Asian jumping earthworm, native to Japan and Korea, spotted in Sacramento neighborhood
SACRAMENTO — An invasive species has popped up in a Sacramento neighborhood, and let's just say people aren't digging them.
To the untrained eye, the worm doesn't look much different from any others that people might find on their lawns, but there's one thing about this invasive species that really stands out.
"They can jump ten inches off the ground," said retired state entomologist Terry Allen.
Allen said this is the first time the Asian jumping earthworm has been seen in Sacramento County. He first spotted one while out for a walk in his pocket area neighborhood.
"As I picked it up, it jumped out of my hands, and I went, 'What in the world is this?' " Allen said.
The jumping worms are native to Japan and Korea. So how did they get to California?
"I'm going to assume that they were accidentally transferred in through potted plants and that anyone who has bought a potted plant may have inadvertently planted something with the eggs or the worms itself," Allen said.
The invasive wigglers can be destructive to forests and they get in a turf war with traditional worms that are good for the environment.
"It will crowd out the European earthworm that we rely on to nurture our soil, to eat the decomposing vegetation," Allen said.
California agricultural officials say they were first spotted in Napa County in 2021. They are also found in more than a dozen other states.
"I have now found them over about a 12-block area here in the Pocket neighborhood but I'm sure they're in other locations," Allen said.
And there's no good way to get rid of them.
"I don't know of any controls that would kill these worms without killing the European earthworm, which we do not want to do," Allen said.
Allen said people who spot the invasive earthworms should contact their local county ag department.