Talkback: New Zealand flatworms - Talkback

gailms

24/11/2011 at 15:28

I have a cert in horticulture studied in 1993 in west lothian, while there I became aware of the problem that we have in britain with the new zealand flat worm. I recently bought a house and found one in the garden under a plant pot, since then whilst digging and creating I have not found or see one earth worm !!!!!!!! and today while raking up some bark chippings found 2 cocoons HELP

gailms

24/11/2011 at 15:28

Hi its Gailms again , Do you are you able to answer any comments Thank you

icecrystalserp

24/11/2011 at 15:29

was quite disturbed to find nz flatworms how ever when they were found we were actually hunting slugs under logs closely followed by our new call ducks which when seeing we had something in our hands promptly gobbled them up too!!!this incidently is near saltash in cornwall how far are they distributed in the uk?icecrystalserp

Joiner1

24/11/2011 at 15:29

I've found 104 so far this year under a carpet tile next to the compost heap, dont understand what they are all living on as I cant find any worms.
I did read somewhere that beetle larvae eat flatworms and have started log piles all over the gardn. I'm in the clyde valley

pepper1

24/11/2011 at 15:29

we have read reports people finding a couple of flat worms,we are in the highlands of scotland,and we are finding hundreds of them ,any advice on how to get rid of them please hope you can help thanks

emily1982

24/11/2011 at 15:30

Clearing the last of the peas from the garden I've just found an australian flatworm, and i now realise I've not seen worms in the garden for a long time. How can i stop their spread? Can they contribute to a poor harvest form the garden? I'm in West Yorkshire.

r0bb1eb

14/02/2012 at 16:32

New Zealand flatworms are here to stay unfortunately. They have become widespread throughout the British Isles and there is no treatment that I know of. They live underground chasing along the earthworm tunnels which can go quite deep. The only thing to do is to manage them by capture and kill methods and encourage predatory beetles as stated in the article and above comments. Encouraging earthworm to reproduce more with plenty of manure and compost helps to achieve an equilibrium of sorts but vigilance is always needed.

r0bb1eb

14/02/2012 at 16:35

New Zealand flatworms are here to stay unfortunately. They have become widespread throughout the British Isles and there is no treatment that I know of. They live underground chasing along the earthworm tunnels which can go quite deep. The only thing to do is to manage them by capture and kill methods and encourage predatory beetles as stated in the article and above comments. Their egg sacks are shiney black balls that harbour a number of young ones so they need to be disposed of as well. Encouraging earthworm to reproduce more with plenty of manure and compost helps to achieve an equilibrium of sorts but vigilance is always needed.

Dragonflyblue

18/02/2012 at 18:15

Does anyone feel as I do about, not just these flat worms, but all the other 'imported' pests and diseases, that the powers that be, that are meant to be keeping a vigilent eye on imported plants, trees etc are not doing a very good job! There has been so many plant devasting problems that it is hard to name them all, the one that sticks in my mind is this oak killing moth, not only is it eating its way through whats left of our oak trees it is toxic to humans, animals, land and crops, and could be fatal. Nothing seems to kill these things and they multiply at a rate of knots. You can google it the info is scarey! At the moment the authorities are squabbling over whos responsible and who is going to foot the bill, in the meantime these things have eaten another oak forest! These trees were fetched in by a london coucil, from a broad, probabley to save a few quid, but now someone is going to be faced with a bill for millions to get them under control, do we not have fantastic tree growing nurseries here, of course we do, so why are they not being used... I think they should do as they do to with imported animals, and quarrentine plants for a while so they can be sure they are not harboring unwanted problems, but what about buying over the net!!

Phew!! rant over, but I do feel passionate about this subject, and although there are many beautiful plants world wide that we would love, are they worth it at the sacrifice of our own nartural plants...

Dragonflyblue

18/02/2012 at 18:18

Sorry meant oak killing caterpillar that are the most toxic, though they do turn into moths, of course.

Wyrtweard

24/02/2012 at 15:18

Hi
i have confirmed flatworms in my garden, and today have been horrified to find loads more under black weed-control matting. There are also little clear-ish worms with colours inside very near to them and I'm not sure if they are babies. I hope not!
We live in the Highlands of Scotland, above Inverness and i desperately need to try and destroy them, so i can get some earthworms back into the garden. Have you any ideas for me?
From Gill Spooner

Dragonflyblue

10/03/2012 at 20:36

OOh, I didn't know flat worms had got this far up (I live near Forres,Morayshire), so will be keeping a sharp eye out for them Wyrtweard...

Edentoy

17/03/2012 at 18:20

I have just found flatworms on my allotment today.They where in a bed that i had covered in manure during the autumn.The other beds that didn't have manure applied are not showing any evidence of them.Is there any way of eradicating them, my allotment is in Carrickfergus Northern Ireland.

Joiner1

23/03/2012 at 23:24

Carpet tiles going well, although I keep crushing flatworms up to a dozen a week after 1year there's a marked increase in earthworms, worth persevering

Gerry Court

31/03/2012 at 16:24

I found 4 today under slabs I was hosing and immediately killed them. What I was told was a flat worm is long thin 1 - 1.5 cms, brown and appear to have tiny caterpillar type legs. I've been killing them. What are they? Sorry I didn't photograph the flatworms I killed but I've only just found this web site.

Gerry

Joiner1

01/04/2012 at 20:56

The picture at top of his article is pretty typical , I've never found any not curled up band slimy, no legs don't know what your kiling but it's not flatworms. T.he adults can easily bee 6 cm

Loki

16/04/2012 at 12:50

Not enough is being done to control New Zealand flatworms - all research seems dated. What happened to the research into their native predators / parasites? Some dna mapping is taking place but what good will that do? Years ago researchers said there was a midge from Tasmania that parasitises NZFs - what happened to research into this? Isn't capturing and destroying them a waste of time since they can reproduce by parthenogenesis? Also, when a predator is removed from a territory - more from the surrounding area will move in. Here in Aberdeen at our allotment site we have hardly any earthworms, and wildlife (blackbirds, starlings, hedgehogs) must also be affected. DEFRA should be doing more! :/

Kate Bradbury

16/04/2012 at 13:50

Gerry Court, the creature you are describing sounds like flat-backed millipede. These are lovely, beneficial creatures. Information here

Mel5

23/04/2012 at 11:22

Mel here,have just found them on my allotment,in Dartmouth, Devon, still have good numbers of earthworms, but for how much longer?
The allotments were uncultivated till we got them just over a year ago.
I'm one of the few holders who uses organic methods, so am worried that the chemicals, ie slug pellets will poison the soil and habitat that attract ground beetles, who may be flat worm preditors!

ken blakeley

27/04/2012 at 16:38

perth-put down heavy plastic,old carpet etc with a bit of weight on it,check on it frequently.worms are nocturnal and like damp cool areas to hide. tell tales are circular slime patches...the worms can be tiny 1cm to6 or 7.they allways curl up and expose a light pinkish frill and look like a bit of slime,they stick to just about anything and are easy to pick up,you must totally mash them!!!! eggs are shiny black about 4mm.i find and kill them almost daily but the earthworms are on the increase,tell your neighbours because they will have them if u do.beware dogs will eat the mashed worms and will be sick ours is currently very ill with suspected poisoning!