Once they are out cars, people, and sidewalks, which are not normal elements of nature, disorient them. They slither onto the pavement and once it stops raining, they dry up and die. So basically, earthworms don’t commit suicide.

Earthworms like moist soil. They can survive in dry soils but they are not active. However if the drought is severe, they will die. In dry conditions, they can burrow deep into the soil to 1 metre, tie themselves in a knot, secrete a coating of mucous about themselves which dries and helps prevent water loss.

The ability of earthworms to go into estivation suggests they can survive dry periods in the soil. These conditions were based on rainfall patterns in the area where the soil—a sandy loam from a dryland agricultural field—was collected.

The moisture content of the compost is usually sufficient for the worms. A 32-ounce container with about 1-2 dozen worms and filled with moist compost should keep the worms healthy and active for about three weeks.

Red worms typically live between two and five years [source: Wormman.com]. Gray worms, which spend their entire lives beneath the soil surface, tend to live between 1.25 and 2.6 years on average [source: Muratake].

“So, a worm comes to the surface while it’s raining, then the sun comes out and the water on the sidewalk evaporates quickly. The worm’s skin is getting drier and it can’t move because of the light, so it will dry up and die,” Sherman warned.

Worms don’t slither. They wriggle. They pull themselves a long by tightening up their circular muscles to become longer. They then squeeze up their longer muscles to pull their rear up to the front.

Answer: In perfect conditions, nightcrawlers can live up to ten years. This is assuming they have plenty of food, the right amount of moisture in the soil, and regulated temperatures. Worms need to remain moist to breathe, but too much water could drown them.

This is not possible for earthworms as they lack lungs. Multiple studies have also shown that most earthworm species can survive being submerged in water for two weeks or more.

Earthworms can live underwater for approximately two weeks.

The new baby worms are whitish, and you can practically see through them (but I think they are beautiful, just like any parent). My babies are only 1/2 to one inch long. They are on their own as soon as they are born. In about six weeks, they will produce their own baby worms.