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Worm casts

WildlifeloverWildlifelover Posts: 380
in Problem solving
Last autumn, the mowed paths in the grass where inundated with worm casts which caused dozens of bare patches that needed fixing this spring. 

The casts have started to appear again despite aerating the paths through the year. 

Is there anything I can/should do to reduce the number of worms casts or is it just a sign there's a healthy population of worms below and should tolerate them?

There's also several ant nests on the paths throughout the garden which periodically spread above the grass. I water these mounds and the earth does sink back into the ground. Again, is this a problem or should I let them be?

Thanks!

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I would sweep them on a dry day but some people collect them for sowing seeds
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    edited August 2021
    It's a good sign that you have them. Just do as @B3 suggests.
    Ants tend to like drier soil, so that's probably why you have them. Never get nests here, and not much troubled by ants anyway, so I don't know if there's any way of dealing with that. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • WoodgreenWoodgreen Posts: 1,273
    Worm casts appear here in spring and autumn.
    So I have never seen a dry worm cast, let alone been able to sweep one! 
    This advice always bemuses me.

  • WildlifeloverWildlifelover Posts: 380
    Same here unfortunately. They were really troublesome last year so I'm hoping I can do something this time round that reduces the damage they caused!
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    As a kid in the early 50s, our school got us to tow wire netting up and down the cricket pitch to get rid of them.  I don't recall examining the results, but I assume the exercise was based on a tried and tested principle.  Never even seen one here, though, in 14 years.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    The casts don't have to be dry in order for them to be brushed off. It's just easier if they are.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    In similar vein, if our grass is wet with dew but I want to mow it ASAP, I use the same procedure with wire netting to knock the dew off, especially if there's no wind to help.
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