lumps on lawn

[Rene Wong]

I live in Ottawa, Canada. I moved into my house a year ago. I've noticed on my lawn that there are a bunch of little mounds of dirt, around 2-3 inches in diameter, and only about 1-2 inches high, but enough for the lawn to feel very rough. There are probably one of these mounds every 2-3 feet.

I'm trying to figure out why these are here. I don't see ants coming in or out of them so I don't think they are anthills.

Any ideas?

Rene

[Wanda in West Virginia]

[Farlo]

Maybe the bodies were buried upright, and it really *is* a burial ground ... dig a foot down, and the round white tops of skulls might show.

[Die Spammer !!!]

[Pat Kiewicz]

Let me guess: you have clay soil... Worm castings, from nightcrawlers.

A short extract from:

can cause a lumpy lawn. Even though the lumps are seasonal (early spring and again in fall) and temporary, they can be distressing. The lumps are technically called "middens" and are made up of earthworm castings and plant residue. Worms create the middens to cover the opening to their burrows. Middens will dissolve and actually help fertilize the lawn if they are left alone. To hurry the process, they can be raked to break them up either with a hand rake or a power rake set high. Despite all the great benefits of having worms in the lawn and garden, sometimes we get questions about how to control them. Worms are sensitive to quite a few insecticides and even some fungicides, but there aren't any chemicals labeled for this purpose. In the past, Diazanon was sold for this purpose but it is has been determined to cause too many problems and is being pulled from the market for homeowners.

[Steveo]

It could be either earthworms or moles.

[Steveo]

Please stick your dome in a hole and leave it there, dumbass.

[Rene Wong]

I've done that - they just seem to be piles of dirt, albeit the dirt is very compacted.

[Steveo]

Urinate on them.

"Rene W> I've done that - they just seem to be piles of dirt, albeit the dirt is

[Bill Freeman]

Winter freeze, Spring thaw .. . & normal growth. Buy a roller for your lawn for the Spring, that'll even it out.

[Bugman]

Yup, definitely sounds like worms. Actually, the information about diazinon is incorrect; in the U.S., at least, most of the haphazard wholesale elimination of chemicals has come to a screeching halt under the new administration. Diazinon, being an OP, is very toxic and is sure to do in lots of earthworms if you do a soil drench at the rates prescribed for grubs. Generally speaking, the site must be on the label, but the pest need not be (look up your state deparment of agriculture's administrative code if you're really worried about the legal issues).

I have been told by some old-timers in the business that Sevin works the best. I have no personal experience with this method, but carbamates are sure to put worms in a world of hurt, too, so I believe it would work just fine.

The best approach: make the soil less hospitable for them. Unfortunately, any approach that reduces the appeal of the soil for them reduces the appeal of the soil for plants. I'm assuming you aren't looking to create a wasteland?

As with any pest, the more you learn about its biology, the more solutions you can come up with yourself to reduce the population. Speculation, but worth a try: aerating your soil will help microorganisms break down organic matter more quickly, leaving less for the worms to thrive on. It will also help when you irrigate. If you irrigate properly (INFREQUENTLY but DEEPLY), it will drive the worms up and give the local bird population a feast. Frequent, shallow waterings are unlikely to reach or disturb the worms, and in addition, will discourage your lawn from developing a healthy, deep root system.

Me, I'd leave them alone until I wanted to go fishing. ;-)

`chris