You want a nice, green, thick lawn. Who doesn’t?
Unfortunately, lawn insects can get in the way of your plans. They can make your lawn look less than stellar with brown spots, dull color, or even bare areas. And since all of these symptoms can point to other problems, you might actually not even know bugs are the issue.
Let’s look at some common lawn insects in Maryland and how you can eliminate them and keep them out of your grass so your property can shine.
When you sense that your lawn isn’t happy, you may suspect lawn insects. But how do you know which bugs are plaguing your grass and how to get rid of them?
In this guide, we talk about how to identify lawn insects, common signs of damage, and how to get rid of these pests so you can have a great lawn in Maryland.
Grubs in your lawn can be pretty sly. It’s because they work underground, so you may not even see them out right.
In fact, they can attack your lawn and you don’t even know they’re there. Before you realize it, your lawn isn’t doing so well and you’re wondering what went wrong.
Here are the basic facts about grubs in Maryland grasses.
So you might have seen an adult grub and not have even realized it. If you’ve seen a Japanese beetle on your rose bushes, for instance, you’ve seen an adult grub.
Lawn grubs are technically the larvae of some insects, such as Japanese Beetles, European Chafers, Southern Masked Chafers, and June Beetles.
If you or your lawn care professional suspect a grub infestation, you can sometimes dig up a few small spots in your yard that seem impacted and find these nasty larvae. Other critters, like raccoons and skunks can also be found tearing up a lawn that has grubs since they are treats for these animals.
Since you can’t always see grubs diligently destroying your lawn underground, you want to know the common signs of grubs in your lawn to ensure you catch them before they do too much damage.
You may not see symptoms in spring when your grass is vigorously growing. The larvae emerge as flying beetles in summer, feeding on plants above ground and then depositing eggs in lawns again. But it’s likely that you’ll spot the damage once those new grubs hatch and feed on your grass roots that are now weakened by summer’s heat and drought.
The trick to banishing grubs from your grass is catching them when they are young.
Embracing a proactive lawn care program that includes fertilization and weed control can also keep your lawn healthy and help it better withstand lawn grubs.
Pests like chinch bugs in your lawn may be small, but they can do quite a bit of damage to your grass. They basically suck the blades of grass clean with their piercing mouthparts and then inject them with their saliva, clogging the vascular tissues of your lawn and blocking access to water. As a result, your grass tends to suffer and die.
Let’s learn more about these pests and proper chinch bug treatment techniques so you can better battle these insects.
Adult chinch bugs in your lawn are pretty small – approximately one-sixth of an inch long – and they have white, shiny wings.
Both chinch bug nymphs and adults feed on Maryland lawns. Adults overwinter in thatch or tall grasses to try and stay protected before reemerging in spring to lay their eggs. Within two weeks, females lay up to 170 eggs each on the ground near the base of grass blades or in the blades themselves.
Chinch bugs in your lawn are so small and fast-moving, so you may not physically see them.
What you may see is the damage they cause. They use their piercing mouths to suck sap from grass blades, giving it a drought-like or stressed appearance. They are most active in July and August. You can find them mostly in Maryland lawns with thick thatch and compaction.
When you first notice small yellowing spots in your lawn, you may assume other issues before realizing it’s chinch bugs, including drought, nutrient deficiencies, or turf disease. As you’re trying to solve those other problems, the chinch bugs may continue harming your lawn.
You can also attempt to visually inspect the fringes of the damaged areas where the grass is still green. Pull back the lawn and look for movement of insects beneath the thatch. While chinch bugs can be pretty tough for the untrained eye to spot, it might be worth the effort if you suspect them in your lawn.
When it comes to how to get rid of chinch bugs in Maryland, a lawn care professional will use a curative insecticide application to fight infestations. The treatment will be most effective when the bugs are actively feeding.
Unfortunately, there is no preventive treatment for chinch bugs, but you can help prevent chinch bugs by removing the conditions they love – namely thatch.
Other preventive methods include taking care of your lawn properly so chinch bugs aren’t drawn in. A stressed lawn attracts chinch bugs. Mow and water your lawn properly, as well as give it regular and precise fertilization treatments.
No one wants bugs chewing up their fine Maryland lawn, and armyworms can definitely use their army-like movement to march across your grass, leaving damage in their wake.
Here, we’ll share a bit more about armyworms in Maryland and how to get rid of armyworms, so you can stay more aware of these turf-invading troops.
First, let’s answer the question, “What are armyworms?”
Armyworms in Maryland lay eggs on flat tree or shrub leaves. They show up in your grass by using air currents to move. Then they drop and settle in grass, laying egg masses.
You might also notice armyworms’ sticky-looking egg masses that will be on plants or even buildings, patios, and outdoor furniture.
What kills armyworms? You can control armyworms with an insecticide treatment.
You might think by late summer, you don’t have much work left to do on your lawn.
Technically, that’s not the case. Some pests like sod webworms can strike in late summer and create some serious stress in your lawn’s life.
That’s why we’re here to help. Let’s look at sod webworm damage and common solutions and treatments for sod webworms in Maryland so you can discover an insect problem before it gets out of control.
