Finding Earthworms

Finding Earthworms

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
In talking with Soil Scientist Dr. Mary Stromberger, at Colorado State University about earthworms, it dawned on me that she might be able to tell us fishermen where our best shot at finding worms might be. "in soils that have earthworms, you would be in the range of about 100 individual worms per square meter. Boy that will make a lot of fishermen happy. What kinds of soils of the most hospitable for earthworms? In soils that have earthworms, you would find high populations in non-disturbed soils. Soils that have little or no physical disturbance. Grassland soils are an ideal example of a soil that doesn't have a lot of physical disturbance. Plowing in agriculture disrupts the burrowing system and can have a very negative impact on earthworms, especially the earthworms like nightcrawlers that dig these deep vertical burrows which are permanent structures. That's their habitat and plowing or any kind of physical disturbance that disrupts that burrowing system has a very negative affect on earthworm numbers. So grassland or no till soil that has neutral pH.
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