Please help

I have a lawn - approx 3 years since being laid and it is covered with
worm casts.

I try and sweep them off - but kids etc run on the lawn and squash a
nice patch of soil. The whole lawn is starting to look like a checkered
blanket

Thanks

Richard

"In a world with no barriers, who needs Windows or Gates"

Intuition wrote:
Please help

I have a lawn - approx 3 years since being laid and it is covered
with
worm casts.

I try and sweep them off - but kids etc run on the lawn and squash
a
nice patch of soil. The whole lawn is starting to look like a
checkered blanket

My guess is that it'll settle down after a couple of years: your soil
clearly has a very high humus content, and once the worms have eaten
it you'll be back to normal. Even worms can destroy their
environment! Next step is a mole invasion to eat the worms, and
you'll wish you had the worm-casts back.

I wonder if daily sprinkling will bring the worms up to be eaten by
birds. There are worm-killers you can spray onto the lawn, but I
really wouldn't use them: knocking a link out of the food-chain is
bad for everybody.

If you always use the grass-box on your mower you'll take away the
food for the next generation of worms: dead leaves is what they eat.

Mike.

"Intuition" wrote in message
...
Please help

I have a lawn - approx 3 years since being laid and it is covered with
worm casts.

I try and sweep them off - but kids etc run on the lawn and squash a
nice patch of soil. The whole lawn is starting to look like a checkered
blanket



If you want a nice lawn, keep the worms and get rid of the kids ;o)

--
Regards,
Alan.

Preserve wildlife - Pickle a SQUIRREL to reply.

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...
Intuition wrote:
Please help

I have a lawn - approx 3 years since being laid and it is covered
with
worm casts.

I try and sweep them off - but kids etc run on the lawn and squash
a
nice patch of soil. The whole lawn is starting to look like a
checkered blanket

My guess is that it'll settle down after a couple of years: your soil
clearly has a very high humus content, and once the worms have eaten
it you'll be back to normal. Even worms can destroy their
environment! Next step is a mole invasion to eat the worms, and
you'll wish you had the worm-casts back.

I wonder if daily sprinkling will bring the worms up to be eaten by
birds. There are worm-killers you can spray onto the lawn, but I
really wouldn't use them: knocking a link out of the food-chain is
bad for everybody.

If you always use the grass-box on your mower you'll take away the
food for the next generation of worms: dead leaves is what they eat.

Mike.


there is no worm killer on the market and hasnt been for years as it was all
banned use of a systemic fungicide acts as a deterrent to casting worms ask
your local sports ground if they can help if your lawn is a small area then
a watering can is ok to apply the fungicide

In article , pied piper
writes



there is no worm killer on the market and hasnt been for years as it was all
banned use of a systemic fungicide acts as a deterrent to casting worms ask
your local sports ground if they can help if your lawn is a small area then
a watering can is ok to apply the fungicide


Which fungicide? That's something to note for people wanting to use a
fungicide against fungi - that it may kill your worms too.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , pied piper
writes



there is no worm killer on the market and hasnt been for years as it was
all
banned use of a systemic fungicide acts as a deterrent to casting worms
ask
your local sports ground if they can help if your lawn is a small area
then
a watering can is ok to apply the fungicide


Which fungicide? That's something to note for people wanting to use a
fungicide against fungi - that it may kill your worms too.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

like i said its a deterrent not a killer doh

In article , pied piper
writes

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , pied piper
writes



there is no worm killer on the market and hasnt been for years as it was
all
banned use of a systemic fungicide acts as a deterrent to casting worms
ask
your local sports ground if they can help if your lawn is a small area
then
a watering can is ok to apply the fungicide


Which fungicide? That's something to note for people wanting to use a
fungicide against fungi - that it may kill your worms too.
--

like i said its a deterrent not a killer doh


OK, I'll rephrase my question - perhaps someone else can answer since
you do not wish to:

Which fungicide? That's something to note for people wanting to use a
fungicide against fungi - that it may also cause a reduction in
beneficial worm action in your soil.


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , pied piper
writes

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , pied piper
writes



there is no worm killer on the market and hasnt been for years as it was
all
banned use of a systemic fungicide acts as a deterrent to casting worms
ask
your local sports ground if they can help if your lawn is a small area
then
a watering can is ok to apply the fungicide


Which fungicide? That's something to note for people wanting to use a
fungicide against fungi - that it may kill your worms too.
--

like i said its a deterrent not a killer doh


OK, I'll rephrase my question - perhaps someone else can answer since
you do not wish to:

Which fungicide? That's something to note for people wanting to use a
fungicide against fungi - that it may also cause a reduction in
beneficial worm action in your soil.


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"


it only acts as a deterent to the casting worm which is of no benefit to
your rootzone

In article , pied piper
writes


it only acts as a deterent to the casting worm which is of no benefit to
your rootzone


Can you explain that a little further?

