Lawn pests can be a real pain when they invade, but preventative maintenance and taking an integrated approach to lawn care are effective ways of keeping them away. Regular mowing, clearing away thatch, and raking leaves can all make your yard less attractive to pests. Have the Best information about Whittier Pest Control.
Identification of pests is key to choosing an effective control method. Look for signs such as feeding damage, burrowing activity, and other telltale indicators of infestation.
Chinch Bugs
Chinch bugs are a common nuisance for lawns. Their piercing mouthparts inject toxic substances that wilt the grass, leading to brown patches in their wake that appear similar to drought stress symptoms and eventually merge into large and irregular sunken patches of dead turf.
Chinch bug damage will leave grass discolored and yellowed over time, making it harder to keep an ideal lawn. When their population increases further, it will be much harder to maintain healthy lawn conditions.
If you suspect chinch bugs are infiltrating your lawn, start by conducting a quick count in various parts of your yard. Aim for between 15-20 chinch bugs per square foot, as this indicates when treatment becomes necessary. Next, using a rake, remove as much thatch from your lawn as possible down to 1/8 inch; this is key as these creatures like to hide in thick thatch; eliminating this thick carpet will force them to look for another hiding spot – using gloves when necessary, use small metal cans pushed down into this carpet may help locate any hidden chinch bugs hiding down there as well.
Chinch bugs not only feed off of your lawn’s natural juices, but they also release an anticoagulant that blocks water and nutrients from reaching its roots – quickly killing off your grass as they do so. This explains how quickly an infestation of these insects can destroy it.
Chinch bugs thrive in hot, sunny weather. When conditions are right, they tend to gather in sunnier areas of the yard, such as near sidewalks or driveways. Damage from their presence becomes most apparent in July and August when temperatures are scorching and dry.
Chemical insecticides can be practical tools in controlling chinch bug populations but should only be employed after consulting with a professional lawn care and pest control service provider. Overuse of such products could harm beneficial insects that keep chinch bug populations under control, such as big-eyed bugs and minute pirate bugs, thus compounding the problem by suppressing natural predators while drawing more of these bugs onto your property.
Sod Webworms
Crambus webworms, commonly found in home landscapes, attack turfgrasses. Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescue, and perennial ryegrass webworms are three species widely encountered; most frequently seen are Kentucky bluegrass webworms; these moths feature two fingerlike projections from their heads (hence being known as snout moths) while their wings fold close against their bodies at rest for an aerodynamic cigar or cylindrical shape when resting.
Moth larvae attack lawn grass top growth and cause defoliated areas that resemble bare patches, leaving defoliated patches with defoliated areas left by defoliated caterpillars of these moths. Their caterpillars, known as caterpillars, can consume their weight in just one feeding night, which causes severe damage to lawns. Furthermore, silk-lined tunnels constructed by these worms can leave behind brownish hues on their surface.
Moth infestations usually begin in late spring and continue throughout summer. A single female moth can lay up to 60 eggs each day; their lifecycle takes between six to ten weeks from egg to adulthood, meaning numerous generations of moths and caterpillars attack your turf each year.
Some of the most effective practices for controlling sod webworms include mowing at an appropriate height, watering regularly, and managing soil stress. Soils with sandy or clay soils should receive at least 1-1 1/2 inches of water each week, while loam can handle multiple applications to avoid overstressed conditions and avoid stressing worms further.
Watering at the right time of day is also crucial. Soak the soil for at least 24 hours prior to applying beneficial nematodes for maximum effectiveness, following instructions on their package for application. Beneficial nematodes offer an effective non-chemical alternative for controlling sod webworms; ensure that any product you purchase explicitly mentions this pest as a target of interest.
Sod webworms can be challenging to manage with traditional insecticides. Synthetic pyrethroids such as carbaryl and bifenthrin may kill moths but offer little activity against caterpillars or their eggs, having a limited impact on infestations. Instead, applying granular insecticides like Valar Plus Bifenthrin or Supreme IT could provide effective control by killing caterpillars as well as dismantling webs created by sod webworms.
Grubs
Grubs are larvae of scarab beetle species such as Japanese beetles (iridescent green with coppery-brown wing covers) and masked chafer beetles (light brown beetles that crows love to dine on), that damage lawns by eating at their roots; they also injure or kill other landscape plants like flower bulbs and fruit trees. Grubs lay eggs in the soil during late summer and early fall, which hatch into new generations of hungry grubs; infested lawns may suffer severely damaged lawns, resulting in thinned-out lawns with soft grass that pulls quickly when pulled on.
When lawns become infested with grubs, their damage becomes immediately evident when mowing or watering. Heavily infested lawns may appear patchy and thin with yellowing grass that won’t grow back; sometimes, these destructive insects even dig so deeply into their roots that the turf cannot absorb nutrients or moisture, leading to drought stress in more extreme cases.
Grub infestations can also attract skunks and raccoons, who will dig up lawns searching for tasty larvae. An annual application of an insecticide that controls grubs during summer and fall can help prevent their numbers and minimize the damage they cause to lawns.
Neem oil can provide an organic way of fighting grubs without chemicals; mix it with water according to label instructions and apply it using either a pump sprayer or hose-end sprayer in late summer or early fall.
Curative treatments will effectively eliminate existing grub infestations but won’t prevent future ones from reappearing. Watering the lawn before and after applying curative ingredients such as Carbaryl or Trichlorfon is effective against them, though application in late summer or early fall is best to minimize damage to flowers and other plants. Also, try Nematodes such as Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Nematodes or Bacillus thuringiensis Galleriae, which target grubs without harming other garden plants!
Armyworms
Armyworms are larvae from various moth species and thrive in warm, semi-dry climates such as central Texas. Dubbed armyworms due to their army-like behavior of eating everything they come across like an eating battalion while leaving behind defoliation trails, heavy infestations can quickly wipe out cool season lawn grasses such as fescue in mere days.
To prevent armyworm infestations, you must create an unappealing habitat by clearing away weeds and regularly mowing the lawn. Apply granulated or liquid high-nitrogen fertilizer as part of your regular lawn maintenance schedule, then water deeply several times every week instead of lightly to keep the soil surface moist enough and protect your yard against pest attacks.
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is an ideal way to control armyworms and can be found in many pest control products ranging from sprays, granules, dusts, or pellets – perfect for protecting against armyworms! Although not all strains of Bt work equally effectively against all types of insects (for instance, armyworms), be sure that when choosing one product, it contains one with either Bt aizawai or Bt kurstaki strain that specifically targets caterpillars like armyworms!
Female armyworm moths typically mate at night and lay their eggs during the daytime on lush turf or weeds. They often deposit up to 200 eggs that darken as hatching approaches. Once hatched, their larvae can rapidly devour your grass patch in two to four weeks.
An armyworm problem can be quickly identified by its telltale, tell-tale, ragged blades on affected turf grasses and cut-off leaves of plants affected. When you spot these signs, scrutinize your turf for larvae crawling along the bottom leaf edges, giving them that “windowpane” appearance.
Apply a labeled insecticide when leaf damage and caterpillar numbers increase significantly, such as when caterpillars appear in large numbers. Effective options include bifenthrin, carbaryl, esfenvalerate, and spinosad; however, for best results, apply these chemicals every other day until you achieve the desired results. Alternatively, parasitic wasps, which target pest eggs, can be released before inserting their eggs into them to kill the bugs faster.