How do I get rid of Night Crawlers from my yard?
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Night Crawlers are causing large bumps in my yard, making it almost impossible to walk on the grass. Picking them after a rain only gets a few, the chemical advertised as a worm killer admits it is only 30% effective,, I am at a loss as how to rid my yard of worms that are not native to our soil.
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Wonderful for fishing...might sell them. Hate for you to kill them, would love to have them to go fishing.
Are you sure it's the night crawlers causing the bumps?
They are so good for aerating the soil and their casings add nutrients. I'd live with it.
I agree they also aerate your lawn which is good. I never heard of them up so high. Are you watering too much?
Wouldn't it be funny if what was thought to be nightcrawlers were voles or moles instead? Please keep us informed because I have NEVER heard of worms so large they trip you...
Could it be moles?
It sounds like you have voles....small mole-like creatures that tunnel in the ground and create havoc with the lawn. If the bumps are larger you may actually have moles or groundhogs. Worms don't cause that kind of disturbance.....they make little holes to aerate the soil. The other possibility is snakes.
Night Crawlers are not your Garden variety of worm, these are much larger, and when they surface leave a pile of dirt which when dry hardens into clumps about the size of a large marble. I know they are Night Crawlers because I have picked them after a rain. They only surface in the dark and you must use a light with a red lens in order to capture them and you have to be quick because they can and do retreat so fast. I am looking for a way to delete them but it seams no one has the answer to my problem so I will continue to capture them but they multiply like rabbits so with out another way of eliminating them, my problem is going to be one I suspect i may have to live with.
Do you know how much work casings cost...these little guys are supplying for free..
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/kill-night-crawlers-yard-hurting-grass-103417.html
Anyone who asks if they might be moles or voles...I can only respond by saying, then you haven't had a night crawler problem... I have them too and they're killing my lawn by leaving castings, mounds of soil like stuff that suffocates the grass underneath. They are not voles or moles! I have so many that my once beautiful lawn is full of dead areas, and lumps and bumps, that makes mowing difficult. I too want to rid my lawn of this nuisance.
In case some readers don't believe the damage they can do...this is a picture of my once luscious bluegrass lawn. Little by little this is what happens when you have too many night crawlers. It should be apparent that these holes are formed by night crawlers coming to the surface at night. I raked the castings away from the holes.
I’m having this same problem! And I’ve seen them out at night after a rain! My dogs were trying to get them! My yard is horrible and hard to mow because it’s so bumpy
I know what you are saying .. my DML had so many night crawlers in her yard, it was very bumpy and I had to mow her lawn. Horrible! She moved and am sure the next person had the same problem. We have had moles and voles in our yard.....A lot different.
I also am looking for answers to get rid of night crawlers. In the last year they have really taken over my lawn. Hurts to walk on it and to mow is like a teeth chattering experience. The once pretty lawn is now about dead. We fertilize and seed ever spring and fall and it doesn't help any more.