preferred by people maintaining a compost bin. So, when you learn about composting and worms involvement thereof, this applies to a wide range of worms, including earthworms.

Anyway, the earthworms of Nebraska are the same earthworms that you can find in many other places in the United States, which is to say that in discovering any information about earthworms in the U.S., you’re also discovering information about earthworms that live in Nebraska. (For that matter, if you find information about earthworms in general, you’ll be discovering information about the earthworms of Nebraska, as the various species of earthworms are closely related.) In other words, there is no earthworm that exclusively lives in Nebraska, as far as we know. But perhaps we should step back a bit and consider earthworms in general.

Earthworms belong to a subclass of animals known as Oligochaeta, which is itself part of the annelid phylum. In addition to earthworms, the Oligochaeta subclass includes a number of other terrestrial and aquatic worms, like blackworms, pot worms, and ice worms. The Oligochaeta, containing approximately 10,000 known species of worms, make up nearly half of the annelid phylum. Several of these species are the various types of earthworms, including, of course, the earthworms that live in Nebraska and other parts of the U.S. So, perhaps our reader’s question boils down to this: what specific species of earthworm live in Nebraska?

Given the variety of earthworms that exist, there are surely a few different kinds that live in Nebraska, but one of the more common species is the river worm (scientific name: diplocardia Riparia), a species that lives in the Central United States, including Nebraska. They tend to live in fine soils, and so are especially fond of river banks (hence the name). They have dark brown skin and tend to be about five to eight inches long. Like lots of other worms, they subsist off of organic matter, like leaf litter and other detritus in the soil.

So, the river worm is one species of earthworm that lives in Nebraska, but as we implied earlier, our reader should really just focus on reading about earthworms in general if they want to know more about these creatures. Sure, there are minor differences between the various types of earthworms (there has to be, otherwise they wouldn’t be regarded as different species), but they are all extremely similar. When the common folk (as opposed to scientists studying worms) talk of earthworms, they are referring to earthworms in general. This is how the term is understood. There is tons of information about earthworms out there, so we encourage our reader to dig into this material to help him on his quest to learn more about earthworms in Nebraska.

Some of the most common worms are in the annelid phylum, most notably the earthworm, but ragworms and leeches are a part of this phylum too. Many science textbooks still break annelids into the following divisions: one, polychaetes, which includes virtually all of the marine annelids; two, oligochaetes, a group that includes earthworms; and three, leech-like species. However, research dating back to 1997 has radically complicated this view – for example, the leach-like annelids are now regarded as a subgroup of the oligochaetes – leading to new classification schemes that are still being worked out.

Annelids live in many different environments that differ substantially from one another. Many are found in marine environments, ranging from hydrothermal vents to tidal zones, but a wide range of species also live in freshwater. Given that earthworms are annelids, clearly not all annelids live in water, although even those that live on land require moist environments, or else they will dry out and perish. Annelids are also known to live in environments that keep them safe, like chasms in rocks and muddy areas. Perhaps most interesting of all, annelids sometimes live in other invertebrate animals, like sponges, and some even live in cylinders of their own creation; these types of worms (e.g., calcareous tube worm) secrete materials around their bodies that form into tubes. The parenthetically noted calcareous tube worm discharges a calcium carbonate tube, for example.

As for the structure of the annelids themselves, they have (as we previously mentioned) segmented bodies. Each segment has a body cavity surrounded by the body walls that houses its internal organs. The body is made of muscles and rigid hairs; the former primarily help with movement, including swimming and crawling on the ground, while the latter are often used to grip sand and dirt. These small hairs can also help keep worms in their tubes.

Although annelids are very simple animals, they nevertheless have a nervous system, a digestive system, and a circulatory system. The nervous system is comprised of tentacles, taste buds, and very simple eyes. (Yes, worms can see…kind of.) The digestive system of annelids is also very simple, as it is merely a gut that runs along the worms’ undersides. The circulatory system, as its name implies, circulates; in particular, it circulates the worm’s blood, which can be a reddish or greenish color (or even no color at all), around its body. It is in part this simple body design, characteristic of lots of types of worms, that allows annelids to live in many different environments, including many of our lawns, that favorite place of earthworms.

Well, you clearly aren’t familiar with the many uses of worms! Indeed, worms can be used for a number of different purposes, ranging from compost, as in the case with worms factories, to pet food.

To truly appreciate the utility of worms, a survey of their many uses is in order. Once we convince you that worms can be purchased, we’ll point you to a few places that sell worms online.

