We mentioned earlier on the multiple facets of lawn care costs and what it takes to create/maintain a healthy lawn, besides fighting the elements you’ll have to fight some creepy crawlers. Common signs that your lawn has a form of an infestation include dead patchy brown spots, thinning areas of grass, wilting blades of grass and even bite marks on the grass and don’t forget holes in the grass. Well cover what we need to know for outdoor bug control and what you’ll need for insect treatment. There’s pests you’ll need to worry about from worms, things that make holes in your lawn and bugs that love to eat your once beautiful lawn. There’s quite a few pests that will damage your lawn and even cause continuous damage to your yard seasonally.
Common Lawn Pests and Solutions
Here’s some of the loveable and huggable bugs that are really big fans of your nice green lawn. These are all common bugs and insects in New Jersey and surrounding states in the U.S. For the most part you can prevent these pests by maintaining a healthy lawn, a well taken care of lawn is more likely to be effective in fighting an infection to start and is likely to recover quickly vs a lawn that has not been taken care of well.
White Grubs
White grubs are actually an early stage form of a Scarab beetle, and grubs appear as white larvae with brown heads, all in all they are alien looking. In the Spring grubs will wake from the winter and begin feeding on the roots of your lawn and grass, after the grubs have eaten your lawn they will enter a pupae stage later turning into adult beetles. In the summer the pupae will emerge as beetles to feast on your flowers and other plant life. Beetles will then return to the soil to lay more eggs, starting the process over again will more grubs emerging the following season.
- Signs of grubs on your lawn include brown patches on the lawn that never turn green. Since grubs feed in the fall look for spots on the lawn that don’t return.
- Another sign of Grubs include patches of lawn that can easily be pulled up, after grubs have damaged the lawn they will move onto the greener areas to continue feeding. This means that you may need to dig to nearby healthy grass to find the migrating grubs.
- Grubs feed on the soil’s organic matter, a source of food the grass relies on in addition to grubs actually eating the root system.
- When roots are no longer present you should be able to roll the soil up like a carpet.
- Having grubs on your lawn is also another invitation to other animals for them to dig for the grubs. Grubs are part of the food chain and the dinner bell is ringing when they are present.
- In the late summer, digging up a section of the soil and examining 2-4 inches down should allow you to see them, small numbers of grubs, think of a population of 5 per square foot should be ok. A healthy soil can support a small population. With a smaller population you might not have to treat the lawn unless damage is coming from other animals digging for the grubs as a food source.
- There are some pesticides on the market that will kill them over a long time, and on contact. We recommend Scotts GrubEx which is formulated to kill and prevent grubs for up to 4 months.
Sod webworms
Sod webworms or lawn moths resemble miniature caterpillars and are common in most areas including New Jersey, they appear usually with small brown patches in the lawn as these small insects chew on the blades of grass. Larvae activity usually starts in April and May with feeding lasting into the mid summer. Sod webworms will grow into small white moths, so if you see small white moths on your property it’s likely there’s some activity on your lawn. Webworms feed on top of the soil leaving bite marks and dead spots on the blades of grass. A visual inspection of the grass can confirm activity. Fortunately you can get rid of them with common insecticides like liquid Triazcide which is effective after a few applications will ensure that all stages of the webworm’s life cycle has been killed. Sod Worms can be prevented by safely attracting their natural predator, birds. Additionally Sod Worms can be prevented by simply taking care of your lawn, they prefer dry soil so properly watering and aerating your lawn plays a part in the prevention of sod worms. Dethatching your lawn when the thatch layer becomes excessive is key in making sure webworms don’t find comfortable living space on your lawn.
Chinch bugs
If you have what appears to be patches of grass that appears to be dead or is in need of water there’s a chance it may be chinch bugs. Commonly chinch bug infestations are mistaken for a lawn that needs to be watered. If you’ve watered your lawn and done everything to bring the lawn back to no avail and are only left with dry looking grass you likely have chinch bugs. Chinch bugs are a common sight on lawns and the appearance of them doesn’t necessarily mean you have a problem. 10-15 bugs every square foot isn’t a problem since natural predators like ants, lady bugs and birds keep the population under control. Since your lawn is an ecosystem, keeping it healthy ensures that populations of both good and bad insects are kept in balance. Heat and drought lowers the amount of positive bugs in the lawn causing chinch bugs to overpopulate the lawn, without natural enemies chinch bugs thrive and become a problem. There are many species and color variations of the chinch bug, in New Jersey you’ll see what is known as the hairy chinch bug colors are brown with white patches on a black body they have six legs and two large antennae. Other Chinch bug species have different color variations like orange, brown and black. Chinch bugs behave similar to a mosquito, they suck the nutrients out the blades of grass causing it to dehydrate and die.
- You can naturally remove Chinch bugs with a product known as Diatomaceous Earth, this is a soft white powder that is ground fossils, on a microscopic level DE is sharp and pierces the bodies of insects additional the product will dehydrate the bugs. Any DE that comes in contact with Chinch Bugs will also end the life cycle.
- For the Chemical route an all purpose insecticide like a Triazcide will get rid of the chinch bugs and kill the lifecycle including any eggs.
Billbugs
Billbugs are actually a type of weevil that you’ll likely see walking slowly around sidewalks and driveways. Billbugs are a common NJ lawn pest. They are black and have an odd looking snout. Adult weevils cause damage to your lawn when they lay eggs, their larvae are similar in appearance to white grubs, the difference is they are legless, so look for white cream like worms with brown heads. The signs of billbugs (weevils) are similar to other types of lawn damage, brown patches with dying areas of grass. If you suspect billbugs you should be able to pull the grass up with no effort as they have eaten the roots. Billbug larvae hollow out the grass stems and chew off the roots.
- Killing the billbugs when minimal damage has been done will usually allow the grass to recover on its own. Fertilize the lawn and water to start growth again.
- Larger areas of damage will often require reseeding.
- Common insecticide like the Triazicide we have mentioned before should kill eggs and any adults both above and below the soil.
How much should lawn care pest control cost?
While most common lawn pest issues can be rectified with basic all purpose insecticides, if you prefer not to use part of your weekend fixing the problem with DIY pest control, hiring a specialist is the best way to get the issue fixed. To ensure that your lawn is fixed and back to being healthy and green, a specialist that understands your lawn can cost anywhere from $150-$400. Speaking with a lawn care specialist will allow you to get an all in one service, pest removal, and lawn repair. Unlike an exterminator who only removes the pest, a lawn care company specialist will be able to diagnose and fully repair the lawn correctly.