Unless you’re a real animal lover, you probably don’t rate worms very highly.

Their only plus side is that they spend most of their time underground, and they’re not known for invading homes.

Still, there’s no getting round the fact that worms are slimy, ugly, and a bit freaky. Finding one in your garden is gross, but at least they don’t cause any damage.

The same can’t be said, however, for the jumping worm.

Jumping worms are a genus native to Asia, but after being introduced to North America, you can now find them in states all across the Midwest.

It’s thought that these worms arrived in the country on imported plants and agricultural materials. They must have decided they liked their new environment enough to stick around, because there’s now more of them than ever.

They might look pretty innocent, but jumping worms can cause all sorts of environmental problems.

For a start, their appetites are insatiable. They move through soil, leaving behind granular dirt that looks and feels a bit like coffee grounds. Once the soil has been altered in this way, it’s unable to hold onto water, and it’ll quickly erode.

Imagine the problems this can cause – and is causing – on a large scale. Gardens and even forest ecosystems can be jeopardized by the destruction of these tiny invertebrates.

Should you be worried? It depends where you live.

You can currently find jumping worms in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Louisiana, Texas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana, according to a Newsweek report.

These worms can reproduce without mating, which, as you can imagine, makes them even more of a nightmare to eradicate.

What features should you look for in a jumping worm?

Unlike the common European nightcrawler, jumping worms have brown-ish skin with a white ring around the body.

They can’t actually jump, thank goodness – their name comes from the way they thrash and snap when they’re held or touched.

Unfortunately, these worms aren’t considered a tasty snack for any predators, which means their population will only continue to grow.

If you see a jumping worm in your garden, do your neighbors a favor and kill it.

If you allow the worms to thrive in your local area, they’ll leave behind a topsoil that no other beneficial plants and insects can live in.

Brad Herrick, an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum, says that there’s a quick and simple way to expose jumping worms.

Simply mix mustard powder with water to form a paste, then pour it over your soil.

After about 30 seconds, any jumping worms should crawl out of your soil, trying to get away from the mustard paste, which acts as a skin irritant.

It’s gross, but exposing these crawlers all at once means you can hopefully kill them all at once and prevent them from reproducing in your space.

You can learn more about jumping worms in the video below.

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Source: Newsweek, YouTube, Smithsonian