Identifying and Treating Common Lawn Pests
A beautiful emerald green lawn not only boosts your home’s curb appeal, but it also shows that you take great pride in your property. Common lawn pests can quickly turn your green landscape into a brown and unhealthy terrain. It is essential that homeowners understand what pests reside in northern New Jersey, know how to identify them, and create a pest control plan to prevent and treat them year-round.
How to Identify Common Lawn Pests
While some lawns can handle the presence of certain pests, once they reach a certain number, your grass can quickly disappear and be replaced with brown patches or weeds. Grubs, sod webworms, chinch bugs, bluegrass billbugs are all common lawn pests in New Jersey that wreak havoc on yards.
Bluegrass Billbugs
Bluegrass Billbugs are one of many beetle species. They are easily identifiable by their bill-like snouts and vary in colors including yellow, black, and reddish-brown. Billbugs dig their way just under the grass and feed on the leaves as adults. If you notice spots in your grass that look like white rice, these may be young Billbugs and cause the most damage because they eat grass roots.
It can be tough to manage a Billbug infestation as they are usually not susceptible to the insecticides. Another sign of these insects is dead patches in your yard that you can’t bring back to life. You can check for infestation by lifting the dead grass. If it lifts easily, it is because they killed the roots.
Grubs
Grubs are white c-shaped beetle larvae that look like worms and nest in the ground under your grass. They feed on grass roots, killing them and causing brown patches in your yard. These insects are common in June and July, but homeowners don’t realize there is a problem until early fall when their grass starts to die.
Chinch Bugs
Chinch bugs thrive in cool climates and attack your lawn starting in June and lasting into September. They are mostly found in dry soil and turn grass yellow or a straw-like color. These patches continue to get larger over time without the right lawn care treatment.
Sod Webworms
Sod Webworms appear during summer months and look like mini caterpillars with a double row of black or brown spots. Unlike caterpillars, they fly and are often referred to as lawn moths. They lay their eggs on grassy areas overnight, which is when you are most likely to see them. They feed on grass blades and stems causing brown patches in the yard.
Treating Lawn Pests
Damage from lawn pests is often overlooked until serious damage occurs; however, the best way to protect your lawn is with a consistent pest control treatment plan. Hiring a professional lawn service company is the greatest path for navigating lawn pests as they can inspect your yard, find existing pests, determine your risk for other common pests, and customize a plan to treat any issues.
Creating and maintaining a beautiful lawn requires more than mowing it in the summer months. It is a year-long commitment. Homes with the most beautiful lawns typically have a lawn treatment program in place. Contact the expert lawn services team at Perennial Lawn Care today to schedule your free estimate and take back control of your backyard.
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