I remember in the 70s you used to be able to buy a small bottle of white liquid - diluted a capful in watering can - and sprinkled the lawn. It killed all the worms in one application - and the bottle lasted years, for my two small lawns. Since the stuff was banned from sale, my lawns are a mess - along with the paved areas, as worms come up between paving stones and block paving.
I don't think there is any solution for individuals affected.
As an alternative to buying a swish, which are expensive, the cheap option is to buy a second hand fishing rod from a car boot sale, £5 should be enough, remove the eyes and hey presto.
Start with a badly infested section of your lawn.Soak a small sample (test) area with a strong mix of washing up liquid and warm water. Cover overnight with either black plastic sack or similar. In the morning collect the worms that have come to the surface and send them to someone who wants them. Move around the lawn repeating the process until the worms are under control.
Be patient and let the soapy liquid have time to penetrate the soil.
I have a putting green of 100 sq mtrs and currently a dozen or so casts.
Sevin, a carbayl-based product, is intended for killing off grubs in a lawn but has been found to reduce earthworm populations as well when used at the recommended dosage amounts for grubs. Other chemicals that are known to be toxic to earthworms include diazinon, Merit (imicdacloprid) and Dursban (chlorpyrifos).
I have personally used the hose-on Sevin product with carbayl in it and my kids picked up easily a couple hundred dead worms off my lawn in the days that followed. My problem is still not gone because, like you, there are seemingly thousands and thousands of huge earthworms resurging so I think I may need to make this a monthly application instead of twice a year. I wonder if applying at night will be most effective... after all, they are called NIGHTcrawlers. In Fact, Before my first treatment last fall on a rainy night I walked across my lawn with a headlamp on and noticed my lawn was... moving... I thought it was the shadows of the grass blades from my headlamp but when I looked closer... it was hundreds and hundreds of huge (and smaller) earthworms sucking into the ground as they felt my feet pound on the ground near them... some of them exposing 10 inches of themselves, then disappearing into the ground like my 7 year old slurps a piece spaghetti into her mouth... one of the creepiest things you ever saw! anyway, I hope this helps!
I hope it doesn't help. Killing earthworms won't help a garden and will upset the balance of power. Fortunately you've dragged up a three year old thread. Original poster long gone
Original poster may be gone but a very interested reader still here. Think I will give the detergent and plastic bag suggestion a go (only because I cannot find a UK supplier for the chemical solutions). There seems to be more casts than ever before. Getting ridiculous.
Posts
I remember in the 70s you used to be able to buy a small bottle of white liquid - diluted a capful in watering can - and sprinkled the lawn. It killed all the worms in one application - and the bottle lasted years, for my two small lawns. Since the stuff was banned from sale, my lawns are a mess - along with the paved areas, as worms come up between paving stones and block paving.
I don't think there is any solution for individuals affected.
Try keeping the grass cut as short as possible, then you can use a leaf blower to shift the worm casts.
dig up the turf and replace with fake grass??
As an alternative to buying a swish, which are expensive, the cheap option is to buy a second hand fishing rod from a car boot sale, £5 should be enough, remove the eyes and hey presto.
Start with a badly infested section of your lawn.Soak a small sample (test) area with a strong mix of washing up liquid and warm water. Cover overnight with either black plastic sack or similar. In the morning collect the worms that have come to the surface and send them to someone who wants them. Move around the lawn repeating the process until the worms are under control.
Be patient and let the soapy liquid have time to penetrate the soil.
I have a putting green of 100 sq mtrs and currently a dozen or so casts.
Let me know how you get on.
BillyC! Try these products!
Sevin, a carbayl-based product, is intended for killing off grubs in a lawn but has been found to reduce earthworm populations as well when used at the recommended dosage amounts for grubs. Other chemicals that are known to be toxic to earthworms include diazinon, Merit (imicdacloprid) and Dursban (chlorpyrifos).
I have personally used the hose-on Sevin product with carbayl in it and my kids picked up easily a couple hundred dead worms off my lawn in the days that followed. My problem is still not gone because, like you, there are seemingly thousands and thousands of huge earthworms resurging so I think I may need to make this a monthly application instead of twice a year. I wonder if applying at night will be most effective... after all, they are called NIGHTcrawlers. In Fact, Before my first treatment last fall on a rainy night I walked across my lawn with a headlamp on and noticed my lawn was... moving... I thought it was the shadows of the grass blades from my headlamp but when I looked closer... it was hundreds and hundreds of huge (and smaller) earthworms sucking into the ground as they felt my feet pound on the ground near them... some of them exposing 10 inches of themselves, then disappearing into the ground like my 7 year old slurps a piece spaghetti into her mouth... one of the creepiest things you ever saw! anyway, I hope this helps!
I hope it doesn't help. Killing earthworms won't help a garden and will upset the balance of power. Fortunately you've dragged up a three year old thread. Original poster long gone
In the sticks near Peterborough
Just one post of dreadful advice Philippa, maybe just trying for a wind up?
In the sticks near Peterborough
Think the same chemicals would work for both
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Original poster may be gone but a very interested reader still here. Think I will give the detergent and plastic bag suggestion a go (only because I cannot find a UK supplier for the chemical solutions). There seems to be more casts than ever before. Getting ridiculous.