Breathing | The Compost Worm | Worm Composting | Guide

Worms have no lungs and instead get oxygen through their skin. This sounds pretty cool but it does have one major drawback. The skin has to be very porous and the worm therefore is in severe danger of drying out in any hot and dry environment. If you ever see a worm on a pavement on a sunny day, do it a favour and put it on the nearest bit of soil before it turns into a crisp. Because of this drying out problem, worms need to live in an environment which is moist. Moist is much better than wet because in moist soil they can create burrows that hold their shape allowing air to circulate. In a wormery if the soil becomes too wet, the worms will all move to the top in order to breathe

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Wendy, 9 April 2020

I am trying to find out the name/type of worm that comes out during and after rain. They are small, brown and slender. Today I woke to hundreds crawling up the outside walls of my house. I have recently filled some garden beds with soil so they are probably from there. Thanks

John, 13 June 2012

god save the worm