If you’ve ever spent any amount of time in your lawn or garden, you’ve probably noticed some pests here and there. While some pests are mostly harmless to humans, they can wreak havoc on structures, prized plants, your vegetable garden and sometimes even your home. Detecting these pests and doing what you can to stop them is a great way to keep your lawn and garden healthy and happy.
Keep reading below for the most common lawn and garden pests and how you can spot and rid your home and garden of them!
1. Grubs. Probably one of Western North Carolina’s most prevalent pests, grubs can kill your lawn quicker than you think. A few months back we wrote a blog about how to treat and rid your lawn of grubs, so for more information, click here.
2. Chinch Bugs. This type of sap-sucking bug loves to chow down on your turf. There are many varieties, but they all pretty much affect your lawn the same way—by sucking the life out of your grass, quite literally. Not only do they hurt your lawn by eating the grass, but they also secrete a substance while eating that causes grass to stop absorbing water. Ultimately, your turf dies and the bugs move along where the grass is greener on the other side. Damage from these insects are most visible from June until September where you will likely see patches of your lawn taking on a purplish tinge and then it wilts, yellows, turns brown and dies.
3. Sod Webworms. A native moth whose larva feeds on your grass, sod webworms are a common problem in WNC. They have a tendency to enjoy eating blades of grass and stems leaving in their midst brown patches. They have the ability to decimate entire lawns very quickly. If you have Sod Webworms, you might notice your turf riddled with holes from birds foraging and eating these worms, or you may see silken tunnels found at turf level.
4. Aphids. The bane of every gardener’s existence, aphids feed mostly on garden vegetables and can ruin your crop. They suck the juices from the plants and ultimately the plants may die. Usually seen with the naked eye, clusters of these bugs are easy to spot. You can reduce the numbers of these insects by either spraying them off your plants with a stream of water, or making your home and landscape more appealing to predatory, beneficial insects such as ladybugs, who love to eat aphids.
5. Cutworms. There are several species of cutworms, which are the larva of cutworm moths. These pests stay underground and borrow their way into lawns, eating the base and roots of grass, biting the stems off completely. You can see both burrows and damaged grass which may indicate a cutworm problem. To control cutworm populations naturally, diatomaceous earth may be helpful, or by introducing “bacillus thuringiensis,” a naturally occurring bacteria that targets not only cutworm larvae, but other wormy, and common, garden insects as well.
Protect your lawn with our Premier Turf Care program! For a limited time only, if you are a new turf care customer, get a free summer grub application when you sign up! Our turf care experts can help rid your lawn of grubs and other common garden pests as well. Give us a call or click here to schedule a free, no obligation consult!