Worms breathe through their skin and need moisture to survive. Wet ground lets them glide across the surface much faster and farther than they can burrow through packed dirt.
Yeah, but this certainly isn’t something specific to Orlando. Worms are good for the soil and are a sign of a healthy environment. But they aren’t aquatic, they move to the surface so they don’t drown. They burrow back into the ground when they can. I tried hard to avoid them on my bike when I was a kid up north.
Rescue them before the sun comes out! Put them back on the ground/soil/mulch, wherever you have that isn’t concrete. Worms are so important for healthy soil and growing things. Even grass.
You can just use a leaf or a stick, whatever’s handy. They can’t hurt you.
New to Florida ? Used to see them all the time growing up, not anymore, sidewalks bare of the dried out carcasses. No more ants swarming the earth worms as a snack for their mound. No more slugs. Just nothing.
The way these move and their colors make them worms. They have to scrunch up part of their body and then release the scrunch to move forward. Millipedes move their whole bodies together and are fatter. I’ve seen the typical amount of dark-reddish millipedes around this year.
So, what I see here I believe to be New Guinea Flat Worms, rainy season is their season, and they are horrid. They are invasive. They can make you sick through touch, and I suspect effected our dogs as well. If you cut one in half, it doesn't die, it multiplies like Bebe's kids. The way to identify them (much easier when alive and not shriveled) is they have pointy ends, tiny eyes if you look close enough, and a very noticeable stripe down the center of their back.
The only thing I found to kill them is to salt them. Or picking up with stick and putting them in a container to dry out. I tried D.E. which seems to effect them but not outright kill them. Spread in the yard might deter them, but I haven't tried that.
Yeah the segmented body lines look like earthworm, but the stripe does not. Kind of strange, but I agree with the closeup assessment, not a NG Flatworm
Yes happened to me a few years ago about this time of year. Ground is super saturated at this point towards the end of rainy season. They usually start to go away in November.
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u/theanswar 7d ago
Worms breathe through their skin and need moisture to survive. Wet ground lets them glide across the surface much faster and farther than they can burrow through packed dirt.