(1) Worms are incredibly good at turning everyday, unprocessed compost (like kitchen scraps, rotten food, etc.) into rich compost that can be used for activities like gardening. Red Wigglers are particularly adept at this, but other worms can be used too.

(2) As this first point implies, worms are good at producing nutrient-rich compost, so worms are also used to enhance soil without the help of chemical fertilizers.

(3) Wild birds eat worms; people like to see wild birds. Therefore, people who want to see wild birds might be inclined to buy some worms and lay them out for birds to feast upon. Be sure to only do this in the shade, though, as we all know what happens (and quickly) to worms left in the sun.

(4) As any son who has been on a fishing trip with his dad knows, worms can be used as bait for fish. You might think it extravagant to purchase worms for fishing – after all, how hard is it to turn over a couple of rocks and grab some worms – but if you’re in a hurry and it hasn’t rained recently, it might behoove you to buy some worms on your way to the ocean, lake, or river.

(5) Tons of pets eat worms, and not just obscure pets. Do you ever wonder what people feed their small birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish? Worms! Also, some people raise fish for commercial purposes, and they too will often feed their stock worms.

(6) Last but certainly not least, some people buy worms to incorporate into their cooking! Yes, really!

So, there are six different reasons people might buy worms, and maybe you are now convinced that you too should buy some worms. Where might you go to purchase worms? Here are a few places where you can buy worms online:

Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm
Featured on Oprah, Uncle Jim’s takes their worms seriously. They sell Super Red Worms and Red Wrigglers.

The Worm Farm
The Worm Farm, another good place to buy worms online, sells Redworms, European Nightcrawlers, and Dendras.

EarthWorms 4 Sale
EarthWorms 4 Sale has a relatively large selection, offering Redworms, African Nightcrawlers, European Nightcrawlers, Canadian Nightcrawlers, and Alabama Jumpers.

Maggots, on the other hand, will eat any type of rotting meat, including the rotting or diseased flesh of animals and humans. However, maggots will not eat anything that is alive. Maggots appetites’ are ravenous, so they will eat dead flesh very quickly. But rather than eat live flesh, once the dead flesh is gone, the maggots will eat one another.

Maggots have a number of uses in the medical world. “Maggot Therapy,” has been used in the medical world since ancient times. Also called “larval therapy” and “Maggot Debridement Therapy” (MDT), maggot therapy uses live, disinfected maggots to eat the dead tissue on non-healing skin or the soft tissue of humans and animals. The maggots do not touch the live tissue. During the process of eating away dead tissue, the maggots discharge powerful antibiotics, which help treat the wound.

If you would like to test the speed and efficiency of a maggot when consuming dead animal flesh, try placing a small dead rodent in a vented container along with a handful of maggots. Maggots thrive in this stage in warm, dark, moist conditions, but they can live just about anywhere until they morph into flies, preferably wherever there is an abundance of rotting material. However, plant maggots do exist, in which case, the animals will only feed on fruits and leaves.

If you are planning an experiment with maggots, it is important to keep in mind that maggot infestations can be quite dangerous. Maggots can burrow into the skin and the intestines and cause damage to vital organs. They can also cause lesions. If you have an infestation and you are trying to get rid of the maggots, spraying with insecticide, dousing them with hydrochloric acid or pouring salt over them just won’t work. Maggots are smart, tough, and they are born with ferocious appetites for rotting material.

Maggots have to feed from several days up to several weeks, which is why they are not too eager to leave their birthplace. After they are done feeding (and only when they are done feeding), they will migrate to a dry place, typically outdoors, to hatch into the adult fly, beetle, or moth. So the only way to get rid of them sooner is to kill them.

The first thing you should do to get rid of maggots is get rid of their food source. This means clear all trash, dead animals or other rotting material from the area where you see them. One of the best poisons for maggots is permethrin. Permethrin kills maggots and any other insects on contact. This synthetic chemical is a neurotoxin that works by disabling the neuron membranes. It is important to note that permethrin is dangerous to household pets such as fish and cats. Other ways to get rid of maggots include:

-Pouring boiling hot water over the maggots
-Feeding them to fish
-Using powdered poisons formulated specifically for maggots

To prevent maggots, tie up all garbage tightly. Never leave meats or other foods out in the open for too long, especially when it’s warm. Flies and maggots love warm weather. All it takes is one fly to lay hundreds of eggs and in 8-20 hours you could have a full-blown infestation in your home or trashcan.

