Lawn Care and Pest Control: Know Pests Before They Strike

The pests and insects love your lawn as much as you do. They love to call your lawns their home. But their preferred way of living may cause harm to your lawns. It’s sad to see the dying patches of your lawn caused by pests and insects. Know about your pests from our experts at All American Turf Beauty for better lawn care and pest control.

White grubs:

The white grubs are the worst nemesis of lawn care providers in Iowa. These root-eating June beetle larvae take a full year to complete their life cycle. The one found in the Iowa region is known as masked chafers.

Life span: During midsummer months, after mating, the female beetles lay the eggs which hatch within 2 weeks. New grubs start feeding on grassroots immediately. During winter, the matured grubs go dormant. And with early spring, they appear back on the surface and feed on grassroots again. It’s only in early summer that they pupate by transforming into adults.

Management: There is no one way to approach lawn care and pest control for white grubs. Preventive insecticides are the best options. However, as part of their lawn care and pest control service, our experts take the wait-and-watch approach.

They watch the lawns for early signs of damage from August to September. It may begin with wilted grass blades with brown turf patches. During spring and summer, you can check spongy turf spots. If you see moles, skunks and crows looking for a grub meal in your lawns, you know your precious turf is in danger.

Chinch bugs:

Yard pest control is literally incomplete without the mention of hairy chinch bugs. Known as sap-sucking insects they feed on grass blades. Chinch bugs normally emit an anticoagulant which restricts grass from water absorption.

Life span: These pests lay their eggs in grass and produce at least 2 generations in the period between spring and fall. It takes only 20 to 30 days for the eggs to hatch and the young bugs start feeding on the grass immediately.

After birth, the young bugs or nymphs mature within 6 weeks, mate and repeat their life cycle. During fall, as the weather becomes cold, the adult chinch bugs hibernate at the base of grass stem till the weather becomes warm.

Management: As part of lawn care and pest control, it’s important to identify the chinch bugs. They are about 1/6 inch-long, have white wings that fold flat on their backs. You can see a small triangular spot on one of the wings.

Chinch bugs do maximum damage to the turf from June to August and their activity often coincides with drought situations in Iowa. When you seek professional lawn care in Ames, they will look for wilted grass. The most obvious sign of chinch bug infestation is the purple tinge on the turf.

In case of chinch bugs, you will notice irregular patches with a purple tint and the grass will eventually wilt, turn yellow and finally go brown. The dryness and wilting can often be mistaken as drought stress. As part of lawn and pest control programs, the experts will always go for a closer inspection to find the real cause behind turf damage.

Sod Webworms:

The adult version of sod webworms is lawn moths. A beautiful thick lawn is an easy target for sod webworms, but they are particularly deadly on bluegrass lawns.

Lifespan: Among the common spring pests in Ames, sod webworms are the most aggressive. There can be 2 to 3 generations of sod webworms in each season. During the winter months, the grown larvae are buried deep inside the soil. As the first generation of adult moths lay their eggs, the resulting worms feed on the grass till they rest.

Management: One of the early warnings come in the form of brownish-gray small moths flying in a zigzag pattern over the lawns during the early evening. They will not damage the lawn, but lay eggs during their evening flights. Webworms mostly prefer dry and hot areas.

You will notice the first signs of damage as dead patches appear on a healthy turf. Sod webworms are known to chew grass blades off the thatch line and carry them into tunnels that they build. The scalped patches will tell you that there is a webworm infestation.

Sod webworms cause the most damage during the months of July and August. Take note of tiny green pellets which are the excrement of the webworms. Once you locate the pellets, you will find the larvae close by.

Webworms are normally ¼ to ¾ inch long and the body resembles a caterpillar with a color of dusty green or brown. You will notice quite a few dark spots with 2-3 spiny stiff hairs that come out from those spots.

You should be able to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors on a balmy spring evening. Your lawns should not go unchecked in case of a pest infestation. Lawn care and pest control are imperative if you want to get rid of turf nuisance. Know about our Ames lawn care program which offers services throughout the year. Call All American Turf Beauty for lawn maintenance in Iowa.

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