Nightcrawlers

[slammer]

The nasty crawlers have found my yard. Any ideas on how to get rid of them or are they here to stay? I have a lawn roller to knock the bumps down but can you really ever get rid of them? Only good thing about them is free bait!

[leech~~]

Yes, post this on the "Open Water" forum, there is a Crawler Picking post going on right now over there. Maybe you will get a bunch of guys to come over and help you pick them out!

[Big-Al]

It seems folks either love them or hate them. I have them and love them. I used to pick and sell them, but now just for my own use. With a really good evening of picking I could get a half gallon in a couple hours.

I have never seen anything labeled to kill them, but I would think that there would be since they are an invasive species. I do know that they seem quite sensitive and have had "kills" of them from small applications of common insecticides. Even carwash soap has had them come to the surface and die. Hopefully someone can chime in with something actually labeled for them.

[leech~~]

There is some stuff at FF that is suppose to kill Grubs so that you will stop having Mole's. We had a few Mole's pop up and my wife wanted to put this stuff down and once I read that it may kill Crawlers too. I said Not in my yard!

[Juneau4]

Sevin or comparable product applied in the evening after a rain.

[goblueM]

heaven forbid there was something alive in your yard

i don't think its a battle worth fighting, but thats just my opinion

[pureinsanity]

Spring is here. Let the robins do the work for you.

[slammer]

Dont get me wrong, I love em for bait but the yard is so bumpy and lumpy its taking a toll on the Toro. Already replaced a few parts last fall so would like to get rid of them. The neighbor said I can have all I want from his yard.

[goblueM]

i guess i'm unsure of how nightcrawlers could possibly cause bumps that would damage your mower. crawlers make little deposits that are maybe a centimeter high at best, hardly enough for your mower to even notice

perhaps the bumps in your yard are coming from something else

[pureinsanity]

I agree with goblue.....

[Juneau4]

Some have never seen a lawn infestad with night crawlers. The mounds and many do excide a centimeter. The lawns are not like a putting green and they are an invasive species. Once They are there a lawn can get very rough and cause wheel bushings to go out.

[slammer]

You guys obviously dont have the gumbo soil that we have here in the valley. It shrinks and cracks when dry and turns to grease when wet. Some of these bumps are at least an 1 1/2- 2 inches high. Its rediculous how they can ruin your lawn. And yes it can shake the you know what out of the mower. Handlebar and wheel bracket already replaced. Mower is only 3 years old.

[Rodbldr4fun]

I agree, can't say I've ever heard of worms causing bumps large enough to harm a lawn mower. I suspect there is something larger that borrows. Maybe moles, ground squirrels or others.

[Big-Al]

I would guess if I had a light weight push mower they would eventually cause damage to my mower. No, not moles, ground squirrels or whatever. Just good old crawlers. It is virtually impossible to walk barefoot in my lawn.

[slammer]

Same here Big Al. When it rains I have crawlers all over the driveway and sidewalk. I heard of a chemical farmers use for certain weeds will kill crawlers and nothing else but cant remember the name of it.

[pureinsanity]

After a good night sleep thinking about your worm problem making big holes in your yard and messing up your lawn mower it dawned on me what these critters are.

You could pour gas down their hole and light it on fire. But since these mounds are so big, that would be pretty costly. And lets be honest, no body wants to blow up their front yard.

I came to realize there is only one method of removal of said problem. It has worked in the past on other worms. Just stick to the high ground so they do not get you!

[Steve Foss]

Hah! Kevin Bacon in "Temors!"

FWIW, I concur that a yard with lots of crawlers and heavy clay loam can get some amazingly large and hard lumps going on. Been there, seen it myself back in N.D.

[MN Shutterbug]

My last home had a lumpy yard and in one nite, I picked 1000 crawlers and the next nite, another 500. I was selling them back then. Nowadays, there is no way my back could handle that kind of work.