Having a magazine-worthy lawn doesn’t come easy. It takes lots of trial and error, patience, and hard work. Once you do have your dream lawn, the last thing you want is to have garden pests come in and destroy it. Underground grubs can turn your grass a meal, worms can attack the stalks of your grass, and it can seem as if the infamous mosquitos and ticks have made their permanent home in your yard. If pests pester you, your initial instinct might be quickly attacking by pouring pesticide over everything. However, with problems such as those listed above, you should address them as safely as possible. We recommend hiring a professional to do pest control for your lawn and landscaping, but it is wise to educate yourself and be on the lookout for different types of pests until you hire a pro.
Identifying Pests
You can’t control lawn pests if you don’t know how to identify them correctly. The best way to go about it is to know their life cycles and symptoms, then correctly treat them at optimal times. Some of the most common signs that pests have invaded your lawn include brown spots, wilting blades, bite marks on the grass, and dead grass patches. Sometimes you may even see thin roots or holes in the soil due to underground pests. Let’s take a look at some common yard invaders and how to identify them.
Armyworms
Armyworms tend to travel in large groups, so if you spot one, there’s bound to be many more. These worms are smooth-skinned and about 1.5 inches long. They will have stripes on their side and can be yellow, green, dark brown, or black. These pests will feed on grass blades and produce brown patches that many lawn owners will mistake for drought.
Chafer Grubs
Pay extra attention to your lawn in the spring and summer as these grubs become most active during those seasons. Masked chafer grubs often leave irregular brown patches that later become dying grass by the end of summer. You can dig up a sample to identify any white or yellow c-shaped grubs. Not only do they prove to be harmful to your lawn, but they can also attract unwanted visitors such as skunks and moles.
Burrowing Mammals
As mentioned above, having other pests can attract bigger ones such as moles, gophers, chipmunks, etc. The problem with these animals is that they burrow holes in the ground on the hunt for food and ruin your lawn. Not to mention, if you have a garden, they will steal the fruits and vegetables you worked so hard to grow. To determine what kind of wildlife is causing lawn damage, observe the area or set up a game camera. Many decide to put up traps to capture the critter and later release it into the wild. However, DIY trapping can be dangerous, so it is wise to get a professional to handle it.
Green June Beetles
Not to be confused with the Japanese Beetle, Green June Beetles are very large and pose a threat to many lawns. If you spot a June Beetle, it may be a sign that their grubs are infesting your property. Their damage occurs from underneath the lawn. They tunnel throughout the ground, which causes the soil to become spongey and dry. In addition, larger predators may come by your yard in search of these bugs. Some beetle-hungry animals include armadillos and skunks, which will continuously dig up holes in your yard until satisfied.
Health Risks
Not only are garden pests a nuisance, but they can also prove to be a threat to your health for various reasons. Those with allergic reactions to bug bites will be at greater risk from neighboring mosquitos, ants, etc. In addition to the bug bites, other pests can carry diseases such as salmonella through their urine and feces. The last thing you want is to get salmonella in your vegetable garden.
Plant disease identification is complicated, which is why it’s best to get a laboratory analysis or help from a professional. Diseased organisms can affect the plant’s leaf surfaces and ability to carry on photosynthesis. In addition, they can also produce substances that clog the plant tissues and hinder the transportation of water and nutrients. Some of the symptoms associated with plant diseases may include mushroom-like growths on tree trunks, spots on leaves, flowers, and fruits, sudden wilting death of a plant, stunted growth, and many others.
Reach for Help
While having pests invade your lawn can be exasperating, don’t lose hope just yet. Rather than jumping the gun and throwing all different kinds of pesticides and chemicals into your lawn, reach out to a professional that can best assess the situation. With Billy’s Lawn Care Professionals, you can have confidence in knowing that you’re working with a company whose reputation speaks for itself. A reliable, licensed, insured, experienced fertilization and pest control company that can get the job done quickly and seamlessly is your best ally for maintaining a superior lawn.