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Reynolds (1977) provides the following habitat information for this species: “[This species] has been found in soils of pH 4.0-8.08 and can adapt to a wide variety of habitats. According to Gerard (1964) it is almost purely terrestrial and is found in gardens, arable and pasture lands, forests, and river banks. Gates (1972c) records additional habitats such as streams, mud flats, woody peat, under logs in a stream bed, under cow pats, and in compost. It has been found in greenhouses and botanical gardens in Europe and North America and in European caves (Gates 1972c). The species does not normally occur in forests in North America (Reynolds, 1976b). After extensive collecting...in eastern North America, it now appears that statements such as “Lumbricus terrestris is becoming increasingly important in the United States, following its importation and gradual replacement of endemic populations” (Edwards et al. 1969) are not true. Many erroneous statements such as this have been made about [this species] without data to support their claims. Data for naturally occurring populations of [this species] in North American areas south of the limit of Quaternary glaciations are lacking (Gates, 1970). A few limited collections of this species were obtained in Tennessee, Maryland, and Delaware, three states south of the southern limits of Pleistocene glaciation, by Reynolds et al. (1974), Reynolds (1974b), and Reynolds (1973a), respectively. In Ontario, [this species] was collected from a variety of habitats, but primarily from under logs. Millions are collected annually from the surfaces of golf courses and lawns for the bait industry.”

Reynolds (1977) says: “A native of Palaearctis, [this species] is now known from Europe, Iceland, North America, South America, Siberia, South Africa, and Australasia (Gates 1972c). Reinecke..however, cannot confirm its natural occurrence in South Africa.” Reynolds and Wetzel 2008 report it from Mexico, Canada and the US. In the US, it is reported from AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VA, VT, WV, WA, WI (Reynolds and Wetzel 2008).

In Canada this species is reported from AB, BC, MB, NB, NF, NS, ON, PE, PQ, YT (Reynolds and Wetzel 2008). In BC, it has been reported from several sites, including: Victoria, Vancovuer, Terrace, and Crawford Bay.