Tis the Season…

It is amazing how we forget from season to season, those things that stress our beautiful lawns, causing great concern and annoyance to us.

We forget about grubs feasting on the roots of our oh-so beautiful lawns. And if it is not grubs, then it is chinch bugs that move in for the kill. Of course you can be the one to have your lawn invaded by both grubs and chinch bugs. Lucky you!!!

…and then you have the drought that always, always, makes your lawn suffer during the months of June thru September.

Grub worms are immature stages of the June beetle, that live in the soil and feast on roots of grass, until there is no way the turf can extract food and moisture. Normally one would not see that the damage occurred, until the heat of the summer stressed the lawn even further.

Then, all of a sudden the grass turns yellow, and you go out to look at it. Bending down you pass your hand over the yellowing turf, and you notice that the grass moves from side to side. And then you cuss at the critters who ate your lawn.

Some will act quickly and apply seed or re-sod the area in hopes that your lawn will get back in shape before your Labor Day party or before the end of the growing season.

All is well until you notice that at the edges of the lawn near a concrete surface start to turn brown or red. This seems to be more noticeable in lawns with heavy thatch.

Thatch is the residual build up of organic matter resulting from grass or other foliage not able to break down. There can be any number of reasons that may have caused the build up. One could be lack of microorganisms due to use of chemical insecticides and herbicides. Another reason may be the inability of oxygen to penetrate compacted thatch slowing down or impeding decomposition.

Chinch bugs suck the juices out from the crown area of grass making it hard for them to be noticed. If you suspect chinch bugs rub your hand slowly over the area going from side to side. In the heat of the day you will scrounge up some chinch bugs that will begin to scurry over your hand. If this does not work then you can always use a can with both ends cut off. Force this can into the soil and fill it up with water the chinch bugs will come to surface. You can catch one and look at it under a microscope allowing you to see a black insect less then _ an inch long with white markings on flat wings that are resting over its back.

There are certain tasks that can be performed to help minimize turf damage caused by grubs and chinch bugs and help increase water penetration into the soil.

I am a firm believer in core aeration.

Core aeration removes plugs from the soil and deposits them on the ground. To some the cores may ruin the appearance of the lawn, but only temporary as watering and mowing will eventually break down the plugs.

Aeration will help with your watering bill since the water will flow easily below ground level where it is needed. Once the machine opens up the thousands of holes you will have thousands of cups that will hold water out of the sunlight and in cooler soils minimizing evaporation. That is the first benefit.

Because you are removing thatch lodged at the top of the plug that is being removed you are also removing chinch bugs hiding in the thatch. Because you will have thousands of cores that will be open and able to retain moisture for long periods (as opposed to water sitting on soil surface where it may evaporate) causing the dry loving chinch bug to just go away.

Third benefit. Aeration also encourages stronger, deeper root growth that can withstand attacks from root feeding pests such as grubs.

I have seen improvement in lawns that were affected by brown patch just with the simple task of aeration.

Aeration makes application of Beneficial Nematodes much more effective since the small creatures are applied directly into the open cores or can be soaked in upon application.

Beneficial Nematodes live deep in the soil where they will seek out larval stages of insects including fleas, termites, fire ants and roaches.

I just mentioned fleas.

Not every property is going to be invaded by fleas, so it is very important to have pest prevention. Application of Beneficial Nematodes is one of the best prevention methods that I know of. The second prevention is a clean pet. Shampoo your pet with a natural shampoo containing herbal extracts and natural oils. Always use a flea comb while the dog’s fur is wet. This will allow you to dislodge any stubborn flea and or flea eggs. Make sure that you only stroke the comb in one direction and that at the end of each stroke you thump the comb against the edge of a container that has water in it to prevent the active fleas from jumping off the comb and hiding somewhere near by.

The flea life-cycle last three weeks. In order to gain control of flea infestations, the best way is to apply an insecticide that is herbal based to areas that host flea populations. Larval development occurs only where the ground is shaded and moist; apply the insecticide to these areas only. Apply once a week for three weeks.

I like using EcoPco WP. This product contains botanicals insecticides such as Thyme Oils and pyrethrum. A one pound container cost $19.99 and will cover up to 5000 square feet. It can be used inside and out and has a pleasant cinnamon smell.

Precor is a growth regulator that will keep fleas from molting and reaching sexual maturity. One ounce covers 1000 square feet and only cost $6.00. This product can safely be sprayed on rugs and furniture with out staining the fabrics. It may take a little longer to get control of your flea problem, but has long term residual.

