Question
This happened last year when trying to do some yard work but in a different part of the yard, i though i just over seeded the new grass and it died off.....
this year i had new dirt hauled in to make a dirt bank for water runoff. i seeded with Kentucky 31 tall fescue and straw, it started to grow very well untill 2 weeks ago, big spots of the new grass started dying off again....I put bayer Fungus Control for lawns on last week, but today i see new spots dying off still...
I have attached a photo of the problem,, there is a web like growth around the areas and it spreads
can you tell me what it is and how to kill or treat the problem
Answer My first thought is sod webworm, except that the webbing is so obvious. I suspect that a caterpillar of some sort is chewing on the grass blades. Do you see evidence of this? Do small moths fly up when you walk on or mow the lawn? The feeding caterpillars also excrete small green pellets which are seen when you look carefully at ground level. You can confirm this pest by soap flushing the affected areas to see if the caterpillars emerge. You can control the caterpillar stage only with Bt, if you apply it early enough, or by the application of a pyrethroid insecticide. The adults do not harm the turf but the females lay eggs which hatch into the chewing caterpillars.
