Don’t let your lawn be a smorgasbord for hungry pests

Maybe you’ve done everything right in terms of watering and mowing your lawn, but it still has problems. It could be that you notice patches of dead turf or yellowing. Something isn’t right.

Consider that insect pests may be preventing you from enjoying the healthy, green yard you work so hard to achieve. It happens a lot in Florida.

White grubs

Among the most damaging lawn pests are the abundantly common white grubs, the larval stage of the scarab beetle. They get down to the roots of your grass and start feeding on them. White grubs are up to two inches long and curl up into a “C” shape when at rest. If your lawn has yellow patches in late summer and early fall, these may well be the culprits.

Chinch bugs

The chinch bug is another pest that can leave behind dead patches of grass in your lawn. These insects live in the thatch of your lawn, sucking juices from the stems and other parts of the plant. According to the University of Florida, chinch bugs do more damage to Florida turfgrass than any other insect. Their turf of choice is St. Augustinegrass, but they can also visit significant harm on zoysiagrass.

Mole crickets

Mole crickets, a scourge of Florida lawns, have a taste for bahiagrass and bermudagrass. True to their name, they spend their time tunneling underground. In their travels, they will often slice through the roots of your grass and munch on them. To make matters worse, the predators of mole crickets (raccoons, armadillos, et al) will gladly tear up the yard to unearth these delicacies.

Armyworms

Another threat to your grass is the armyworm, the larval stage of a brown-winged moth. These prolific creatures devour up to 80 different kinds of plants, including Bermudagrass. Rather than zero in on the roots as other pests in this list, the armyworm feasts on the blade itself. As the name suggests, these pests can appear in teeming numbers, defoliating a wide swath of plant material.

Contact Slug-A-Bug

With all of these insects in such abundance here, keeping up a healthy lawn can be a challenge. That’s why you need Slug-A-Bug’s lawn services. We can eliminate the pests that make a lush, green lawn so difficult to attain. Contact us today for a free, no obligation assessment. Call (321) 259-7844.