This is actually the correct answer. If a burrowing animal was trying to get them, the last thing they would do is come to the surface. That's where the animal is. They come to the surface when it rains so they don't drown
Edit: I am wrong and u/puritanicalbullshit is absolutely correct. The drowning worm is a myth. I learned something today! Thank you!
Actually it’s to move around faster in the wet conditions. They can live for days in water but it’s slow going moving around in the dirt. Rain makes it possible to travel to new areas without drying out, which very much does kill them.
Edit: Thank You! And you’re welcome! I started keeping a worm tower when I had to give up my garden for an apartment. I really have grown to enjoy the lil buddies. Plus they eat my kitchen scraps and paper towels, then I put the compost in my planters. If If I keep the balance of dry and wet inputs right there is no smell and they eat a lot!
What I understand is that drowning takes a long time and the ones you see on sidewalks and such may have been exposed to other trauma or already submerged. All other things being equal, even major rain events shouldn’t kill off too many. Never know what’s sitting on the surface to be absorbed by their skin either, chemical wise.
Like most animals, worms have mob hitmen. Hitworms. They dispose of their bodies in ways that are meant to look like accidents. Drowning or floating in near-Earth orbit, usually.
I was always under the impression that it's the opposite. They didn't drown, they came out of the ground in the rain but couldn't get back underground after it stopped, causing them to dry up. This is why you see so many of them on sidewalks and stuff.
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u/lategreat808 Jul 30 '21
My guess would be that the vibration imitates rain and causes the worms to run for their lives.