Have you gotten heavy rain lately? That does it pretty reliably around here
1sh0t1b33r
Poor worms.
yellow_banditos
I put nothing on my lawn and the worms do mass die offs like this during droughts, floods, fold, hot, they just Jamestown themselves all the time.
RiverEntire3221
Rehydrate them, they’ll come back
4fingertakedown
Probably just a heavy application of fertilizer.
It’s the salt – not table salt but fert contains potassium nitrate and/or ammonium nitrate –
The salt draws moisture from the worms skin and dehydrates them. They gtfo of the dirt because they’re dying obviously.
dexterity-77
dont we need worms
ZeusThunder369
There is no product meant for lawns one could buy that would kill worms if applied anywhere near the correct rates.
If it’s literally JUST that house, my best guess is a fungicide or insecticide that contains carbaryl or imidacloprid, that was applied at like 10x the directed rate.
mikeylee31
My dog would have a field day walking down that sidewalk.
candoitmyself
One time I had a sick dog with diarrhea and I thought it would be a good idea to spray some disinfectant to try to disinfect my grass. All of the worms came up like this onto the patio and died. I felt terrible.
after_tomorrow
I’ve seen this happen when ppl run their sprinklers early am and the worms crawl onto the wet sidewalk, then the full sun comes out shortly after and they can’t get back to soil fast enough to beat the sun. But never thhhat many.
Hixy
My guess is that it was actually just a very well aerated and cared for lawn. Then once a heavy rain hit or sprinklers the ground was able to absorb way more water causing them to need to come to surface to avoid drowning.
If it was rain the reason why it wasn’t all the lawns and just this one is because the soil is more aerated allowing them to move more and reproduce more. A perfect worm environment and healthy lawns will have more worms. However that aeration will also allow the water to penetrate much deeper causing them to need to escape to the surface to avoid drowning. Then they either get washed or wiggle to the sidewalk to their doom.
FirmRoyal
Could have been grub killer or a heavy fertilization app
ladyeclectic79
Oversaturation most likely, wormies tried to find someplace drier to breathe and the hot concrete dehydrated/killed them w the quickness.
Rare_Tea3155
Triazicide
another_day_in
My dog thinks they’re gummy worms in walks.
Jaded_Jackfruit5413
Looks like the Mojave desert.
cosmicjed
That happens to my yard when we get a lot of rain 🌧️
1gal_man
one time I helped my buddy empty out his above ground pool and all the worms came up and died on his driveway
Puzzleheaded_Rain_22
All the worms are brown, and the skies are gray.
zevtech
sometimes heavy rains will make them come out of the ground, and then it dries up and they die of heat
ItAintMe_2023
Water??
JayBird-2025
Nothing, it’s pretty common. Especially after a lot of rain following a drought
HARhoads716
Rain.
hobokobo1028
Water
Spags25
Lots of rain/watering will do this.
stonythefish42069
Probably water.
Ra1nDownZion
This happens after a rain. Rain goes into the soil, basically drowning the worms/pushing them up cuz the water is filling in all the empty space in the soil. Then they get washed out to the sidewalk or pavement and get cooked when the sun comes out. The other parts of the sidewalk dont have any maybe due to not having as many worms in the ground. Maybe the house owner cleaned them up. Maybe the soil in those other areas had more voids in it for the water to fill keeping the worms in the lawn
27 Comments
Have you gotten heavy rain lately? That does it pretty reliably around here
Poor worms.
I put nothing on my lawn and the worms do mass die offs like this during droughts, floods, fold, hot, they just Jamestown themselves all the time.
Rehydrate them, they’ll come back
Probably just a heavy application of fertilizer.
It’s the salt – not table salt but fert contains potassium nitrate and/or ammonium nitrate –
The salt draws moisture from the worms skin and dehydrates them. They gtfo of the dirt because they’re dying obviously.
dont we need worms
There is no product meant for lawns one could buy that would kill worms if applied anywhere near the correct rates.
If it’s literally JUST that house, my best guess is a fungicide or insecticide that contains carbaryl or imidacloprid, that was applied at like 10x the directed rate.
My dog would have a field day walking down that sidewalk.
One time I had a sick dog with diarrhea and I thought it would be a good idea to spray some disinfectant to try to disinfect my grass. All of the worms came up like this onto the patio and died. I felt terrible.
I’ve seen this happen when ppl run their sprinklers early am and the worms crawl onto the wet sidewalk, then the full sun comes out shortly after and they can’t get back to soil fast enough to beat the sun. But never thhhat many.
My guess is that it was actually just a very well aerated and cared for lawn. Then once a heavy rain hit or sprinklers the ground was able to absorb way more water causing them to need to come to surface to avoid drowning.
If it was rain the reason why it wasn’t all the lawns and just this one is because the soil is more aerated allowing them to move more and reproduce more. A perfect worm environment and healthy lawns will have more worms. However that aeration will also allow the water to penetrate much deeper causing them to need to escape to the surface to avoid drowning. Then they either get washed or wiggle to the sidewalk to their doom.
Could have been grub killer or a heavy fertilization app
Oversaturation most likely, wormies tried to find someplace drier to breathe and the hot concrete dehydrated/killed them w the quickness.
Triazicide
My dog thinks they’re gummy worms in walks.
Looks like the Mojave desert.
That happens to my yard when we get a lot of rain 🌧️
one time I helped my buddy empty out his above ground pool and all the worms came up and died on his driveway
All the worms are brown, and the skies are gray.
sometimes heavy rains will make them come out of the ground, and then it dries up and they die of heat
Water??
Nothing, it’s pretty common. Especially after a lot of rain following a drought
Rain.
Water
Lots of rain/watering will do this.
Probably water.
This happens after a rain. Rain goes into the soil, basically drowning the worms/pushing them up cuz the water is filling in all the empty space in the soil. Then they get washed out to the sidewalk or pavement and get cooked when the sun comes out. The other parts of the sidewalk dont have any maybe due to not having as many worms in the ground. Maybe the house owner cleaned them up. Maybe the soil in those other areas had more voids in it for the water to fill keeping the worms in the lawn