If you can, set the pot in a bucket of water up to the soil line for 15 minutes or so and the worms as well as most other things will come out.

tj

All my houseplants vacation outdoors in the summer. If you use a proper container soil-less potting mix and do not set the pots directly on the ground (contact with garden soil), there is very little risk earthworms will migrate into the pot.

If either of these two factors have been disregarded, then tj's suggestion is a good one. Flushing the pot with a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution will also work.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) The pot indeed has been on the ground in contact with the soil.

@tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱ I will have to look for a big bucket ! Is it fine if I just plug the draining hole and fill it up with water to the brim?

That should work although many things crawl out the bottom hole(s) if they are in the bottom of the pot. It may take a longer soak waiting for them to crawl up.

tj

@tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱ I will try to find a big enough bucket !

Worms won't come out of the pot while it's inside. I find worms when repotting in the spring often but have never seen a worm crawling around the house. I bring over 100 pots inside every winter.

In the future, if you put a piece of window screen over the drain hole, worms can't get in - or those big nasty slugs.

be nice to know the actual plants.. and where you are.. presumably down under.. where summer is ending???

i would use a systemic bug granules ... to clean not only the soil.. but also the plants.. and i would do it outside.. in early fall.. so the smell is gone by the time i need to take them in .. but those might not be an option wherever you may be ...

i also would place all pots on bricks or cement.. etc.. to limit such ...

and i might also repot in late summer.. and then isolate the plants.. to start fresh for the long winter indoors... but that might matter as to what plants we are talking about.. or how large they are ...

ken

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 It is indeed down under we are talking of. Sydney to be more precise.

I was a bit cagey about talking about the plant itself. As I have managed to kill 3 previous ones !

It is a Ylang Ylang. It is about 3 feet high now. It arrived in summer and has been flourishing. I want it to survive Sydney winters. Anything lower than 5 degrees celsius leads to brown leaves and slow death. I put it in an ornamental pot so that it looks nice inside the house too.

I am not sure how this will end. These plants like to get big and do not like pots. I have to make it survive 4 years as that is then when they flower. I want to smell the flowers once. It is almost tragic-comical like that story "The pomegranate trees".

@Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL Yup I do have slug problem in my garden and they do frequent the undersides of the pot. I will put the pot up on a pot stand.

@beesneeds I will change the location to Patio and hope they all crawl out of the pot in a month's time. :-)

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 It is indeed down under we are talking of. Sydney to be more precise

==>>>

and this morning i see its right in your name.. lol ... was it there yesterday.. or did you change or add it to mess with me. ...

way back when.. in the early 70s.. i seem to recall that my good old boy uncle chet from kentucky... when i was visiting the cottage.. would take a pail of soapy water ... and just pour it on the lawn ... at dusk.. and after dark.. we would go out and collect the worms that came to the surface ... night crawlers of course normally come out at night.. but the soapy water motivated them ....

and that was a heck of a lot better than the two bare wires and plug twisted on one foot long copper wires.. that he would plug in for the same affect.. though if you forgot your tennis shoes.. boy you only did that once.. lol ...

soooo.. any drench of mild soap.. would probably get them out also.. see if you can find anything here ..let us know:

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=soap+drench+for+plant+pots&ia=web

probably even better if you used a horticultural soap.. but im not sure you would need the higher cost soap in this instance...

boy.. i havent though of uncle chet in decades.. thanks for bringing the memories to the surface ..

ken