When it comes to a lawn pest, there are two groups of culprits that are most common. One is called inhabitants, and the other is thatch inhabitants. Damage to your lawn is inevitable, no matter which one of these you may have. Common pests are insects, bugs, weeds, and diseases. Knowledge, no matter how much or how little, can be of help when implementing an effective control program. A lawn pest can be a troublesome worry if allowed to go untreated with the appropriate lawn pest control product.
Damage to any lawn can be done by any number of different types of pests. To start with, you may have white grubs, billbugs or even mole crickets. To identify which pest is in the lawn, look at the type of damage done, such as wilted, dead, or dying grass. Other forms of critters could be armyworms, cutworms, or sod webworms. Critters like these cut off the grass close to the soil. Irregular spots of yellowish turf and dead spots could be a sign of chinch bugs, or spittlebug infestation. The most important step in controlling a lawn pest is getting proper identification of the bug, or disease.
Prevention is the first step in managing a lawn. Use of fertilization, watering, and mowing to keep a healthy and vigorously growing lawn is a considerable amount of work, but worth every minute. When a healthy lawn is under attack by a pest, it can withstand a small infestation and bounce back very quickly if treated with effective products. Spray insecticides provide the highest degree of control within 24 to 48 hours. The level of spray should be adequate for uniform coverage of stems, leaves, and thatch, where the pests live and eat. Too little will be a poor application and result in ineffective control.
To control a lawn pest, the target zone is the soil at the roots. Whether using the liquid or granular formulations, you must follow the directions according to the label. Many of these products must be sufficiently watered so as to get the insecticide down to the roots. As the insecticide is watered in, it will travel down the grass blades and kill any pests on the way to the roots. The residue that is left on the surface can provide control for the thatch inhabitants.
Dry weather can be hard on a lawn, so irrigation prior to using an insecticide can make the thick grass more penetrable. When you apply the product, it will have an easier time to travel down to the roots. When using granules, rapid watering-in is desirable so as to not let the granules stick to the wet grass blades. This must be done without delay for the most effective treatment, and it will enhance the penetration of the pesticide.
Some insecticides can provide lawn pest control for more than one insect at a time, which can be of help for many of your insect problems. This is also a good way to save money and time, as you will only have one product to apply to the lawn. Damaged lawns look awful and raggedy, but healthy lawns grow back very quickly and look just as healthy as they did before the attack from the army of insects.
