Maine agriculture officials said that this year’s wet weather appears to have helped spawn an explosion of an invasive worm across the state.
Maine State Horticulturist Gary Fish said that jumping worms have been confirmed in 13 of Maine’s 16 counties — and have probably spread even further.
“And people are finding hundreds of thousands of them in their gardens,” Fish told Maine Public’s “Maine Calling” program on Wednesday.
Fish said that there are no proven ways to manage the worm’s population, and he’s asking residents to be patient as scientists continue to look for new strategies.
“And hopefully, at some point, we’ll come up with some management measures that can reduce them,” Fish said.
Jumping worms — native to East Asia — were first discovered in Maine in 2014, and often wriggle and thrash like snakes when disturbed.
Scientists say the worms can cause soil erosion and deterioration, which can threaten some native species.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
