Based in the UK. I know worms are the sign of a healthy lawn and castings are supposed to be good.
But they are trashing my lawn. It’s wet a lot in the UK and has been since November, so been unable to just brush them away.
I’m now starting to see patches of die back because the lawn is being smothered by the castings.
Does the amount of castings seem excessive here?
Thanks.
Leave it be. Those worms are doing some serious heavy lifting for your soil health.
Teal said:
Leave it be. Those worms are doing some serious heavy lifting for your soil health.
Can I sprinkle worms that you buy for fishing in my lawn to help it?
Teal said:
Leave it be. Those worms are doing some serious heavy lifting for your soil health.
Can I sprinkle worms that you buy for fishing in my lawn to help it?
Red worms will help. Introduce them and let them go to work!
If you’re having issues with worm castings on a cool-season lawn, you’re mowing too low.
If you’re mowing at an appropriate height, you just wouldn’t see the castings.
Just rake them around.
How’s your drainage? If your lawn gets saturated too frequently / easily, the worms will tunnel up to escape drowning and leave piles everywhere. I had that problem, and some good soil amendment + drainage fixes eliminated it entirely.
This is probably blasphemous in the lawn care sub, but in addition to mowing higher, I suggest you plant some shrubs or a tree or two on your property. The fence plus the lack of beneficial vegetation may be limiting the amount of prey animals that eat the worms. Having some shrubs or a tree could invite worm-eating birds to take up residence and help reduce the population, and in turn, volume of castings. I can sit and watch robins and killdeer eat dozens of worms every morning around my yard.
Feel your pain - has been the same here. Keep reading advice to brush or rake them, but that isn’t feasible they’re always wet and sludgy.
Daniel Hibbert sells a product called Baize which claims to reduce worm casts by adding nitrogen and sulphur. Haven’t tried it, but I did put down some iron sulphate and a little surfactant (baby shampoo) and the worms seemed to back off a little. Best thing I’ve done is not mow; blades just smear the worm casts across the grass.
I’m expecting to overseed in the spring to fill the gaps; I don’t think it’s possible to eliminate them entirely.
