Small dirt mounds in lawns look unsightly, but the ants and earthworms that usually create them are beneficial to soil and turf. A permanent cure isn't possible, and raking away ant and earthworm mounds is a routine part of lawn care. Lawns full of thatch attract ants and earthworms, so improve lawn care to reduce the number of mounds formed. Insecticides, either in bait traps or sprayed directly on ants, kill existing colonies, although new ants usually move in and build more nests. Don't spray pesticides to control earthworms. Earthworms reduce compaction beneath lawns, eat decomposing organic matter and provide nutrients in their castings.
Rake small dirt mounds on a dry day when the lawn feels dry to the touch, using either a regular garden rake or a thatching rake, set so the tines don't scrape the turf crowns.
Irrigate your lawn only when the top 1 inch of soil is dry.
Bag lawn cuttings as you mow, and remove thatch from your lawn every spring with a garden rake, thatching rake or de-thatcher.
Place refillable ant bait traps containing a ready-to-use 0.5 to 1.0 percent borate solution on near anthills on ant trails. Cover with organic mulch, an upturned bucket or similar object to keep the trap dry and prevent wildlife from disturbing it. Check the ant bait every three or four days and refill as needed. Rake anthill mounds away when ants disappear, after about a week.
Open up anthills, using a trowel, and spray inside with a ready-to-use insecticide containing bifenthrin. Spray the entire lawn in the early morning or at dusk, after mowing, for control lasting up to six weeks, or use according to the manufacturer's instructions.
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Things You Will Need
- Garden rake or thatching rake
- Ant bait traps
- Organic mulch, or old bucket or similar object
- Insecticide containing bifenthrin
- Ants take ant bait from traps into the colony and feed it to developing ants so that eventually the entire colony dies.
- Raise your lawnmower cutting height so that small dirt mounds aren't visible.
- Wear gloves and a long-sleeved shirt and pants to spray insecticides.
- Bifenthrin is a general insecticide and kills beneficial insects, such as bees.
- Avoid placing ant bait traps where they are easily accessible to children, pets or wildlife.
- University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Ants
- The Family Handyman: How to Get Rid of Ants
- Forbes: How To Battle Ants Without Poisons
- University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Earthworm -- Lumbricus Terrestris
- National Pesticide Information Center: Bifenthrin
- Thomas Northcut/Photodisc/Getty Images