Tiny White Worms in Garden Soil – Pot Worms

Last Updated on April 24, 2021 by Jeffery Jago

Right off the bat, don’t worry if you see these tiny white worms in garden soil. Although their appearance is different than what you normally come to expect from the creatures living in your compost, they are definitely beneficial to have. Some people confuse these for baby red wigglers, which is not the case. They are their own variety and species.

Why now of all times have they shown up in your compost or garden? Simple – the Ph level of your pile may have gone down a bit, or it’s far wetter than it used to be. Those create the ideal habitat for these little pot worms.

So don’t worry, these guy’s will continue to help you break down your mulch, left overs and everything in-between. With that out of the way…

What are Pot Worms and how did I get them?

Potworms are tiny clear worms found in potting soil, Compost, manure, and in your garden. These guys move in when conditions are ideal for them (lower Ph and very wet). Unfortunately, if you are seeing pot worms in your compost, that means the Ph is probably too low for your other worms, rigglers, earthworms, etc.

These 2 worms are not compatible with each other when it comes to habitat ideals. So if you’re looking to go back to just having your regular worm buddies do the job, you should attempt to increase the Ph level of your piles.

You can do this easily by adding wood ash, powdered lime, or eggshells (crushed). This will increase Ph fairly quickly and you will notice the pot worms have left. You could also split your pile to a higher pH and a lower pH. This will allow you to have both types of worms live happily next to each other, and may allow you to toss different things into your compost that require lower or higher pH balances.

So if it ever comes up and you’re asking yourself whether white worms in soil good or bad? The answer is neither good nor bad, They just exist like anything else. They will do their job and process, aerate and digest your compost, just like they’re supposed to. But they won’t be able to live peacefully side by side with other worm types due to the incompatibility in their environmental preferences. Luckily removing pot worms from your garden or compost is super easy and you just need to raise the pH a bit.

Truth is, they aren’t a mystical invasive species that popped up overnight. They’ve always been in your piles, You just never noticed them because they were low in number. Living in tiny communities in low pH pockets of vericompost.

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