Launching an Organic Lawn in a New Home: Pest Control for Armyworms, Ants, and Reviving a Struggling Ivy

Armyworms / Sod Webworms in St. Augustine

• ID: Brown, ½ inch, striped caterpillars (armyworms). Greenish when small.
• Organic spray: Garlic-hot pepper tea. Blend 2–3 whole garlic bulbs + 1–2 dried hot peppers in 1 quart water. Strain through cheesecloth. Mix 1 cup concentrate per gallon water; spray pests.
• Biological control: Release lizards (anoles from pet store) or toads—they’ll eat the worms.
• Check for brown patch fungus: Tug brown grass—if slimy, no roots, it’s fungus. Treat with horticultural cornmeal (10 lbs/1,000 sq. ft.) or cornmeal tea.

Ant Hills

• Fire ants: orange peels on mounds.
• Other ants: lemon peels.
• Mix both to cover all species.
• Apply citrus peels after other treatments dry (2 days) so oils aren’t washed away.

Sugar & Other Organics

Spread sugar (4–5 lbs/1,000 sq. ft.) at the same time as pest treatments—no interference. Sugar feeds microbes; pests are separate issue.

Potted Ivy Rescue

• Trim dead material.
• Repot in fresh, well-draining mix with compost.
• Water when top inch dry; bright indirect light.
• Feed with diluted alfalfa tea monthly.

Start the organic program now. Predators will establish, soil will improve, pests will balance out.