During the winter months, worms burrow deep into the soil, oftentimes up to six feet, to escape the bitter cold. Worms can survive in temperatures ranging from 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit, but the environment must still be moist and dark. When it is cold or dry, worms are not active. When the temperature of the soil reaches around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the worms will make their way back to the upper parts of soil and any eggs will hatch. You will notice white spots in the soil that look like pearls—those are worm eggs. But when the eggs hatch, a brown shell is left behind. The worm repeats this cycle every year.

About Earthworms

There are more than 4,400 different types of worms. Of the 4,400 species, there are 2,700 species of earthworm. There are more than 1,200 species of another type of worm called the inchworm. Each type of worm plays a major role in helping the earth’s trees, plants, fruits, and vegetables thrive. Worms aerate the soil, which means, worms dig tunnels in the soil, allowing air to get to plant roots.

Worms also eat organic matter digest it, and excrete the digested material. This digested material is called “castings.” Worm castings are rich with phosphorus, calcium, and potassium because the worms diet consists of leaves and dead grass, which contain organisms that provide a healthy diet of bacteria, algae, and fungi. Worms also eat plants, fruits, and vegetables.

Worms eat so much that they typically produce excrement equal to their own weight every 24 hours. Worm castings are ten times richer in nutrients than commercial topsoil, making it a valuable fertilizer for gardeners and farmers. Worm castings also help create channels within the layers of the earth’s soil, which helps to hold water better and keep moisture in the soil longer.

Earthworms can be found in just about every corner of the earth. They live in trees, in bark, and under rocks as well as along rivers, near springs, and in ponds. Their favorite place to live, however, is burrowed inside the earth’s rich soil. Places like China, Australia, Greenland, and the Sahara Desert have their own indigenous species of earthworms. Besides the Sahara Desert, you won’t find large numbers of worms living in “sandy” areas, especially sandy beaches. The vast majority of worms on our planet can only survive under certain environmental conditions.

Worm Anatomy and Reproduction

Earthworms belong to one of several different types of ecological groups. There are three broad ecological groups that have been identified for earthworms including: epigeic, endogeic, and anecic. The groups are based on what the earthworms eat and where they tend to live in the soil. The epigeic group is a litter feeder, litter dweller, pigmented, small in size, and it doesn’t burrow. The endogeic group consists of rich soil feeders, topsoil dwellers, has no pigmentation, burrows horizontally, and it is small in size. The anecic consists of litter and soil feeders, soil dwellers, dorsally pigmented bodies, extensive vertical burrows, and a large size. Size and color are usually good distinguishers for adult earthworms.

The earthworm has “setae” which are tiny hair-like projections that are arranged in rows along the earthworm body. The setae are used for locomotion by the earthworm. Worms have no lungs, so they breathe through their skin. This means that the worm’s environment and skin must be moist at all times. This allows the worm to breathe in oxygen. In addition to needing a moist environment for survival, worms must also remain close to their food supply.

Although you cannot see them, worms do have mouths. The earthworm mouth is called the prostomium. The worm’s mouth is actually big enough and powerful enough to grab a leaf and drag it around. They also have a pharynx, esophagus, crop, gizzard and intestine. When the worm eats its food, it pulls the materials into its mouth with the help of the pharynx and its prostomium (also called acron). This creates a suction motion. This suction motion aids in helping the worm consume large amounts of food in a sort amount of time. The gizzard grinds the food.

The clitellum of adult earthworms contains features called genital tumescence, and tubercula pubertatis. The clitellum features, the male pores, and female pores are found above the clitellum and are all parts of the earthworm reproductive system. The earthworm’s moist sustenance rich environment plays an extremely important role in reproduction

If you noticed that the earthworms in your soil seem to be disappearing, chances are they are not getting the things they need to survive or their habitat has been disturbed. Without earthworm’s survival, sadly, all of earth’s plants and trees would suffer. Although small and very easy to miss, these powerful creatures play a major role in helping the earth’s trees, plants, fruits, and vegetables thrive. Worms help trees and plants survive through a process called aeration. This means, the worms dig tunnels in the soil, which allows air to get to the plant roots.

Worms also eat organic matter, digest it, and excrete the digested material. Worms eat so much that they typically produce excrement equal to their own weight every 24 hours. This digested material worms eat is called “castings.” The castings are rich with phosphorus, calcium, and potassium. Worm castings are so valuable and ten times richer in nutrients that commercial topsoil, that many gardeners and farmers use the composting method to fertilize plants and crops.

