Significance

• Hookworms, as the name suggests, are tiny worms less than half an inch long in their adult stage. They live in and feed on the intestine of both domestic and wild animals, where they lay eggs that are ejected in feces. The eggs hatch and the larvae are either ingested off the ground or attach themselves to a dog, cat or person and burrow through the skin, eventually reaching the intestine where they mature. In humans, they typically reach no farther than the skin, where an irritated rash will form.
  
  

Infestation

• Hookworm larvae prefer damp, shaded, sandy soil, but the dense grass cover of a typical lawn or park is also an excellent environment. The grass cover allows the larvae to shelter from the heat of the sun, to which they are vulnerable. Once hatched, hookworm larvae may migrate some distance, waiting for an opportunity to make contact with a passing animal like a dog or cat. They may survive up to four weeks after hatching and prior to infecting an animal.
  
  

Removal

• There are no specific pesticides that can be applied to your lawn to eliminate hookworm larvae. Part of the reason for this is that hookworm larvae are very similar to helpful organisms in a lawn, and no pesticide has been developed to target hookworms only. Salt brine or sodium borate may be applied to bare earth, concrete or gravel and will kill hookworm larvae, but such a treatment applied to living plants will end up harming your lawn. Any bare, open sections of your yard will likely be free of hookworm larvae, since they cannot tolerate prolonged sun exposure.
  
  

Prevention

• Dog feces that have not been collected by an owner are most often the source of hookworm proliferation. Therefore, the best method of keeping a yard hookworm-free is to avoid leaving feces on the grass and to train a dog to defecate in one area of the yard. As long as proper disposal is observed, the hookworm's main method of reproducing is eliminated. Keep in mind that parks or other green spaces are not always so hygienic.
  
  

Considerations

• Maintaining a lawn in the manner described above will also help to keep it free of other parasites common to dogs or cats. Both roundworms and whipworms reproduce in ways very similar to those of the hookworm, and the same methods of lawn treatment apply.