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Small earth mounds on lawn

I'm afraid my gardening skills are restricted to looking after and mowing the lawn which throughout the summer has seen numerous small mounds of earth appearing and I'm hoping someone can give me an idea of what's causing them and how I can prevent them happening again.

The earth mounds are similar to those of flying ants that have nested in the soil underneath and are now ready to leave via a small hole on top, except in this case there are no escape holes, just a small mound of finely ground soil about 2 inches high and 6 to 8 inches wide. They have continually grown in number over the summer to about 12 to 14 and are spread over different areas of my 150 square meter lawn.

As each new mound appeared I looked for any signs of small holes where ants or something similar may have escaped through and found nothing. I even put some ant powder atop each new mound only to find two or three days later another new mound 7 or 8 yards away.

New mounds seemed to stop appearing about early to mid September and since then I've flattened each mound but the grass now seems reluctant to grow back. I am hoping someone can help identify what the cause is and how to prevent a repeat next year

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  • MuddyForkMuddyFork Posts: 435

    They could be molehills. If you clear away the soil you may find the hole that the mole pushed the soil you of.  I try to push as much of the soil as possible back into the run.

  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,012

    Try to post a photo.  That may help identification.

  • Thanks for the suggestion MuddyFork but no these are not mole hills, A. they are far too small and B. the soil as I said is very finely ground, nothing like the rough soil a mole pushes up.

    Thanks anyway.

    James

  • Could it be worm casts ?

    a picture would help.

  • I think they really are most likely to be molehills - a mole is so small (5-6 inches long and 5 oz in weight) that to push up "rough soil" is something it can't physically do.  It's best not merely to flatten the mound - in which case the grass won't grow back quickly - but to brush or rake the soil away.  Inevitably the tunnels underground will eventually make the lawn surface a bit uneven, but since moles don't usually find what they need to eat in very clay-ey soil, the soft soil (which is where they find their food) will settle fairly quickly.  It helps if you have a fairly heavy mower with a rear roller.

     The culprit is almost certainly a single mole - they are solitary creatures and only get together to mate, so if you can find a way of discouraging it from your garden ( lots of different non-chemical and non-violent means may be used)   this could solve your current problem.

  • WelshonionWelshonion Posts: 3,114

    Sounds like solitary bees or worm casts.  Mole hills surely could not be mistaken by anybody!

  • Quite some worm or bee to make hills 2" x 8"  !

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,139

    It sounds to me like the work of ants - they excavate tunnels under ground and carry individual grains of soil up to the surface and leave it in a small mound. 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Agree with Dove. They are mostly likely anthills (red ants). I've had them all over my lawn this year, far more than usual. I just rake them away. If you leave them and mow over the top you get a muddy patch which makes a wonderful area for weed seeds to grow.....!

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,139

    A proper besom is the best tool to use - there'll be lots in the hardware shops and garden centres at this time of year - every witch worth her salt will be needing a new steed for the end of the month image

    image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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