The lawn is a short and beautiful area that is regularly mown but sometimes you can see brown spots or dying grass patches which indicate you have lawn pests problems. Today we are going to see some of the most common pests that can damage your lawn.
Types of Pests
1. White Grubs
Fully grown white grubs are not a problem to your lawn but in their initial larva stage, they feed on turf roots. This will cause the upper portion of the grass to be cut off, turn brown, and eventually die. Grub larvae have a one-year life cycle before becoming common beetle. They hatch in summer and feed through the fall.
2. Chinch Bugs
If you do not control this pest, they will make significant damage to your lawn. They are active from June to September when the weather starts to cool down. The newborn bugs will produce toxic saliva while feeding on the sap turning the grass to brown color. If your grass is still brown even after watering them, then this is the pest you need to look out for.
3. Sod Webworms
The young larvae will feed on grass blades for 5 weeks before turning into an adult moth. They only feed at nighttime and leave brown patches behind. Sometimes it is hard to identify the problem until drought causes the grass to become dormant. The sod webworms larvae can be identified through their brown or green color with clear black spots.
4. Ants
Ants are perhaps the most visible common pest problem in the lawn. They will excavate tunnels below the ground for their movement and cut off the root of the grass which can cause damage to it. Their chambers below will cause a mound of dirt to appear on the ground damaging the grass. Ants are more of a nuisance to the lawn than a threat.
5. Billbugs
Both the adult and the larvae are a threat to the lawn. The adult billbugs will chew a hole in the grass to lay eggs which will cause damage to it. The larvae once hatched, will eat through the whole grass. You can identify it through the yellow color or dying grass and hollowed-out stems when pulled out. Usually, the larvae will hatch in spring when soil temperature increases.
6. Mole crickets
Mole cricket makes tunnels on the upper part of the soil, usually 1-2 inches from the top. This action will loosen up the soil, damage the roots, and then kill it. They also feed on grassroots. You can identify mole crickets damage through the small mound of dirt that appears on the ground, spongy lawn when walking on top, and brown grass that are dead.
7. Cutworms
This type of lawn pests only feeds at nighttime. They hatch in summer, spring, or early fall and start feeding on young grasses. They usually feed on the turfgrass blades where they chew and cut off a small portion before feeding on it. This can lead to uneven grass surfaces and can cause dead spots on the lawn.
Conclusion
Many different lawn pests can damage your grass. Although there are many ways to tackle this issue, the best way to repair the lawn is to use quality lawn and landscaping experts to deal with it because they easily can identify the pests and deal with them and make your lawn beautiful again.