too many earthworms

Emcoggins – posted 26 December 2003 17:42

I realize some earthworms are good- But my lawn has become an earthworm haven. The castings are causing many lumpy areas and beginning to kill the grass. Any suggestions for reducing the population? I am concerned the moles will be next….

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 05 January 2004 13:37

They might be moving up in the soil because of hard pan underneath. Are you watering very deeply when you water? The recommendation to water 1 inch per week is a good one. The mathematical extension of that, to water 1/7 of an inch per day, is a bad one. That is not how Mother Nature waters. When you do that the water never penetrates more than an inch or so. It needs to penetrate several feet. Water an inch a week, all at once. I water for 2 hours at a time, once every other week, ONLY if the grass is showing signs of drought.

That might help you out with the worms at the surface. I have an e-friend in Canada that fertilized his golf course with corn meal last year. At first there were earthworms everywhere but later the parts that got the corn meal had no earth worms on the surface. They were still there but the soil was softer there and they didn’t need to surface for air.