"Mathew in the Mountains" wrote in message
oups.com...
Could also just be the worms. I recently saw a news article on worms,
tossed out into the woods By fishermen in a lake district, having a
negative effect on the enviornment. All the local flora & fauna is
keyed to grow, nest & thrive in dry duff & leaf mould. The worms were
eating this up & leaving behind rich wormcastings, exactly the wrong
kind of soil for the local plants & animals. As to how to get rid of
them.... No clue, I can't imagine there's a poison on the market that
would take out the worms without hurting your plants.... Mabey a
beneficial predator could be imported to that spot? Good luck!

Mathew


NPR ran a story about that some time ago. If I recall, the biologist they
interviewed said that various species of worms belonged in fairly small
areas, and when they were redistributed, they wreaked havoc. This we get a
huge proportion of worms (as bait) from Canada, this is exactly the wrong
kind of redistribution. She suggested that fishermen just dump their worms
in the water, or keep them for the next fishing trip. Easy to convince
fishermen to keep them. Not so easy to convince spouses sometimes. :-)