Gardeners generally like worms in the garden because they’re such good (and free) soil aerators and fertilizer producers.

But in a dry August, worms sometimes seem to be missing in action, even in healthy soil and even in places where they were wriggling around in spring.

Chalk it up to the combination of dry soil and high heat that’s been the norm for much of this month.

“Earthworms absorb and lose moisture through their skin,” writes Penn State professor of soil management Dr. Sjoerd Duiker in a Penn State Extension post on worms’ effect on soil . “If soils are dry, earthworms may move to deeper soil layers, die, or revert to a hibernation condition called diapause.”

Duiker adds that prolonged exposure to temperatures above 95 degrees also can kill earthworms.

Hot spells drive the

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