The species of worm that leave casts on the surface burrow vertically,
aerating the soil. Can you explain the mechanism by which you avoid the
casts without disrupting the vertical burrowing? Do you mean that it
deters the worm from casting? Or it deters the species of worm that does
the casts?

Are you saying that this substance acts as a deterrent to one species of
worm but not another?
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , pied piper
writes


it only acts as a deterent to the casting worm which is of no benefit to
your rootzone


Can you explain that a little further?

The species of worm that leave casts on the surface burrow vertically,
aerating the soil. Can you explain the mechanism by which you avoid the
casts without disrupting the vertical burrowing? Do you mean that it
deters the worm from casting? Or it deters the species of worm that does
the casts?

Are you saying that this substance acts as a deterrent to one species of
worm but not another?
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

It deters the worm from surfacing thus leaving no casts and worms burrow
both vertically and horizontally.
The aeration they provide is minimal and of no real benefit to the average
garden lawn.

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from "pied piper" contains these words:

Kay said
Which fungicide? That's something to note for people wanting to use a
fungicide against fungi - that it may also cause a reduction in
beneficial worm action in your soil.

it only acts as a deterent to the casting worm which is of no benefit to
your rootzone

What is the name of the fungicide you're talking about, please?

Janet
there are many on the market best for worm control is turf clear or twincarb

In article , pied piper
writes

It deters the worm from surfacing thus leaving no casts and worms burrow
both vertically and horizontally.

The reason the worm surfaces is because it feeds on the surface. If you
deter it from surfacing you deprive it of its food source. Can you
therefore explain why the worm is going to remain burrowing in the area
where you have applied the substance?
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , pied piper
writes

It deters the worm from surfacing thus leaving no casts and worms burrow
both vertically and horizontally.

The reason the worm surfaces is because it feeds on the surface. If you
deter it from surfacing you deprive it of its food source. Can you
therefore explain why the worm is going to remain burrowing in the area
where you have applied the substance?
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

organic matter on which the worms feeds can be as deep as two feet . Casting
worms are a pest to lawns and sports turf surfaces therefore preventatives
need to be used to control casting worms . Years ago Sydane was used which
just killed everything in the ground which is rightly why it has now been
banned . Unfortunately the preventatives are more costly and have to be
applied every three to four months for casting worms and every year for
leatherjacket control.
Of course the other way is to add lime to your soil to change the PH which
will also deter the worms but this is not suitable for sand based fescue
grasses.
Hope this helps and doesnt confuse you further Kay

In message , pied piper
writes

organic matter on which the worms feeds can be as deep as two feet . Casting
worms are a pest to lawns and sports turf surfaces therefore preventatives
need to be used to control casting worms . Years ago Sydane was used which
just killed everything in the ground which is rightly why it has now been
banned . Unfortunately the preventatives are more costly and have to be
applied every three to four months for casting worms and every year for
leatherjacket control.
Of course the other way is to add lime to your soil to change the PH which
will also deter the worms but this is not suitable for sand based fescue
grasses.
Hope this helps and doesnt confuse you further Kay



Its amazing that uninformed people still go on about earthworms
being a pest. It's been over 100 years since Darwin published his work
on earthworms and the formation of vegetable mould. Since you probably
won't have access to his work or any of the numerous papers that support
his findings I will summarise.

To summarise his work, earthworms, in particular those species
that browse on the surface improve the fertility of the soil: their
vertical burrows allow air into the soil; increase drainage ; their
casts, which are a mixture of fine soil and organic waste from the
leaves they browse on, are an ideal fertilizer.

Another group of earthworms that haven't been mentioned are the
small species that live in the root mat. These are equally beneficial,
and being only able to burrow short distances are particularly
vulnerable to any noxious chemicals applied to the surface.

As to the surface browsers living happily without browsing on
the surface - no way, their only option is to feed or aestivate (i.e.
move to the bottom of the burrow, curl up and wait for better
conditions). Work by Evans and Raw in the 1970s demonstrated that none
of the chemical applications available then caused earthworms to
aestivate - it just killed them (in spite of the claims of the
producers) and I doubt if any of the newer concoctions are any better.

In case you think I'm confused or miss informed my information
comes from a 30 year career as an Oligochaetologist (that's an expert on
earthworms).
--
Amynthas
email address munged to block spam

In article , pied piper
writes


organic matter on which the worms feeds can be as deep as two feet .

Yes, but it is not the same worm feeding on it!
There are several different genera and species of earthworm in the UK,
with different gut physiology depending on feeding habits. A surface
feeder does not have the digestive equipment to enable it to change to
feeding at depth.

Hope this helps and doesnt confuse you further Kay

I am not in the slightest bit confused!


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"