Worm castings also help create channels within the layers of the earth’s soil, which helps to hold water better and keep moisture in the soil longer. The worm’s moist sustenance rich environment plays an extremely important role in reproduction as well. Worms prefer to mate and reproduce in warm moist soil, away from the light.

If the worms habitat is disturbed in anyway, this could lead to the death of worms. First, worms do not have lungs, so they breathe through their skin. This means that the worm’s environment and skin must be moist at all times. This allows the worm to breathe in oxygen. If the worm’s skin dries out, the worm will die from suffocation. While worms need moisture to survive, too much moisture can also be fatal. If too much water is present, it will take the place of oxygen. This will cause the worms to flee to the surface. Once on the surface, worms will be exposed to sunlight. If worms remain in the sunlight for too long, they can become paralyzed.

In addition to needing a dark, moist environment for survival, worms must also remain close to their food supply. Worms feast on leaves and dead grass. These organic materials contain organisms that provide a healthy diet of bacteria, algae, and fungi. Worms eat plenty of dirt as well, especially if they live deeper inside the earth. Worms also eat plants, fruits, and vegetables.

If you want to keep earthworms alive, refrain from disturbing their habitat and resist the urge to dig them up and examine them. This will only expose them to elements that their tiny bodies cannot handle. If you want to find out information about worms or review images, simply flip through the pages of an encyclopedia or search online.

Worms and caterpillars are not the only worm-like creatures that have differences, however. Some people are quick to confuse centipedes and millipedes with worms. The obvious differences between worms and centipedes and millipedes is the fast movement of these leggy creatures and the thousands of tiny legs attached to the body. So, if you have spotted a worm-like creature, the best thing to do is rule out that it is a worm first and take it from there as there are too many creatures on the planet to identify and name here.

There are more than 2,700 species of earthworm alone. So, when attempting to identify a worm or worm-like creature, there are several important steps that should be taken in order to identify them correctly. First, you should become familiar with the key characteristics used for identifying worms. Just a few of the characteristics used to identify earthworms include: Genital tumescene (GT), the Tubercula pubertatis (TP), and the Clitellum.

The clitellum of adult earthworms contains features called genital tumescence, and tubercula pubertatis. The clitellum features, the male pores, and female pores are found above the clitellum and are all parts of the earthworm reproductive system. The earthworm also has “setae” which are tiny hair-like projections that are arranged in rows along the earthworm body. The setae are used are used for locomotion by the earthworm. The prostomium is the earthworm mouth. The size, shape, and position of the different characteristics of the worm are different in different species of earthworms and will help you to identify the species of earthworms you may be dealing with.

After you have become familiar with earthworm characteristics, you should become familiar with the characteristics of earthworms that indicate which ecological group they belong to. There are three broad ecological groups that have been identified for earthworms including: epigeic, endogeic, and anecic. The groups are based on what the earthworms eat and where they tend to live in the soil. The epigeic group is a litter feeder, litter dweller, pigmented, small in size, and it doesn’t burrow. The endogeic group consists of rich soil feeders, topsoil dwellers, has no pigmentation, burrows horizontally, and it is small in size. The anecic consists of litter and soil feeders, soil dwellers, dorsally pigmented bodies, extensive vertical burrows, and a large size. Size and color are usually good distinguishers for adult earthworms.

For more information about identifying worms, you can download an online identification key for earthworms by clicking here to visit The Backyard Nature websites’ key or to access an online field guide to earthworms, click here.

About Earthworms

There are thousands of worm species on the planet today and each type of worm plays a part in helping the earth’s trees, plants, fruits, and vegetables thrive. Worms do several things for the earth. They aerate the soil. This means worms dig tunnels in the soil, which allows air to get to plant roots. Worms also eat organic matter, digest it, and excrete the digested material. This digested material is called “castings.” The castings are rich with phosphorus, calcium, and potassium.

Worm castings are ten times richer in nutrients than commercial topsoil, making it a valuable fertilizer for gardeners and farmers. Worm castings also help create channels within the layers of the earth’s soil, which helps to hold water better and keep moisture in the soil longer.

Earthworm Facts

·Worms eat so much that they typically produce excrement equal to their own weight every 24 hours.

·There are more than 4,400 different types of worms. Of the 4,400 species, there are 2,700 species of earthworm. There are more than 1,200 species of another type of worm called the inchworm.

