How do I rid my yard of Nightcrawlers (worms)?

Exactly what insects are you referring to? Night crawlers could mean various insects.

They say that they're great for your garden.

Worms aerate the soil and their droppings help keep it healthy. They are a good thing. If you think you have too many then you could collect them at night and sell them for bait :-)

If you want to get rid of them anyway you can use neem oil as a nice natural option: Neem oil is a botanical pesticide containing insecticidal properties. Neem oil works more as a repellant against Japanese beetles and lawn grubs – inhibiting egg laying, growth and feeding. Neem oil is mixed with water (as directed) and sprayed onto affected lawn areas.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Lawn Grubs – How To Get Rid Of Grub Worms https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/get-rid-of-grub-worms.htm

Lindy.... dig them up & go fishing girl! ;)

If here is a local bait store, call them up and ask them if they'll buy them from you. Or, even sell them on Craigs list. I know people who buy nightcrawlers all the time to put into raised garden beds, etc. because they do great things for the soil.

Why would you want to get rid of them? My Indian friend was telling me he needed some because the soil at his new house is so compacted there are no worms in it and he needs to get some.

Every time I turn over a shovel of earth and see a worm, I am very happy to know they are there and are busy keeping my yard and flowers beautiful.

Don't get rid of them they are a vital part of the ecosystem. They keep you lawn healthy, by aerating it, they eat dead organic matter converting it into worm castings that fertiliz your soil. And help keep good microbes thriving in you lawn. If you have too many collect them and place them elsewhere where the soil looks compacted or unhealthy. Or ask someone else to if you gone like worms.

Like most of your comments. They are of vital importance to keeping soils from compaction, which allows nutrients to your trees plants and shrubs. And most of all allows water to flow through , rather than run off.

You don't really want to get rid of night crawlers,(worms), they are good for your yard, and, even better for your garden. They like well moist soil, and should gravitate towards a damp area, Hence, a well watered garden. They also "produce" fertilizer.

They are goid for the soil. They are gross but good.

We live in Delaware near the ocean, very sandy soil and not so many worms. Came here from far west suburb of Chicago and actually cultivated worms. As many have said worms are wonderful for the environment, so please do not use any chemicals in your property... birds, worms and butterflies and Mother Earth will thank you.

I do not live in Pennsylvania, unsure of how that location appeared. I live near Rehoboth Beach, DE

NEVER!!! You MUST have worms for aeration of the soil!! If you have them consider it a blessing as that means you have awesome soil!

As all stated worms are beneficial! Start an additional compost Ben & collect them & put them in it.Worms are very important to the soil. Just a tid bit ,did you know an earth worm has 5 aortic arches which is similar to a HART.They will only live where the soil is good.Find it in your hart not to kill them.

go fishing

Love, love all the positive things about the worms in your yard/garden. Several years ago, a new neighbor moved into neighborhood and immediately sprayed chemicals to "improve" his yard I lost plants, flowers, butterflies, lady bugs, etc. All the wonderful, helpful, beautiful items of my yard/garden. It had taken me some 20+ years to get my place in a "naturalistic" state that I desired.

Love your idea I've heard that you can pound on your yard/garden to get the worms to come to the surface to harvest...

Worms are great for gardens, yards. They do not eat your plants for food. It's a totally different thing that gets into apples. Are you sure they are nightcrawlers vs red wigglers? the wigglers live under ground except when it rains or they come up to deposit their castings(poop). Commercially known as top soil.

Nightcrawlers usually live under leaf debris and like it wetter than wigglers do. If they are nightcrawlers you could invite some fishermen over the collect them for you. Bait places sell these by the dozen!

Keep the worms! They are good. :)

Elect prod in the ground will make them surface, pick them up and sale them to fishermen, with a little peatmoss in a styrafoam cup with lid, you'll see less and less of them, you're very blessed to have them. Also add bird boxes, or get chickens.

Most gardeners would LOVE to have your "problem" lol. If the worms are giving you the creeps while digging in the soil put on a nice set of gardening gloves. That way you won't have to actually touch the little crawlies. Honestly, they are the best thing for your garden and if you know a fisherman I'm sure he/she would be glad to take some of them off your hands with a big fat smile!!

