Football Pitch Pests

Earthworm activity when it is moist and mild can produce anything from a nuisance which is readily managed to significant smothering of a sward. A high concentration of earthworms within a heavier loamy soil can result in significant casting which smears and smothers significant parts of a sward, especially during maintenance activities or play.

Awaiting a relatively dry surface to help disperse casts might not arise during much of the year when earthworms are active. Unfortunately, and in most cases where budgets are limited, it is usually a matter of drag brushing as best as possible and accepting that during these periods the surface quality will most likely be less than ideal, but it will still be safe and suitable to play on. Where budgets are more generous the building up of a sandier surface layer by regular sand top-dressings will help the casts dry that much quicker and they will also be easier to disperse.

Earthworm activity can be significantly reduced in acidic soils, however, perennial ryegrass, which is the dominant hard-wearing species used in football pitches has a preference for slightly acidic soils (pH 6.0 – 7.0), reducing in resilience at below pH 5.5. Aiming to acidify a surface layer might be considered appropriate to help reduce earthworm surface activity, although care will be needed not to over acidify which would lead to a thinning of the sward.

Grubs (chafers and leatherjackets) can be a problem, ranging from being a mild nuisance, especially from bird pecking activity to causing serious issues of sward defoliation where very high concentrations of grubs are present. Where effective chemical pesticides are not available there will be a greater reliance on good cultural and physical practices, as well as selective biological control for insect grubs.

Leatherjacket and Chafer grubs might be able to be reduced through the use of applied nematodes as a form of biological control. There are limitations to this practice as the life cycle of the nematode is restricted to when it can be applied. In addition, environmental conditions also impact on the effectiveness of this form of biological control of grubs. The use of a disc linear aerator, such as the Imants RotoKnife, might also be considered as a potential means of grub control, by squashing or cutting into a grub, where blade spacing is set to 50mm and used on a regular basis.

Other pests which can cause localised damage include rabbits, which can be a nuisance where they scrape out soil, being a particular problem at renovation time when seedlings are trying to get established. More serious problems can arise during the playing season as deeper scrapes can cause players to twist an ankle or worse.

Badgers can in some cases cause severe tearing up turf and excavation of ground, especially where there is a significant presence of earthworms, leatherjackets or chafer grubs. However, in practice it is a rarity for this to occur on a football pitch.

Fox damage can result in holes which they dig for food sources within the soil and these need to be constantly filled in. The fox will naturally move on, possibly moving to find another food source, although this might take several weeks.

Mole activity is quite visible due to the often-large mounds of soil which are excavated. However, the hazard from a mole’s activity is the hidden underground tunnels which have been excavated, which can result in injury to players, especially ankle twist and worse. Reinstating mole damage so that the surface is safe to play on can take many hours of work, so it is important to control mole activity well before they have encroached onto a pitch.

Assessing a pitch for damage from any pest, especially mammals, is essential as part of a pre-match pitch (risk assessment) inspection.