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Yeah, this sounds good, but the builders in my new neighborhood just “threw” the sod pieces down on top of the clay (or, Texas Gumbo as we call it). There are hills and valleys all over. First of all, they were going to roll the yard after I sprinkled it for hours. Didn’t happen. They came in with topsoil and raked it into the valleys. Dry dirt! Then they raked the dry soil down into the valleys. Then, I sprinkled it, and it did not appreciably change at all. So, we are back to the rolling.
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Hey Carol, I am assuming you were meant to write nightcrawlers rather then crawfish. Nightcrawlers, also known as earthworms, are very beneficial to lawns and gardens, aerating the soil, recycling organic matter like compost and supplying plants, grass and trees with useful nutrients through their waste. They’re a sign of a healthy ecosystem and, as a result, we don’t recommend that you get rid of them.
However, if they are making your lawn very bumpy and unusable, then you can do a few things to help control them and repair your lawn:
Aerating the lawn in the spring and fall, followed by rolling it flat with a lawn roller will remove these bumps.
Fill any deeper depressions with top dressing, as explained above.
Create a mix of soap and water, pouring a few gallons of it onto the area where the nightcrawlers are concentrated. This will cause them to come up for air within a few minutes. You can then remove them to a flower bed or kill them.
You can also try flood areas of your lawn where the nightcrawlers are concentrated. They need air to breath, so they will come up out of the lawn if it gets waterlogged (that’s why you often see them during rainy weather). Exposure to the hot sun will then kill them.
If the problem is very severe, you can apply a granular grub insecticide over the lawn, applying 1.9 pounds evenly per 1000 square feet of lawn and watering it in. This should be a last resort, as it will kill all insect grubs in the lawn whether they are beneficial or not.
I hope you found these answers helpful, please let me know if I can be of more assistance.
Thanks Ann
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So you’re telling me I can level my lawn by filling in the holes with dirt? Man- that’s good advice
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Carol asked about crawdads/crawfish and ment it I am sure that she lives in the south. I had never seen anything like them living in Iowa but moved to Mobile and sure enough crawdad cones in the lawn. They look like small termite nests that you would find on the African plains. Best thing i found is to go out about once a week and just step on them and try to get the dirt back in the hole.
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