Earthworms in pots

[lebmung]

Any idea how to kill earthworms from pots?
I get this problem every fall they eat my humus rich potting mix. Their casting affect my soil making it heavy and waterlogged.
I know most of the people think they are good, yes they are in soil outside not in pots.

[poncirsguy]

all my pots are full of earth worms.  I never thought of it being a problem.  I have grafted my trees to rootstock that do well in heavy wet clay soil.  Seville sour orange,  US897,  Poncirus trifoliata, and Flying dragon.

[roblack]

earthworms are beneficial.

killing them would only hurt your soil.

manually remove them if you don't like them

[Citradia]

I assumed the worms were good to help airerate the soil.

[Daintree]

Lebmung, I think you are probably tilting at windmills.
If your soil is heavy and waterlogged in the fall, the plants are saying they need less water at that time of year.

Carolyn

[Plantinyum]

I have worms in all my potted plants, have never had any problems with them, I also add every dropped leaf from my plants on the surface of the pots to feed them. Every once in a while I fing one that escaped the pot confinement and got mummified on the house floor.
I think for removing them u should really try to pick them , and not pour any chemicals for killing them ,since those may set the biological balance on the soil off. One trick with which u could stimulate them to show up is to shake or slap the sides of the pot, making vibrations or sometimes the slightest movement of the pot sets the biggest specimens running out of the soil, dunno the reason but this has always happened for me.

[sea4]

I wouldn't think the volume of castings would affect the drainage significantly. 
For vermicomposting I have read that you put a piece of bread on the surface attract them, and then you can collect them. Didn't work for me, though.

[lebmung]

They are a problem because they disturb the roots. Their castings are heavier and hold more water.
These are not the small Californian worms used in vermicompisting. They are big from soil getting into pots. Some are pencil sized.

[poncirsguy]

I use a political support sign rod to push holes down in my soil to help with aeration.  Coat hanger is too thin.  I push in 25 hole several times a year away from the trunk.

[Plantinyum]

Most of the worms in my pots are garden worms also the ones that get some times around 30 cm long. I have not had problems with them disturbing the roots of my plants as far as I know. They do concentrate around the bottom of the pot where its more wet. I have also wondered if they do eat the roots of my plants and a quick search shows that they prefer and mainly eat dead vegetation and fallen leaves , so I keep my pots full with top dressed organic  matter like leaves, twigs, fruit and veggie scraps and such, just to keep the happy and busy . Adding organics for me adds the benefit or retaining moisture, and is beneficial for the biome of the soil I think.
I think worms are beneficial, theyr poo is fertilizer ,they make tunnels for air and water to travel, the latter is important if u have compacted potting soil or a plant that has a very fibrous and dense root zone.
For a better drainage I just make my pots bottom like a sieve, add as much holes as I can so if some get clogged by worms or such u still have sufficient drainage.

[Francis_Eric]

One of those books about natural chemical uses states if you add powdered mustard out side the worms will come to the soil
I am not really a fisherman so never tried it myself.

How mush perlite does your pots have?
 I have been reading a lot lately about what was used for oil spills zeolite mineral for retaining water in soil
It looks like cat liter you can get it at a feed store for cheaper then other places as pdz (a 25 lb bag for $10)
 but your in Romania maybe try similar feed stores over there..

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/sweet-pdz-stall-refresher-25-lb-5065990

Also Over here We have a new Invasive Worm that eats compost degrading soil called jumping worms

I quote this from the MN Department of natural resources

"The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is cautioning gardeners and anglers to be on the lookout for invasive jumping worms. These destructive worms can quickly degrade soils and damage garden plants and lawns.

“Jumping worms are a relatively new invasive species in Minnesota and they are a threat to gardens and forests,” said Laura Van Riper, DNR terrestrial invasive species coordinator. “They make rich soil more like coffee grounds. They eat plant roots, damaging garden plants and sod.”

Jumping worms are a type of earthworm that looks similar to other common earthworms such as nightcrawlers. They are called “jumping worms” because they wiggle intensely when disturbed and sometimes appear to be jumping. Native to Asia, jumping worms have been confirmed in limited areas of Minnesota since 2006, mainly in the Twin Cities and western suburbs and in Rochester. It’s believe that they were spread throughout North America by people moving potted plants, soil, compost, mulch and fishing bait."

[Francis_Eric]

Might be a better identification for people in the  mid west

Jumping worms can be iridescent and they have a smooth clitellum (ring) around their bodies. In many other species of earthworms this ring is raised. Photo credit: Josef Gorres, University of Vermont

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/terrestrialanimals/jumping-worm/index.html

[lebmung]

Very interesting report.
I can't make a difference between nightcrwalers and this jumping worms. But the soil gets granulated like coffee grounds but a bigger texture.
My pots which contain organic matter like bark and compost are the most affected. Where I grow Pt and it's hybrids.
Other pots which contain perlite are very little bit affected. They don't like the perlite.
What I don't like aborted these is that the make holes in the pot substrate and  roots get exposed.

I have nothing against them, they should live in soil, not my pots. I know many people here like to be on contact with nature and consider them harmless.  But I would never populate pots with leaves decaying organic matter or worms. It's a formula to disaster.
My best healthy strong plants live in soiless using high purity chiral fertilizers. Growing tropicals in a soil full of organic matter especially during the winter would be a total failure.
Plants can adapt to cold weather when they are not stressed.

[Francis_Eric]

I should of posted the Page that had the video
Not sure if I saw one, but they are very jumpy as seen in the video

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/news/2020/08/31/beware-jumping-worms-soil-gardening-mulch

Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkreYjDEp9Q&feature=youtu.be

COuld you show  a link of that chiral soil I looked it up, but didn't see a product.

I think the holes in soil is good to form nodes on the roots being exposed to oxygen

 I had pawpaw seeds protected from Squirrels /mice left in a cooler in bags in no soil just humidity from a bit of water ,
and the air exposed to them they formed nodes very early unlike what I saw in 1000's of others throughout the years.

[Francis_Eric]

Oh so that wou;d make sense for your soiless potting soil.
since more exposure to air,

[Plantinyum]

Growing tropicals in a soil full of organic matter especially during the winter would be a total failure.
Plants can adapt to cold weather when they are not stressed.


[/quote] this has not been the case for me, if u mean organics mixed with the soil ,havent tried this. Just putting organics on the top of the soil has not killed  one plant for me, tropical or not.