Webworms

Last year we had a severe infestation of webworms, they attacked plants that were not on their normal diet. Yaupon hollies, Wax Myrtles and even, many perennials were attacked by the webworms.

Several Land Grant colleges predicted another webworm outbreak this year, in early March it seemed that their predictions were going to come to fruition. However, we only had a small outbreak that did not cause as much damage as predicted.

Since last winter many customers have worried about webworms and purchased dormant oils to spray on their trees and later on came in and purchased Trichogramma wasps.

Were their efforts in vain? Probably not.

Even if we do not get as many webworms as we did last year, there were other controls realized by the application of the dormant oils. Dormant oils control a number of over wintering pest and diseases.

Grasshoppers

It does seem a little late compared to other years, but in recent days we have seen a large increase in demand for Nolo Bait. Nolo bait is a bacteria that when consumed by certain grasshoppers killing them and is most effective when the grasshoppers are small. As they become sick their relatives eat them further passing on the disease.

Kaolin Clay is a good defense product that can be sprayed on plants that you want to save from grasshoppers.

Secondary, and I think an even more beneficial use of Kaolin Clay is to apply on fruits so that the dusty look can camouflage the ripened color, making it difficult for birds to come and feast on your garden.

Another benefit, is that the white dusty particles seem to keep the plants and vegetables cooler. “Cooler” means that they do not perspire as much. Many orchards in California claim to have more production on all varieties of fruit since applying this clay.

Fire Ants

Another recent complaint has been Fire Ants. All of a sudden our temperatures warmed up and Ants became more visible. For Fire Ants I have really good results with two products.

Green Light Spinosad is very affordable and when used properly and patiently controls fire ants in a short period of time. One container cost $12.00 and covers 10,000 square feet.

Ascend with an active ingredient of abamectin. This product acts quickly to prevent new fire ants from developing, but it takes longer for the existing workers to die. My preffered ant control product is Ascend and eventhough it cost a little more, it is worth the price. First of all it does cover two acres and can help control other insects. I applied some in my attic and got control of my silver fish that were attacking my library.

Both products, Spinosad and Ascend work well when applied directly to the mound. I prefer broadcasting it over the entire property. To ensure that these products work I would apply either of them during a period when we are not supposed to get rain for a few days.

Mosquitoes

About six weeks ago I received a call from a potential customer requesting mosquito control. During our conversation I was told that the house had been vacant for several years and was now close to having extensive remodeling done. I found out that the gutters were not replaced. I recommended cleaning the gutters only to have the customer deny my recommendation.

We went and spayed her yard for mosquitoes only to get a call back from her about a week later. She was complaining that she still had some mosquitoes, not as many, but enough to keep her and her family from enjoying the back yard.

“If you let me clean your gutters I will reapply the product at no charge.” I did say this while I was rolling my eyes and thinking why did she not listen to me the first time.

She agreed and I sent a crew out to her house the next day. Three hours and fourteen trash bags later the gutters and the French drains were cleaned. The guys removed several paint cans and other construction debris before feeling satisfied that most standing water or mosquito-breeding areas had been vanished.

We sprayed her lawn AGAIN and sent her a bill. One week later we received payment for our services. Included was a thank you note for the work done that now allowed her family quality out door time. We have also received several referrals.

The product that we use is a biological insecticide that becomes rain fast, in other words it is absorbed by the leaves just deep enough to not wash off during rains or sprinkler use.

The quantity of the product applied is minimal and does not effect larger insects or animals like frogs or geckos.

I mentioned EcoPco products earlier. Here you have another good use for this product.

Mulch

This year it seems that more mulch has been put out over flowerbeds then ever before. We have sold three truckloads of mulch more then we have in the last two years. This equates to almost 4000 bags. If each bag covers an average of 10 square feet that means that we our customers have covered 40,000 square feet more of landscape area then last year. That means that altogether our customers have purchased over 15,000 bags, 150,000 square feet of landscape that will not be subjected to brutal heat evaporating moisture from the soil Smart customers who will save unknown amounts of money in water conservation and plant preservation by keeping their plant roots cool and moist.

Think about it, mulch not only conserves moisture it also helps prevent weeds and back pain from constant bending over. Mulch also helps replacing organic matter to the soil keeping it loose enough to absorb water and allow air to penetrate.