How to Kill Dew Worms

Worms mature in one year and can live up to six years.

Dew worms are also known as night crawlers. They build permanent burrows in soil and can scar lawns if they become too numerous. Carbaryl kills worms, but it also harms honey bees. Imidacloprid is known to exterminate dew worms, but it is available only for control of ticks on pets and other household pests.There are no registered chemical pesticides for home use to control dew worms, but there are methods you can use to make them not want to live in your yard.

Instructions

1. Spread ammonium sulfate around your yard. Dew worms don't like high acid soil and will inhabit soils with a pH below 4.5. Be very cautious when you do this, as too much will burn your grass.

2. 

   Worms are a food source for many birds.

   Aerate your lawn every year. Worms like compact soil with poor drainage.

3. Make a solution of crushed mustard seeds and water. Spray this on the worst areas. This is an irritant for dew worms, and they will quickly leave their burrows when you use this on them.

4. Drive a 3-foot-long wooden stake about 1 foot into the ground. Use a piece of metal about 2 feet long and 4 inches wide to rub the side of the stake. It will make a grunting noise that sounds like a rooting pig. The vibration will drive the worms out of the ground to migrate. Catch them before they take off, and dispose of them. This sounds a bit loopy, but it is a method that has long been used in Sopchoppy, Florida, for catching bait worms. They call it "worm grunting."

Tips & Warnings

• Power-rake or roll your lawn when the worm castings are soft. This helps to diminish damage from dew worms.

• Use a bag on your lawnmower to reduce the worms' food source. Don't do this too often, as grass clippings offer nutrients to your lawn as well.

• Spread tea seed pellets on your lawn. Worms don't like the acid.

References

• Escape: Earthworm Facts
• Earthworms as Pests in Home Lawns: S. Bambara
• St. Petersburg Times On Line: Gruntin' and Gathering