Are you weirded-out by worms?
Posted on May 4th, 2009 – 9:37 AMBy Jaime Chismar
This weekend, the BF and I helped our neighbor, Jeff clear out a bed. Jeff is a big sweetheart, but not a big gardener. He grows some beautiful peonies — and some impressive Chinese elm seedlings.
I grabbed my pruners and got to work on the perennials. The boys grabbed their shovels and dug out the more aggressive volunteers. Soil was flying.
After uprooting a particularly stubborn Chinese Elm, Jeff laid down his shovel and backed away from the bed. I recognized the look on his face. There was something unspeakable in the soil.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
Jeff shuddered, eyes fixated on the dirt. “I hate worms. I really do. They totally gross me out.”
Worms? I was shocked. I love worms — the fatter the better. After a big rain, I even rescue them from the driveway.
I don’t know very many people who hate worms. Do you? Are you weirded-out by worms? Please tell me why!
31 Responses to "Are you weirded-out by worms?"
I love finding worms in my garden. It shows me that the soil is doing well. I try to make sure I cover them back up if I dig them out.
My grandfather used to own a bait shop. As a kid I had to help him count worms to sell to customers.
I don’t mind little worms, but I’ve got worms the size of small snakes! I’m not a girly girl, but I can’t help it: Big, fat, squirmy worms GROSS ME OUT!
Worms are great. Grubs on the other hand…they are gross.
Worms are great, a sign of good soil!! I love most animals, and most things don’t gross me out, but get a spider near me and I scream like a girly girl.
LOL, I have to ask, what would Freud say about this thread?
I love worms! I’m one of those people who go out after it rains and throw the worms drying out on the driveway back to the grass.
Now spiders…ooo. I don’t like spiders. But I’m so afraid, I can’t kill them either, not to mention I know they’re the good guys. I just walk away, pretend I didn’t see them.
Worms - good. Spiders - ok. Except when they’re invading my house! I’ve had to move my twin-sized bed to my lower-level to make room for an office in my 2nd bedroom. My original plan was to use the bed downstairs as a day-bed/couch, but I’ve discovered spiders keep knitting the bed to the wall - especially in the corner. GROSS! What can I do to get rid of this problem???
toes~
Jamie C. - I believe you mean “shuddered” and not “shuttered”.
Thanks for the grammar catch! I think I need more coffee.
Toes - I would FREAK OUT if there were spiders in my bed. I’ve learned to ignore them in the garden, but scream and flail around the yard when they get on my clothes.
If your basement is moist, they are probably feasting on something. I’d move the bed to another corner and vacuum up my unwanted guests.
My first boss was so freaked out by worms that she was unable to come to work on rainy days. No lie. She’d call in, tell me that there were too many worms on the front sidewalk and so she’d have to “work from home”. Thirty years later and I’m still rolling my eyes. Guess I’m heartless.
Slugs are the stomach-turning worst. Minn. seems to lack those really gross darker slugs found in warmer climes, but the lighter smaller ones beseiged one of my hosta last year. Must bait with a tin full of beer this year. They love that. I suppose if you are an escargot lover slugs won’t be a turnoff. But I’m not. Wine and garlic can’t disguise everything.
No! Don’t vacuum up spiders, trap them in a glass and put them outside if you have the courage. My BF does it for me after I scream. I hate lower levels for this very reason. I have heard that there is some weird fruit you can buy, and you set it around your house as a spider deterrent. Anyone remember which one? It’s a weird name.
One slug isn’t gross, but many slugs make me a bit queasy. New Jersey has GIANT banana slugs. I think they are worse.
I meet a gardener who grew everything in a container because she was afraid to touch bugs in the soil. I wonder if it was really a worm thing?
The weird fruit that is supposed to repel the spiders is called a Osage orange or a hedge ball. They grow from southern Iowa on south on trees that have so many thorns that they just plant the trees in a row and they tangle together to make a impermable fence. The fruit is green or brown and warty and smells remotely orangelike. IMO they are not very effective, I prefer the wet/dry vac with a extension nozzle (I don’t wanna get too close…)
If you have dampness in your basement the spiders are noshing on the centipedes (which may be just as gross to have many of). Use a dehumidifier.
hedge ball! that’s it! i have never actually tried them to see if they are effective, so i have no opinion on that.
[…] Greengirls – […]
He’s not a fisherman, is he?