Adult sod webworms are tan-colored moths that are ½ to ¾ of an inch long. But they are pretty harmless. It’s their larvae you have to worry about. These grayish-tan caterpillars have small, dark spots on their bodies and brown heads. They can range from ¾ of an inch to 1 inch in size.
The first signs of a sod webworm infestation are small, ragged brown spots in the turf. Upon closer inspection, these areas will have a grazed or scalped appearance.
A curative insecticide can help you kill sod webworms.
If you fertilize your lawn regularly and receive proper treatments that keep it healthy and thriving, such as aeration and overseeding, your lawn can better withstand lawn insects.
You might see symptoms of dryness in your lawn in summer and think it could be fixed with just some water to get your lush green lawn back.
Unfortunately, if the problem is cutworms in Maryland, your lawn could be in trouble.
Here, we’ll talk about cutworm identification and how to get rid of cutworms in Central and Southern Maryland.
Cutworms in Maryland are actually the larvae of a moth, which lays its eggs in clusters in grass during evening hours from spring through fall.
Cutworm larvae are 1½ to 2 inches long, with fat brown, gray, or black bodies. They can be striped or spotted.
Cutworm larvae hide in the thatch layer of your grass during the day, then come out at night to eat, chewing off grass blades close to the ground. The damage may appear as circular spots of dead grass in spring and early summer.
Cutworms in Maryland can also damage turf when burrowing through the thatch or into the ground.
For cutworm control, a lawn care professional can apply pesticide to the grass stems. It is best to apply the product in the evening before the cutworms come out for feeding.
As adults, craneflies resemble large mosquitoes. And during this stage of their lives, they are pretty harmless to your grass.
The cranefly larvae, however, thrive in wet lawns, so maintaining proper drainage can help you avoid drawing them in.
Let’s look at what cranefly lawn damage looks like and the best types of cranefly lawn treatments in Maryland.
When cranefly eggs hatch in spring, the larvae look like small, brown worms.
When cranefly larvae attack your lawn, you may notice yellowing, as well as thin or bare patches throughout your yard.
Additionally, predators like raccoons, birds, and skunks may try and dig up your grass searching for the larvae to eat.
Catching this lawn pest early is important because their feeding increases as they grow.
Also, since craneflies like wet lawns, avoid overwatering the lawn and make sure that your lawn has adequate drainage. This will discourage adult crane flies from laying their eggs there.
As you learn more about lawn insects in Maryland and try to identify which one is plaguing your lawn, you may also find some information out there about do-it-yourself lawn insect control, as well as professional lawn pest control services.
Let’s look at the differences between these two lawn pest control options so you can make the best choice for you.
While it may look easy to spread fertilizer on your lawn and spray weeds a couple of times, there’s actually much more to do-it-yourself lawn insect control than that.
First, you need to buy the right products and equipment to get the job done. Your local home improvement store may have quite a few options for you to choose from in both products and equipment, but they won’t carry commercial-grade equipment or treatments. So you may not be getting top-quality products to help your lawn.
You can also get outside when you try do-it-yourself lawn care, and that fresh air can be great. But you probably also have a day job, so you’ll have to do this work on the weekends when you might prefer to relax.
You may want to invest in do-it-yourself lawn insect control because you think it’ll save you money, but it usually never does.
Add to that your time for doing the work on the proper schedule and you may realize that it adds up to quite a bit more than paying for lawn pest control services in Central and Southern Maryland.
Hiring a pro to take care of your lawn insect control, can help you protect and preserve the environment a bit better than DIY lawn pest control.
They also have taken training and obtained licensing to learn precise product application techniques. This strategy, by nature, uses less product every visit. Combine this with using commercial-grade products and high-end equipment, and each treatment becomes extremely targeted.
You may have identified a lawn insect in your lawn and want to know the cost of treatment or you might want to find out if this service is part of a full lawn care package.
As you look at the cost of lawn pest control services, consider these important factors that can impact pricing.
Doing your research will ensure you receive lawn insect treatments that are worth their price tag and take care of your problem quickly, so you can get that healthy green lawn you love back.
When you find out lawn insects in Maryland are a problem in your grass, you can feel overwhelmed.
It might be time to bring in some help from a professional to properly identify the pest and treat it quickly so you don’t have to continue watching your lawn deteriorate.
But you might be concerned when you do a Google search and find out there are quite a few companies you can choose from. Which one is right for you?
Here are some things to look at when deciding which company to hire to help you with lawn insect treatments in Central and Southern Maryland.
As you’re looking at lawn insect control companies in Central and Southern Maryland, we hope you’ll consider Natural Green Systems in your search. We’d be happy to answer your questions and help you understand what pests may be hurting your lawn and how it can bounce back and become thick, green, and insect-free again.
Ready for a bug-free lawn? Request a free consultation today, and we’ll bring our proven lawn insect control experience to you, creating a custom plan to bring your Central and Southern Maryland lawn back to good health.
Image Source: grub, armyworm caterpillar, armyworm moth, sod webworm, cutworm, cranefly