Bugs in your lawn & Tall Fescue grass seed

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

This summer we can expect a healthy crop of insects in our lawns and yards.  The mild winter weather did not kill off large populations of insects.  There are a number of ways to determine what insects may be damaging your lawn.

You always need to check for insects in your lawn and not assume the brown spots are caused by just heat or drought stress.  Hot, dry weather brings out ants just in time for your summer picnics.  Outdoor grilling, ice cream spills and hamburger rolls fed to the birds will attract ants to your yard.  Ants are easy to control with Jonathan Green Lawn Insect Control.

Chinch bugs are also a common lawn insect.  They suck the juice out of the blades of grass usually causing the grass to brown out and die.  Hot, dry weather is ideal for chinch bugs in your lawn.  The familiar cross-winged back of chinch bugs makes them easy to identify.   If you suspect that chinch bugs are in your lawn you can confirm it in this simple way.  Cut out both the top and bottom of a coffee can (take the coffee out too!) and push it an inch into the ground.  Water inside the can for a few moments and if chinch bugs are present they will rise to the water surface.  Chinch bugs are easy to control with Jonathan Green Pest Kill Grub and Insect Control.

Grubs can easily multiply in lawns that are being watered regularly since they need moisture to lay their eggs.  Hot, dry weather helps to reduce grub populations, sometimes eliminate them if the drought is severe enough.  However, grubs can be difficult to control.  You need to monitor your yard and pull back some dead areas of grass to see if you can identify any grubs in your lawn.  There are websites that can show you what they look like. 

Grubs burrow into the soil in the cold of winter and then make their way back to the top one-inch of the soil to lay their eggs, usually in the late spring-early summer time frame. 

This is a good time to apply Jonathan Green Grub Control to interrupt this egg laying process.  If you miss this window for applying Grub Control the eggs then hatch in late summer with a whole new generation of baby grubs to deal with.  You can also control grubs at this time since the young grubs are small and easier to kill.  Jonathan Green Summer Survival Insect Control plus Lawn Fertilizer is a great way to control grubs and feed your lawn at the same time.  If you miss a control application you should be aware that grubs will probably come back the next year even stronger.

Ticks do not like the dry lawns, but they enjoy the shade of tall grass or under trees and shrubs.  Frequently tick activity is much greater in borders from finely mowed grass leading into unkempt wooded areas.  Since the lawn is not being disturbed regularly in these areas, ticks can thrive and multiply.  Ticks are best controlled by mowing these areas regularly and also by applying the proper treatments in late spring and again in mid-summer.  Monitor your children and pets if they play in your yard or at parks and playgrounds to be sure that ticks are not coming into the house or getting on their skin.  There are many controls available for ticks, including deer ticks, on the market.  To ensure you get the best results use Jonathan Green Pest Kill Grub and Insect Control to control the spreading of ticks.  The easy to spread granules make this product fast-acting and effective.

It is important that you monitor your lawn and be able to clearly identify what insect you are trying to control.  Also, be sure to read all of your products labels to make sure that the insect you are trying to control is in fact listed on the label.  Lastly, follow the label directions for best results.  Using the wrong products or using any product incorrectly may not control the desired insect.  You also can do more damage than good by perhaps killing a desirable insect or getting the products in waterways.

A healthy growing lawn is the best defense against insect damage.  Proper feeding, mowing and watering are important for success.  Have a great summer! 

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