New Zealand Flatworm??

JulieSh · Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:35 pm Post subject: New Zealand Flatworm??

Hi All,

So, I started digging in the garden today - unfortunately, the soil is very clay-like, so for my little trees, I dug a huge hole & mixed in a lot of compost with the soil to prepare the ground..... now, we have a new house & new garden, so there is a lot of hard-core infill, so also lots of big stones to take out!

Anyhow, on the 2nd hole, I spotted a really weird looking worm - flat, almost frilly at the edges & looked to have a 'nose'... dark brown topside & lighter on the underside... I watched it in the barrow for quite a while, but stupidly I didn't take a photo....

So, I researched on the web & found a site about the New Zealand Flatworm - so now I'm worried! It also states that they have been found in the UK - Wales, Scotland & N. Ireland.
Does anyone here know anything about these?
If I should find anymore, should I be notifying anyone? Apparently, they're not good for the garden or soil & feed on normal earthworms.

I shall be vigilant over the next few weeks while I am digging, but I dearly hope I am wrong - If I should spot anymore, I will take a pic & post it - in the meantime, any info on what to do would be helpful
Thanks, Julie.
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JennyS · Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 12:17 am Post subject:

Squash it! Though that takes a bit of doing - I usually squash between two stones.... keep an eye out for the eggs too, they are round, shiny and black.

Horrible things, they live off earth-worms, and they've been around for quite a while now.
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Irish wildflowers

GPI · Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:53 pm Post subject:

Spot on Jenny.
JulieSh I hope you have not, but if you do have a fair population of these pests, it should be easy enough to capture a few.
Lay out a few sheets of black polythene or silage cover with some stones holding it in place.
The flatworms will group underneath this, with the best time to check in the early morning.

I would love to see a photo posted if you take one, as it will inform all the other members about flatworms.

JulieSh · Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:11 pm Post subject: Thanks....

Thanks for the replies - I only wished I had kept it now until I had had a chance to do some research! Rolling Eyes

I have a tel number for someone in N.I. concerning these worms & I am going to call him on Monday, just to clarify.

In the meantime, if I see any more, I shall certainly post some pics & then squash & boil - apparently, they are similar to our normal worms, in that any segments can continue to live...

Also, the mucus on these worms can be irritating to us & our skin, so any touching/squashing must certainly be done with gloves on!

Now, my other topic today is digging up the thousands of thistles in the lawn... Grr!! Tougher gloves are now on my shopping list!!
Julie.
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To be interesting to others, you need to have interests of your own........

Roger · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 11:46 am Post subject:

Hi Julie,

I live in Castlepollard, near Mullingar and we have 0.6acre of garden... we have discovered since we moved in over 3 years ago that we have New Zealand Flatworms all over the place too!!!

I have tried to see if i should be reporting this, but the little info i found on the net in this regards has been of no help to me as all seems to direct me to England or Northern Ireland.

We are constantly on the look out for these worms and we destroy them as soon as we find them... however i can confirm that by putting a plastic sheet on the ground is a great way to capture them...
The only thing is you need to make sure you put weight over the plastic (stones or even some garden debris) and leave it in the same spot for several days otherwise they won't go under it... If you check under the plastic after a few days it will give you an idea of how commun they are in your garden.

Anyway, if anyone knows if i should be reporting this issue. please let me know who to go to!
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Roger Pessoa

Roger · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:01 pm Post subject:

By The way... i meant to attach a link which shows very good pics of the Flat Worms at different life stages. (click on Image Gallery for pics!)

I hope it will help people to recognise them...

http://flatworm.csl.gov.uk/
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Roger Pessoa

GPI · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:29 pm Post subject:

Thanks for that Roger.
Good to hear the plastic trick is working for you.

So from the posts so far we have sightings of this pest in......

Abbey, Co. Galway

West Cork,

Castlepollard Co Westmeath.

It would be great to get feedback from other parts of the country.
So post away if you've spotted any flatworms in your site.