Worms and Grass Care Services - Friend or Foe?
Is your lawn becoming a bit of a soft, muddy mess this autumn? When caring for your lawn, the impact of earthworms can be troublesome. Can something be done about worms and is this the right thing to do?
What are all these muddy lumps?
To the untrained eye, it's not always clear why these mud deposits show up in a lawn.
Certain types of earthworm come to the surface to feed, and in doing so, leave a small mound of soil before heading back into your lawn, continuing their fantastic aeration job.
Weeds, pests and disease love mild and wet conditions and this goes for earthworms too... although describing them as a pest is quite harsh in my opinion!
It is very tempting to do as little as possible with us now being into October - it's raining, the lawn is wet a lot of the time, and the days are getting shorter. But it is far too early to cut your grass maintenance short.
Worm casts are problematic when looking to cut your lawn at this time of year. It is plenty warm enough to be cutting but you just need the right conditions to be sure you're causing more good than harm!
Worm casts after mowing - leaving coin sized muddy bits which could become home to weeds or moss in the coming months!
The Solutions
Worms are fantastic for your lawn as they are naturally aerating your soil. However, worm casts can become a sticky mess, and all the more so when on a clay soil.
The best way to deal with worm casts are with some patience - pick your moment. When your lawn is wet it is difficult to work on and you risk smearing these into a muddy mess, and burying poor grass leaves underneath. You might get lucky in October when the grass is still growing well for recovery, but further into the autumn / winter could mean bare spots for the spring.
Hold out for the afternoon before working on your lawn during the shorter days. Before considering cutting your lawn, brush it! Take a yard broom or a leaf rake to your lawn firstly. This will:
- Knock moisture off the grass leaves and into the soil. If then leaving an hour or so before cutting, this will help the grass to dry out giving a better quality of cut
- Stand the grass up before cutting. The grass will have less vigour at this time of year, and with recent rain and shorter days may be lying flat. Try to stand it up for the best possible cut
- Collect / disturb leaves matted in the lawn. We don't want leaves left on the surface as these will encourage casting worms, moss and disease
- Disturb worm casts before cutting, making for a better cut and less lumpy bare patches after!
What Can a Grass Care Service Do?
Regular lawn treatment visits are the best thing for a lawn which may be of a clay nature across the autumn and winter months. If we want to minimise machinery and foot traffic through the off-season, then it is vital that the correct nutrition is applied to be sure that come spring the lawn is able to take off as we would wish again.
Our autumn, winter and early spring treatments all contain a moss control. As this is an acidic application, it will deter casting worms without harming them, giving some temporary relief.
Our autumn and early spring treatments contain a fertiliser, so we are able to give the grass a calculated lift enabling it to fill out any bare spots, without providing excessive growth.
We have some fantastic lawns all year around where the homeowner mows as required, brushes as needed, and regularly clears leaves when combined with our lawn care treatment programme. We would say that worms are a friend rather that a foe - they're far more common in good soils!
An almost leaf-free autumn lawn near Wolverhampton. This will help in deterring worms, moss, and make for the best possible lawn treatment!
Get Pricing for Grass Care Services - 60 Second Quotation, 24/7
Head to our Instant Estimate feature where getting a quotation sent to your inbox is as easy as 1-2-3.
1) Complete your details
2) Click and drop the pin on your house
3) Use the mapping tool to trace your lawns for approximate measurement and hit submit
There is no ongoing contract – see our online reviews and results for yourself! If you’re not one for technology or there’s a few unanswered questions, then we’re available over the phone during usual office hours on 01827 826123.