My four-year-old daughter LOVES worms. She begs me to find worms for her when we are digging in the garden. Her preschool had a big container full of dirt and worms this week for them to dig in and she was in HEAVEN.
I kinda like slugs. I like the little slime trail they leave on the sidewalk. Sometimes it’s like a crime scene. You can follow the little slime trail around to . . . the body of a dead snail. CSI GARDEN!
Why would anyone care about if someone does or does not like worms. I used to enjoy checking in on this blog but as of late the articles are very blah. Rake handle to the head? Bf doesn’t like worms? I used to like reading this blog to actually learn something from the writers and the community. Not today. I guess I’ll do a worm dance in my garden today and see if i learn anything.
I agree somewhat with Juan. Most helpful would be articles dealing with timely issues for newer gardeners, like what/when to prune, plant, divide, chores in the garden based on current season.
exactly my point Bluebirdy. It’s prime time planting season and there is a lot to learn out there for new gardeners. I used this blog to learn a lot last year. The last few articles I heard peoples opinions if rakes this them in the head, how your turn your dirt over, and now if i can stand the sight of a worm. It’s hard to find good local info for gardeners. Is this the Greengirls blog or the 3 stooges?
i would like to see some more useful info here…we can keep the humor, of course, but maybe some more useful info about worms and how to attract them to our gardens…for example. just my opinion…
There are 100’s of good idea’s to write about at this time of year. How worms are beneficial to the garden and how you can attract/keep them would be a good start. But to write an article on how the BF is too whimpy to look at one? Correct me if I am wrong, but my guess the majority of the readers would prefer to learn something here.
question - is there anywhere local (as opposed to the internet) to buy row covers? and do they sell smaller sizes, like 10′ long or so? i can rule out the big box garden centers after this weekend. i have a row of brassicas i’d like to protect from the white cabbage moths.
Laura, row cover is nothing more than poly tulle. Nylon will also work and it is widely available in every fabric outlet. Or,if you like me are cheap, go to Savers or Goodwill and cruise the fabric section. It doesn’t matter if the stuff is hot pink when you only spent a dollar on a 5′ x 45″ piece.
Hedgeballs are really osage oranges. Down in southern Iowa farmers used to use osage orange trees as wind breaks near their houses for their bug repellent properties.
Just starting to read this blog, and I enjoy it and learn from it. Thanks to all the posters and the Green Girls.
Juan, Chris and Bluebird74,
I really appreciate your feedback. We Greengirls try to balance the art and science of gardening with gardening with the culture of gardening. Sometimes, it’s a long post on onions. Sometimes, it’s a post on garden accidents.
Last Friday, we posted an open forum for questions. We will continue to do so through out the growing season.
It sounds like we need to return our roots (no pun intended) and provide a little more garden how-to. It’s still too cold to plant a lot of veggies, but there is still plenty to do in the garden!
Best,
Jaime
I enjoy this blog, especially now that we’ve officially got our first garden this year at our house we’ve lived in for a little over 2 yrs.
My experience with hedge balls is that they do not really work that well in the basement.
I wanted to mention that I LOVE seeing worms. When I’m working outside and see a huge worm, I let out a big exclamation “OOOH!” and I pick it up and look at it and talk to it a little (”What a good little worm..”). I guess I am strange but I talk to my dog too. I will either show my hubby or just put the worm back in a good spot and cover it with some dirt.
We’ve noticed that after we turned our raised beds with manure, peat, and compost that the worms are LOVING our beds. We also noticed them all over the place in other beds in the yard that have not necessarily gotten a dose of compost or manure. A couple days ago we noticed a HUGE worm in the bottom of a pile of leaves that were still in need of picking up from last fall.
Slugs however I do not like and only because of the damage they cause. I pick them up and kill them whenever I see them. Actually I haven’t killed them yet, I just stick them in a jar. I’m amazed how long those things can live in a jar.
[…] Monday’s post on earthworms generated an interesting discussion about creepy crawlies in the garden. Even if they churn our stomachs, our earthworm and spider populations keep our garden soils and garden plants healthy. […]
Greengirls Connie Nelson, Robyn Dochterman and Jaime Chismar are dishin' the dirt from the backyard garden and beyond. Whether you're a greenthumb or greenhorn, they're eager to learn from your misshaps, mistakes -- and most importantly, your sweet successes -- all growing season long.
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