A Destructive 'jumping Worm' Is Invading Colorado And Western States, Officials Warn

A destructive "jumping worm" type is threatening gardens successful Colorado and nan West, state officials said Tuesday arsenic they urged greenish thumbs to support their eyes peeled for nan invasive pests.

There are "currently nary effective eradication methods for" nan "Asian jumping worm" — besides known arsenic a "crazy worm" aliases "snake worm" — which has been detected successful nan Hilltop vicinity of Denver, according to a connection by the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA).

The agency is "asking nurseries, landscaping contractors and landowners to beryllium connected nan lookout for immoderate signs of nan invasive jumping worms and report immoderate suspected sightings."

“Preventing immoderate dispersed of nan jumping worm successful Colorado is captious to protecting our state’s patient ungraded and autochthonal plants,” CDA head of plants Wondirad Gebru said successful a statement.

“Since location are nary effective eradication methods, we are asking gardeners and landscapers to beryllium vigilant, inspect their materials, and study immoderate imaginable sightings to our agency.”

The peculiar worm is autochthonal to East Asia and was first spotted successful California astatine a nursery successful Napa County successful 2021 and past retired successful nan wold successful Sonoma County successful 2023, according to that state's Department of Food and Agriculture.

"True to their name, these worms wriggle vigorously and tin moreover jump," nan California Department of Food and Agriculture said successful December.

"They are much voracious and quickly increasing than astir autochthonal earthworm species. They typically unrecorded adjacent nan aboveground of ungraded and tin quickly deplete leafage litter and trim nan magnitude of beneficial microorganisms successful soils."