Yes, it depends on the specific Raid formulation as to how extensive the collateral damage might be. Raid Ant and Roach Killer (pretty popular product and one that is applied as a spray rather than a bait) has a couple of active ingredients that could pose mortality to various insects and soil organisms if applied heavily enough. Typically, the spray needs to come in contact with the critter and it would have had to have been an extremely heavy spray to soak down into the soil to any significant degree. I'd suspect that unless hubby emptied the can in this location, the Raid is not the reason insect life seems so slight. Soil dwelling insects are not always readily apparent with cursory digging and temperature, soil moisture and the presence of other natural predators could all have an effect. Did you actually see dead specimens in the soil or just not see much activity at all? There's a big difference. Personally, I'd not be overly concerned about the fate of your organic garden. Just continue on as intended but suggest hubby keep the sprays well away in the future. Even approved 'organic' pesticides like pyrethrins can have an impact on beneficial, non-target organisms.

We have fire ants for the first time in years (and years) this year. I have not gotten around to it but maybe today, now that the rain has subsided for a few hours. I'm going to spray molasses on the yard. Fire ants are protein eating ants and seem to really hate sugar. Apparently (and I'm shooting from the cuff, but based on other insect findings), the sugar gets into their food supply storage and starts "bad stuff" (could be mold or bacteria) growing on the food. They will leave the contaminated food alone and search for another place to live. If your entire yard is sprayed with sugar, they have to go somewhere else. I'm using molasses because I have a lot of it. Otherwise, sugar water should do the same thing.

Now is the best time to start an organic lawn care program. Water properly and mulch mow as high as you can, since the more grass blade you leave exposed to the sun the more nutrients that leaf can manufacture to feed the crown where more grass will grow producing a thick turf that will aid in suppressing "weed" growth. Contact your county office of the Michigan State University USDA Cooperative Extension Service about having a good, reliable soil test done so you know what your soils pH and nutrient levels are and what might need to be done to correct any deficiencies and dig in with these simple soil tests, 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. to see what else you might need do to make that soil into a good, healthy soil that will grow a good, healthy turf for you. Keep in mind that making the transition from "conventional' to organic is not simply switching which "fertilizers" you use. Here is a link that might be useful: MSU CES

I didn't really see David's comments as being negative and nonconstructive. If you had posted here before tilling, I would have advised against it as well. I didn't comment on the tilling after the fact simply because I saw it as water over the dam. I understand why you wanted to till and why you wanted to till in the compost, but as it settles and as the compost decomposes, it will almost definitely do so unevenly. Depending on how unevenly it settles, it may not be too difficult to correct. Some people correct it by raking the cores to low spots when they core aerate and others use a light top dressing of sand, since it will naturally flow to the lower spots. When David was predicting some of the things he expects to happen (uneven lawn, yellowing of grass) he was doing that so you wouldn't blame the organics and switch after the first year. I'm not very familiar with mushroom compost, so I don't know for sure if it will rob nitrogen from the soil, but if it doesn't have enough nitrogen to feed the microbes digesting it, then it will rob nitrogen from the soil, which will cause yellowing. Depending on the starting pH of the soil, the mushroom compost may also cause yellowing due to iron deficiency. If the mushroom compost raised the pH too high, it will interfere with the ability of the grass to use iron. The soil may have plenty of iron, but it will be in a form that is not available to the plant. What I'm trying to say is that you may have some yellowing grass from the mushroom compost next year, but you would have that whether you use chemical or organic fertilizers. By the following year, the conditions in the soil should be changed enough that the yellowing will go away. If you use an organic approach next year and get discouraged by the yellow grass, you might get discouraged and switch to chemicals. You'd see nice green grass the next year and might conclude that the difference was chemical vs organic. In fact, you'd likely see the same thing if you use chemicals next year and organic the following year. You're likely to have grass that is prone to yellowing next year, but things should be better the following year. On a related note, in my earlier post, I said that I wouldn't apply lime without getting a soil test first. After thinking it through, I think I'd take that a step further and suggest that you wait a year before testing the soil since the mushroom compost could throw the results off now.