·Earthworms belong to one of several different types of ecological groups. There are three broad ecological groups that have been identified for earthworms including: epigeic, endogeic, and anecic. The groups are based on what the earthworms eat and where they tend to live in the soil. The epigeic group is a litter feeder, litter dweller, pigmented, small in size, and it doesn’t burrow. The endogeic group consists of rich soil feeders, topsoil dwellers, has no pigmentation, burrows horizontally, and it is small in size. The anecic consists of litter and soil feeders, soil dwellers, dorsally pigmented bodies, extensive vertical burrows, and a large size. Size and color are usually good distinguishers for adult earthworms.

·Earthworms can be found in just about every corner of the earth. They live in trees, in bark, and under rocks as well as along rivers, near springs, and in ponds. Their favorite place to live, however, is burrowed inside the earth’s rich soil. During the winter months they burrow deep within the earth until the surface warms again during the spring. During the warm summer months, worms stay closer to the tops of soil where they create tunnels to wiggle in and out of. These tunnels are extremely important for plant life as they create a path for water and air, which is essential for the survival of plant life.

·The clitellum of adult earthworms contains features called genital tumescence, and tubercula pubertatis. The clitellum features, the male pores, and female pores are found above the clitellum and are all parts of the earthworm reproductive system.

·The earthworm has “setae” which are tiny hair-like projections that are arranged in rows along the earthworm body. The setae are used for locomotion by the earthworm.

·Places like China, Australia, Greenland, and the Sahara Desert have their own indigenous species of earthworms. Besides the Sahara Desert, you won’t find large numbers of worms living in “sandy” areas, especially sandy beaches. The vast majority of worms on our planet can only survive under certain environmental conditions.

·Worms have no lungs, so they breathe through their skin. This means that the worm’s environment and skin must be moist at all times. This allows the worm to breathe in oxygen. If the worm’s skin dries out, the worm will die from suffocation. While worms need moisture to survive, too much moisture can be fatal. If too much water is present, it takes the place of oxygen, which will cause the worms to flee to the surface. Once on the surface, worms will be exposed to sunlight. If worms remain in the sunlight for too long, they can become paralyzed.

·In addition to needing a moist environment for survival, worms must also remain close to their food supply. Worms feed off of leaves and dead grass, which contain organisms that provide a healthy diet of bacteria, algae, and fungi. Worms feast on dirt as well, especially if they live deeper inside the earth. Worms also eat plants, fruits and vegetables.

·Although you cannot see them, worms do have mouths. The earthworm mouth is called the prostomium. The worm’s mouth is actually big enough and powerful enough to grab a leaf and drag it around. They also have a pharynx, esophagus, crop, gizzard and intestine. When the worm eats its food, it pulls the materials into its mouth with the help of the pharynx and its prostomium (also called acron). This creates a suction motion. This suction motion aids in helping the worm consume large amounts of food in a sort amount of time. The gizzard grinds the food.

·The worm’s moist sustenance rich environment plays an extremely important role in reproduction. Worms prefer to mate and reproduce in warm moist soil, away from the light.

Worm castings are so valuable and ten times richer in nutrients that commercial topsoil, that many gardeners and farmers use the composting method to fertilize plants and crops. Worm castings also help create channels within the layers of the earth’s soil, which helps to hold water better and keep moisture in the soil longer.

To avoid killing earthworms, it is important to make sure the pest that has infested your milkwood, pecan, or apple tree does not have any of the characteristics of an earthworm. Just a few of the characteristics used to identify earthworms include Genital tumescene (GT), the Tubercula pubertatis (TP), and the Clitellum. The clitellum of adult earthworms contains features called genital tumescence, and tubercula pubertatis. The clitellum features, the male pores, and female pores are found above the clitellum and are all parts of the earthworm reproductive system.

Earthworms also have “setae” which are tiny hair-like projections that are arranged in rows along the earthworm body. The setae are used are used for locomotion by the earthworm. The prostomium is the earthworm mouth. The size, shape, and position of the different characteristics of the worm are different in different species of earthworms and will help you to identify the species of earthworms you may be dealing with.

Once you have made the determination that the pests are not earthworms, you can begin treatment. Try using Dipel Dust & Spray or Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt). Fortunately, these insecticides are harmless to people and they are not considered toxic to friendly insects. If you decide to use anything stronger than these biological insecticides, please consider hiring a professional home and garden exterminator. A professional home and garden exterminator will know exactly how to kill the pests in your trees without killing earthworms or causing any further damage to your trees.

For more information on how to control pests in your garden and trees, visit the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources website at http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r107303211.html.