Atwood LawnCare

There are thousands of insects that live the soil, but only a very few will cause damage to a homelawn. The "big three" include: Sod Webworm - Chinchbug - Bluegrass Billbug

SOD WEBWORM
WHAT YOU’LL SEE... are dead or brown patches in your lawn that are about 4 - 6 inches in diameter. In the early morning you may even see what appears to be a spider's web at the base of the dead patch. These patches will spread over a large area of the lawn and will cause a general thinning appearance.
THE REASON FOR THE PROBLEM... is a brownish-green caterpillar about 3 inches long. He is eating the blades of grass at the base, causing the blade to fall over.

CHINCHBUG
WHAT YOU’LL SEE... is a general browning of the lawn. It appears that the lawn is just drying up from lack of water, even though you are watering regularly. The entire blade of grass will turn yellow or brown from the ground up to the tip. It will be most common along driveways and sidewalks where the soil is warmest. Lawns that have a high percentage of fine fescue in their population have a higher chance of seeing chinchbug damage.
THE REASON FOR THE PROBLEM... is a tiny beetle about 1 cm long. The adult will have black and white coloring. The beetle sucks the juices out of the grass blade, causing it to turn yellow.

BLUEGRASS BILLBUG
WHAT YOU’LL SEE... is a general yellowing of sections of the lawn. Each of the grass blades will be yellow, and if you gently tug on the blade, it may pull right up from the base.
THE REASON FOR THE PROBLEM... are the two stages of the Billbug. The first stage is a tiny grub that actually eats the grass stem from the inside out. When it turns into an adult black beetle, the beetle sucks the juices out of the blades causing damage as well.

THE BEST WAYS TO CONTROL THESE PROBLEMS... is to keep your lawn well watered. Research has shown that lawns can recover from even relatively high populations of insects if they are well watered. Also, keeping the mower set at high levels is crucial for maintaining the health of your lawn.

OTHER OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO YOU... include insecticide applications to reduce the populations of these turf damaging pests. Most Atwood programs will include these applications at no additional charge, if your lawn requires them.

Call our office at 1-800-LAWNCARE for more information.