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Organic Lawn Care

dime sized holes in lawn

16 years ago

Hey all. First year of a true organic lawn. Last year I stopped with the chemicals and have held off with the exception of occasionally spot spraying some perennial weeds. I just put down Nature Safe 10-2-8 (feather meal, bone meal, blood meal, potash, etc) at a little more than 10 pounds per 1000 sq ft.

Either way, I will say that my lawn is much better off than last year, just walking across it you can feel that it is less compacted. I'm also going to bring in some compost when my friend with a truck can help me out.

Alas, my question. I've seen some dime sized holes in the ground in my lawn in several places, 7 or 8 probably and my lot is about 12,000 square feet.

What would y'all guess, bees?

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Comments (7)

User
16 years ago
Bees, ground wasps, large worms (if the edges decay off a bit).

Unless you notice them, they're unlikely to be anything that would bother you.
kmnhiramga
Original Author
16 years ago
yeah, I'm okay having bees, except that a couple of years ago while mowing I got stung and it hurt like crazy, it was only one sting, and I hadn't been stung since I was a kid but it was on my ankle and it hurt so bad (happened near some leland cypress trees in my yard) that my first thought was a snake bite. man it hurt.
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User
16 years ago
I must have no sensitivity to the toxin. I was stung for the first time last year (ever). It hurt a bit, throbbed for maybe thirty seconds, then went away.

Contrary to Grandma who used to grab the sting kit and head for the hospital.
kmnhiramga
Original Author
16 years ago
I believe it was a yellow jacket. Those things really hurt.
How can you go all your life without getting stung? I was stung like 12 times at once when a childhood friend disturbed a nest (not on purpose) I've hated all bees ever since.
User
16 years ago
How can you go all your life without getting stung?

Given that I (and my parents when I was living at their place) raise a ton of things that bees love, including bee balm and butterfly bushes, it's kind of amazing.

I was always taught to respect their territory since they're doing a job and wait for them to leave the space before I start fiddling with it. In recent years, I've discovered we can both share the same space as long as I don't directly bother the bee.

Never swat at them, try not to sweat (they don't like the smell) and don't be afraid (they can detect that, too). I've had them fly into my hair, down my shirt, and land on my hands and face. If you just wait for them to disentangle themselves (or lift the shirt for space), they go away.

I did freak out a little when a hummingbird decided that she knew me fairly well and that I would make an excellent perch. It was too much of a surprise and I scared the bird.

Too bad, I wouldn't have minded a hummingbird friend at all.
tmelrose
16 years ago
You guys are giving me flashbacks. Every summer we have problems with HUGE hornets that makes their underground nests in my lawn and flowerbeds. They are mean MFers. You try to water or edge the lawn they come flying out ready to kill. I'm sure the neighbors get a kick out of watching me dive for the door. Whew, don't look forward to that come June.
fescue_planter
16 years ago
Hummingbirds wouldn't be as freaky to me as those moths that look like hummingbirds! Pretty sneaky I think!

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