As a major in Horticultur, and an employee at different golf courses, I know the pains of worm castings as I'm trying to keep the golf course clean. Worms are good, but too many can be devastating to your lawn. There have been many occasions where my crew could not mow the greens as there were literally millions of worm all over the greens, and on a few of the greens, I was not able to see the green itself as there were so many worms on the surface. So, the best way to lower the population of worms in your yard is hand picking or driving them deeper into the soil. Worms are the biggest problem in the spring and fall, and thus, the best time to control them. I'll first say the intentionally killing them with chemicals is illegal. There are other threads on different sites that have many solution, so, I'll list a few but there are other options out there.

Power raking- best done in the spring and fall. This just drives them deeper into the soil. Should be done once a month or so if possible, though every other month should work well, as it also is benefitial to your lawn. If you spray any applications on your lawn, best to apply after power raking.

Using electric currents- this needs to be done when the soil is damp, and using small amounts of electricity won't kill the worms, but will drive them to the surface to be picked up up hand or by the birds. The worms will retreate back to the soil after a time if not picked up promptly.

Rasing the acidity in the soil. This is time consuming as a soil amendment application will need to be applied every 2-4 weeks. This does the same thing as power raking as it just forces them deeper into the soil. The only thing is that grass prefres about the same pH levels as worms do, so other fertilizers will need to be applied. Otherwise your lawn will not be as hardy as it was before.

These are the options that work well from what I'm seeing. There are chemical options available, but they don't kill the worms, they just push them up to the surface or down lower. Hope this helps!

my father rigged an electrical prod of some sort., a wire that he stuck into the ground and I assume that he then plugged it in. The night crawlers came out of the ground in a hurry. Sell them to fishermen. Perhaps an electrician could advise you exactly how this could be constructed.

Keep the night crawlers, another little known fact is they each have both male and female sex organs. When they mate you will see two separate crawlers attached together with each -others opposite sex part attached to the corresponding part of the other night crawler. Pretty wild eh? Can only imagine what they are feeling!❤️

I do understand the benefits of having night crawlers in your lawn in moderation. I also understand what a night crawlers predator (the skunk)can do to totally destroy what was once your lawn. Its time for me to poison the soil and kill the worms,period. night crawlers will return and i welcome them back until the lawn shows signs of mounds or a bumpy surface at which point i will use poison again. bumps and mounds caused by night crawlers pale in comparison to what will happen if skunks find their way onto what was once a healthy gorgeous lawn to feast on the worms. i'v read through many blogs trying to find a better solution however nobody else seems to have encountered this destruction.

You don't want to get rid of them, they are great for the soil. If you feel you have too many of them, and don't mind someone digging around, then perhaps locate an avid fisherman, or even offer a young lad th chance to make some money by gathering the worms and theN Selling them to fishermen.

thanks everyone for your thoughts,, I will use the electric prod idea,, and feed them to the fish,,

Get rid of them? They are a yard and gardens best friend! They aerate the soil and their castings are GREAT fertilizers. You can also use them for fishing.

Why would you want to. Sign of good soil

thanks for your reply lindy. some advice i'v received requires trapping skunks. been there,done that. i'm not about to kill hungry skunks for going after night crawlers to feed. i just moved to this property and the lawn is a disaster,overtaken by weeds, orange reddish,in some spots dead grass. we get very harsh winters here so before snow,i was going to poison lawn and then spread and press 2-3 inches of fresh soil in the spring. this presents a problem for seeding which is best done in the fall. i'v had to do this before and had to tarp the soil from pollen and birds. lol, can't find vineyard mesh up here,which works for the birds but not the pollen. this yard was never maintained properly so i'm starting everything from scratch.

Theres obviously a ton of people on here who have never experienced what it's like to live with nightcrawlers on there grass. Sometimes it's not about over fertilizing or not mowing enough. It's just that they are there. In my area the whole town is over run with them and I mean every single lawn in my area of town. I have walked on many and they are all the same. Big lumpy hard uneven soil. It's a nightmare. I have tried almost everything. I tild up my entire back yard and started from scratch and regrew all my grass again. Within 2 years it was back to the way it was before. I worked for a landscaping company for 2 years and this guy has been fighting them for 10 years with no success. I'm all for saving the planet and life but these things make my life a living hell. My sister broke her ankle last year just walking on my garden and my 2 year old hates running around outside and I don't blame her. If anyone has any solution that actually works I would love to hear it. I tried the mustard thing twice. It doesn't work. I've tried all the natural methods. Frequent mowing cutting back on fertilizer. Taking the mounds into the soil. Top dressing and leveling. Adding sand. You name it I've tried it.