Lawn Care and Problem solving
A little Help along the Way for your new lawn …
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
Take a little time to find out what went wrong with the grass that was growing in that area before. Did it wear out and refuse to grow under foot traffic or was it dying out in large spots that seemed to continue to enlarge during the summer because of chinch bugs? Did the area undergo drought conditions, is there a problem with a broken nozel or incomplete coverage on your irrigation system? Did your grass die out in an area that your dog likes to run or uses as its fire hydrant station, or did you experience a problem where you rinsed out a bucket or paintbrush in the area? Have you had your house pressure washed and now see burn damage in the areas that the runoff from the chemicals went? Did you use a weed and feed and everything died within a few weeks? These are all good sod Questions that can help us problem solve our lawn grass issues. Mmany of us dont understand how the answers effect our lawn grass health.
Some of these things like rinsing paint buckets over the lawn can be easily avoided in the future while others like our dogs favorite spot can not. Knowing what went wrong can not only help prevent that same problem in the future but can help guide you as you choose the variety of sod that works in the habitat that you have existing in your landscape already.
Heres a few common issues that we will experience in the North Florida landscape to help you along the way…
Common Bugs in North Florida Laws
Bugging You | Bugging Your Lawn | Bugging other Bugs – here lawn bugs are broken down into three simple categories to help you determine if they are friend or foe?
Sod Questions and Answers How to Reduce The Need For Chemical Control – A few simple tricks to keep your lawn healthy and able to fend for itself without the need for unnecessary chemical intervention.
Checking for Insect Populations – Scouting the landscape for bugs isnt as difficult as you migh think. Heres a few simple tricks to help you find out whats bugging your lawn.
Bermuda Grass Mites -Bermuda grass mites are tiny, only 1/30 of an inch long requiring a microscope to find them even on severely infested lawns. Characteristic damage done to grass blades makes pest identification easier.
Billbugs – Scouting the lawn for Billbugs and the sighns of teh damage they can do should be done frequently to carefully monitor both harmful and beneficial insect populations on affected turf species.
Chinch Bugs – A North Florida grass lawn pest whos favored food supply tends to be a struggling St. Augustine lawn. Find out how to identify them as well as prevent future infestations
Fall Army Worms – When food supply becomes depleted in large populations army worms will move locations in masses making a little army of moving caterpillars giving them their name.
Grass loopers – Grass Loopers are long and thin, have two legs and inch link inchworms which is where they get their name.
Ground Pearls – Ground pearls are scale insects that live in the soil. Their description is what gives them theri name, they really do look like little tiny yellowish – purple pearls that can range in size from 1/8 inch to as small as a grain of sand.
Mole Crickets – The problem with these insects comes from the fact that, being a South American accidental import, there are few natural enemies in place here in North Florida and literally millions of acres of their favored food supply of Bahia grass growing in minimaly maintained roadsides where control of these pests fo unchecked.
Sod Webworms – Larvae of the tropical sod webworm hatch and begin feeding on grass blades causing damage within a few weeks.
Spittle Bugs – Both Nymphs and larvae feed on grass blades by sucking juices out of the plant. Infected wilts and the tops turn yellow then brown and curled.
White Grubs – White Grubs are soil dwelling insect larva of various beetle species that effect the North Florida lawn. Grubs may take years to develop into mature beetles all the while feeding on your lawns precious roots.
Other Sod Questions and Answers for North Florida Lawns
How to Reduce the Need for Chemical Control – Several cultural practices including watering on an as needed basis and at the right time of day, proper mosing height and frequency, frequent insect scouting and proper fertilization practices for your sod type can all aid in reducing the need for chemical control of landscape pests and problems.