• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Animals / Why Do Earthworms Come Out After a Rain?

Why Do Earthworms Come Out After a Rain?

March 19, 2020 by Karen Hill

Most people think that earthworms come out of the ground after a rain because their burrows are flooded with water.

But earthworms aren’t afraid of water; they can live completely submerged in water for many months, and in fact, die if their skin becomes dried out.

What worms are actually afraid of is waterlogged soil, for it contains a substance called carbonic acid, which forms when water combines with certain chemicals in the soil.

Carbonic acid enters the worm’s body through openings in its skin and acts like a drug on the worm, eventually even killing it. So it’s carbonic acid and not water that sends earthworms scurrying out of the ground after a rainstorm.

Related Facts

  • Are Earthworms Important to Anyone Except Birds?
  • How Do Worms Get Into Apples?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed the World
  • Do Earthworms have Eyes and can they See, or are they as Blind as a Bat?
  • Where do Germs, Bacteria, and Viruses come from and How do they make us sick?
  • How Big Is the Average Mole Tunnel Network and How Do Solitary Moles Find Each Other To Mate and Reproduce?

Filed Under: Animals

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Are Earthworms Important to Anyone Except Birds?
Next Post: How Slow Is a Snail’s Pace? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy