Earthworms: enjoy them or get rid of them?

Playback time: 2 min. 49

Are you in charge of maintaining a sports lawn: soccer pitch, rugby pitch, golf green, etc.? Would you like to get rid of earthworm castings? Explanations and solutions!

Earthworms: friend or foe of your lawn?

As anyone who maintains a sports lawn knows, earthworm castings can be a calamity when you’re trying to achieve an impeccable lawn.

Worm castings have many undesirable effects on your lawns:

unsightly appearance,
deformation of flatness,
slippery, sticky floor,
choking of the turf, under turricula crushed by trampling,
slush moved by the spikes into the changing rooms.

However, as anyone who maintains a sports lawn knows: earthworms are not the enemy of lawns – quite the contrary! In fact, they’re your lawn’s number 1 friend, since no other animal contributes so much to the biological balance of your sports field.

What are earthworms good for?

Earthworms are invaluable in maintaining the soil’s physical and chemical properties. They are true underground ploughmen. Their network of galleries enables :

aerate the soil: over 65% of the air contained in grassed soil is linked to their galleries.
facilitate water infiltration: by maintaining porosity via the worms, the soil is better irrigated and retains more moisture.
recycle organic matter and fertilize the soil: earthworms bury superficial organic waste deep down, then bring the soil they have ingested to the surface. In this way, they regulate the development of the felt. They transport matter from the surface layers to the deeper layers and vice versa. This movement is of great benefit to soil cultivation and regeneration. Every year, they return several tonnes of fertilizing matter per hectare to the surface.

Is the solution chemical?

When there are too many earthworms, some people recommend spreading active ingredients that are toxic to earthworms. But should we resort to using chemicals? No!
By destroying earthworms, toxic substances will also lead to deterioration of the soil, which will lose its properties and cause problems with soil aeration, fertilization, felt management and so on.

But what to do?

Since the earthworm is your ally, rather than attacking it, simply deal with its undesirable effects! In other words, effectively treat the recurrent appearance of worm castings.

Worm castings are more abundant in areas where the soil is compacted. In fact, to penetrate the soil, each worm digs a channel by absorbing the soil, which it evacuates through its anus, after passing through its digestive tract.

There are two types of solution:

preventive solution: regular deep aeration of the soil can greatly reduce or even eliminate the appearance of surface castings. Scientific textbooks tell us this, and at Hege we’ve seen it for ourselves: the less the soil is compacted, the more it’s aerated, and the fewer the earthworms that form castings. That’s why we also offer perforated aeration as part of our range of services for lawns.aeration by perforation.
curative solution: by killing earthworms, agrochemicals also destroy their beneficial action on the soil. The good news is that there is a mechanical solution for getting rid of worm castings: the lawn comb! At Hege, we use the Joker lawn combeffective even in wet weather.

Advantages of the Joker lawn comb

Spectacular results for an operation carried out regularly on dry ground. A soccer pitch can be treated in half an hour!
Défeutrage.
Control of undesirable grasses such as annual bluegrass, moss and other weeds, which are pulled up to the surface to be collected and disposed of.
Respect for the environment and current standards.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the Joker or a quotation.