The funniest thing I have ever heard from one of my customers was when she emailed me that she had a problem with a fiddle leaf ficus that I had sent her. She lives in New York City. She said that she found some sort of pest in the potting soil, but got rid of it by flushing it down the toilet. I asked her to describe the pest. She said that it was about 6" long, was slender, moist to the touch, and purplish colored. She further said that she could just imagine this "thing" escaping its pot and crawling onto her while she slept. She found a red wriggler worm!
After laughing so hard I thought I would bust a rib, I diplomatically explained that because my plants are all outside in the spring and summer months, worms sometimes get into the potting soil, but that was a good thing, not a bad thing. Worms would likely live in "good" soil, not bad soil, and besides, their droppings are a good, low-dose source of fertilizer. She replied that she would have nightmares, just knowing that the thing would get on her.
I check for worms more carefully now..........
I still chuckle every time I think about this lady and marvel that there are "city-people" who have never seen a worm.
