Fight The Flatworms

New Zealand flat worms are an invasive species accidentally introduced to the UK and Ireland in the 1960s, and they are now wide-spread throughout Northern Ireland. Flat worms eat large numbers of earth worms, and native birds don't like to eat them, so they do no good in your garden. We are lucky to have loads of worms at our allotment, but I very rarely find any at all in our home garden, just a few minutes up the road from our plot. Today I was moving pots in the garden and discovered several of these ravenous New Zealand flat worms hiding underneath. New Zealand flat worms can't tolerate temperatures below zero or above 20C, so when harsh weather threatens they hide in sheltered places under stones, under pots, and even on the insides of pots with gaps in the soil.

Our recent unseasonably chilly weather means that these beasties are likely to be hiding in sheltered spots right now, so lift your pots and planters and see if you can spot any of them. If you do see any New Zealand Flat Worms, or their black shiny egg cases, destroy them. Sadly you are unlikely to ever get rid of them all from a garden, but the more you get rid of, the fewer there are gorging themselves on your precious earth worms.

The picture above was taken this afternoon in my garden. I collected 5 flat worms and as many egg cases, put them in a jar, and then poured boiling water over them to kill them. If you prefer to squish them, wear gloves as they can cause a skin reaction in some people. 

There are native flat worms, but they look nothing like the foreign invaders, so don't worry - you can't mistake anything you want to keep in the garden for these nasty worm-eating mini monsters.