Is trouble plaguing your yard? It could be pests like chinch bugs or sod webworms. Be aware of suspicious areas in your yard that could indicate a problem. Cyonara or Bug Blaster can rid your landscape of these pests, but catching a problem early is the first step.
Recognizing a Problem Early
To catch a problem before it advances to a level that requires a lot of your time and attention, you should be out in your yard frequently. Warren’s Southern Gardens believes that hand-watering is a great way for you to spend time in your landscape inspecting the condition of your plants and lawn. At least twice a week, try to hand water in your yard and you’ll likely spot problem areas sooner.
Identification
Are you noticing areas in your yard where there are patches of yellow or brown grass, but the rest of the yard seems to be doing okay? Or, perhaps the entire turf seems to be suffering? Identifying problems can be tricky, especially without expert advice.
Luckily, Warren’s Southern Gardens is happy to help you with the task of diagnosing issues. But, a thorough lawn sample is a MUST. Pictures don’t offer enough information about the soil condition and grass roots to provide an accurate analysis.
Using a shovel, cut out a 6-to 8-inch square of your affected turf, including at least 2 inches of soil. Place your sample in a bag and bring it to the Garden Center.
With that said, we know the most common culprits for wreaking havoc in our area’s lawns during the hot and dry summer months are chinch bugs and sod webworms.
Chinch Bugs vs. Sod Webworms
Chinch bugs are pest insects that feed on grass blades and then inject a toxin that causes an interruption in water movement and turns the grass light yellow or brown. The turf eventually dies and, while the problem may appear drought related, the brown areas will not revive after watering.
Chinch bugs prefer the hottest areas in the yard that receive the most sunlight. The yellow areas will start small and as the grass dies, the chinch bugs will move outward. Heavy feeding can create large areas of dead lawn.
Sod webworms also prefer hot and dry areas of the yard, but they feed at night. Sod webworms chew grass off at the base as larvae and the transition from larvae to the pupal and adult phases can occur quickly. In fact, two or three generations can be complete in a year.
If you see small white or light gray moths flying over the lawn in the evening or taking shelter in your shrubs during the day, they may be adult sod webworm moths.
Solutions
Cyonara and Bug Blaster are both excellent options to stop chinch bugs and sod webworms in their tracks. Be aware that severe infestations require more than one application.
Before applying an insecticide, thoroughly rake the affected areas and remove the dead grass. Then, apply either a liquid or granular treatment.
We highly recommend following up your first treatment with the opposite method (liquid vs. granular) that uses a different active ingredient. For example, you can apply liquid Cyonara and then follow up with a granular option like Bug Blaster. These products feature different active ingredients that will help you achieve overall success to completely remove the infestation of pest insects in your yard. In some cases, a third application may be necessary.
There are several solutions to address pest insect infestations, including some organic considerations. For a personalized approach, please stop by the Garden Center to discuss more options with our expert staff. But, please don’t forget your turf sample! For more information, please call 281-354-6111.