Turf Tips by Chris Karcher
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May Turf Tips
With the late warm up this spring, people have been working out in the gardens and lawns later than usual. One problem that is seen at this time of year that can be cause for concern is the sighting of "grubs" in the lawn or landscape. While these pests can cause serious problems in your lawn, now is not the time to effectively treat grubs; despite what your local garden center may be telling you. (It is often in their best interest to sell you a pesticide treatment rather than to educate you in the proper life cycle of your grubs and thereby promoting better control.)
First let's discuss what is a damaging population of grubs and when do you treat it? One of the biggest myths about so called "grub prevention" treatments is that they will eliminate 100% of your grubs. This is not the case. Even with the best materials out there, such as Mach 2 and Merit, you should never expect a 100% elimination of these pests. The best control, and this is under ideal conditions, is about 85% reduction. You must remember that a healthy lawn can support a population of grubs and never even show damage. So when do you treat for a population of grubs and what is a damaging level? If your lawn had a problem with grubs last year (more than 5 - 6 grubs per square foot of turf area: depending on species) you could benefit from a "preventative treatment" this year done around Memorial Day. This should provide a reduced population (never 100%). A more responsible method would be to track the pest and only treat them if they are a problem. Due to excessive wet/dry weather you may not have a damaging level of grubs, why put down a control product if it's not needed? More on Grubs in July!
Other insects that can sometimes damage your lawn are surface feeders such as, cutworms, sod webworm, and the armyworm. While these for the most part don't cause too many problems they can damage to certain lawns (we had a large outbreak last season locally). Again, the best method of telling if your lawn has a problem is by the way it looks. If you are following proper watering\mowing directions and you see a brown spot beginning in the lawn, it may be an indication of a pest outbreak. The best thing to do is to get down on your knees and look in the brown area near the edges of green and look for bugs. If you don't see any signs such as chewed grass of the bug itself, why put an insecticide down? You need to investigate why the area is brown. You may have some rocks or other debris below the grass level causing problems. (Last year I found a 12 pack of crushed beer cans under some recently laid sod that was developing a "brown spot". No water was getting through the aluminum!) If you have a damaging population and need treatment, read the product label and follow the instructions. Remember, if 1 ounce is good, 2 ounces isn't better and will not reduce a pest any faster! We all share a common backyard, please use pesticides responsibly!
Chris Karcher is a local franchise owner of NaturaLawn of America - the leader in organic-based lawn care and the only national service provider to promote Environmentally Responsible lawn care. "Doing the right thing has never been this easy!"
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