16 Aug 2017

Brown Patch Disease/Fungus

What is Brown Patch Disease?

This is a disease that shows up in St. Augustine/Zoysia grass from late August up until spring (give or take a week or two). It is a disease in the soil. In that area, it’s like cancer in the soil. It forms a brown circle or a ring, sometimes it looks like crop circles, can be disfigured also. Nothing can stop it from coming up, or get rid of it, or make it smaller, it is incurable. Yes, it will come up in your lawn every fall and run until spring. Eight to ten St. Augustine lawns, will have this disease (it is very common). Cooler soil temperatures in the fall and winter makes the disease come out of its dormant state, spreading and scarring the lawn in the mean time. In the spring the disease will go dormant and areas will recover 100 percent. As temperatures in the spring go up a long with temperatures outside this will cause the disease to go dormant, being it doesn’t like hot soil temperatures. Inside the brown patch areas the grass will turn brown and look like it’s dying but it’s not, it is temporarily bruising the lawn. The disease will weaken those areas, turning them brown, and you may get a little top growth but not to be alarmed, it will recover. You can rake areas if you choose, it will not hurt the lawn, but don’t take clippings out of area and transfer clippings to other parts of the lawn because you can be spreading the disease. The following spring, those area’s may be slower to recover than others due to the stress from the disease. At times you can see a golden yellow ring will be around the brown patch circle this means the disease is very active, and spreading.

How do I get Brown Patch Disease?

There a number of ways of getting Brown Patch Disease, soil moving from one lawn to another, mowing services, lawn care services, also walking over the disease and transferring it to another lawn. Brown Patch Disease being a soil disease it is fueled by cooler soil temperatures and a lot of moisture. These two combined, triggers the disease to come out of dormancy. The disease does not like hot soil temperatures or weather this is why it goes dormant during the spring and summer. It is a fall and winter disease, going dormant coming spring. The roots of the grass will stay intact, rooted into the soil if it is Brown Patch Disease. A little dead top growth will come out of spots if raked out, unlike Grub Worms roots are cut in half and grass will pull up with no root connection into the soil, very easily. I have heard of people taking dirt out of areas and putting new dirt and new sod, and brown patch not showing up again and I have also heard that it has shown up again after replacing the dirt and sod so there is a 50/50 chance that it will work for you.

What to do to treat Brown Patch?

Fungicide is a product that will slow brown patch disease from spreading and scarring the lawn so bad. It will not stop it from coming up, or get rid of it, or make the spot smaller, it just slows it down from growing. Watering your lawn properly during brown patch season, can help you also minimize the spreading and scarring of the disease. If you are over-watering this time of year, you’re making the disease worse (you are feeding the fire). You cannot help mother nature but you can control how you are watering.

How to water during Brown Patch season up until spring?

Water from late August to spring just when you feel it needs it (not saying stop watering all year and let the lawn die). Twenty minutes per zone or area when you do water, make sure to water deep so you don’t have to water so often. Water mornings only, especially during this time of year. As temperature’s get cooler/colder during the fall and winter, the soil temperature gets colder and the water doesn’t evaporate as quick as it does in the spring and summer because the temperatures are much higher.

Final Reminder:

Brown Patch Disease, Grub Worms and Sod Webworms can all three be active at the same time of year. Understanding Brown Patch Disease, knowing when it starts, recognizing the signs, and taking the proper actions can save your lawn a lot of stress and a quicker recovery.

06 Aug 2017

Why Aeration is so Important

 

Why Aeration is so important

Right now we’re in the hardest summer time, where in July ground gets hard. Aeration is very important because it allows the roots to get deeper in the soil. With that, the nutrients can also get deeper because aeration allows the water to get down there. That is a very healthy, very good thing to do to the lawn. Just remember that your lawn starts with the root so this aeration is going to allow everything to getting on the roots and that’s really a good news.

Everything you need to know about chinch bugs

You will realize that your lawn got chinch bugs in it if you are seeing little brown spots there. What I’m telling everyone to do is to aerate the lawn and also put insecticide down to kill the insect. Chinch bugs are one of the big problems and if you don’t kill them in the right way, you’re going to lose your entire lawn. We need to do this before fall comes because once we get to the fall, the grass slows down from growing and it takes a longer time to recover.

 Bermuda Grass

The number one problem you’re going to have with Bermuda grass is torpedo grass which is probably one of the worst weeds you can get in it. If you look over your lawn, torpedo grass will take over your whole lawn. The weeds that around it are called difficult to control weeds which are very hard to kill. With Bermuda grass, you have to put a week control on it consistently and you have to aerate it a couple of times a year. We need to keep the grass real taken care of to achieve a healthy lawn.

Warning: Do not use weed control in the summer

In this video we will talk about fertilizing your lawn and putting weed control on it during the summer time. We’re talking about the St. Augustine lawn. Always remember, very important, do not put weed control over your whole lawn when temperature is consistently 75 degrees or above. The rule of thumb is, once at 75 and consistently 75 degrees, do a spot treating because if you do cover the whole lawn as the temperatures rise the risk goes up with you killing the lawn.

 Test lawn damage for chinch bugs vs. drought stress

Touch the soil if it’s got moist then that means your lawn has chances to have chinch bugs. If the lawn is real dry, then it maybe drought stress. So how do you check it? All you have to do is put your hand down on the grass like you run a rake to the lawn. If you see the chinch bugs around, of course you want to put insecticide down there protect your lawn. It’s about careful and proper way of identify if it’s a chinch bug or some another insect but the chinch bugs is what you’re looking for in the summer.

18 Jul 2017

The Basics of Sod Webworms

 

What are Sod Webworms?:

Sod Webworms is a moth that feeds on the lawn from June up until winter (give or take a week or two). They lay eggs in the soil, the egg hatches and then the young start feeding on the grass, taking it down to the dirt (damage looks like a bunch of goats ate the grass down to the dirt).

What to look for:

Moths will fly out of the grass in or around areas that are damaged. The adult Sod Webworms (moths) prefer to stay in the landscape or the shrubs, just because you see them in the landscape doesn’t mean they are feeding on the plants (if so, very little damage is done). At night when the temperatures are cool they leave the landscape and lay their eggs in the soil. The egg hatches and then the damage starts to occur. You will notice the damage, it is very obvious.

How to get rid of Sod Webworms:

1) Treat as soon as possible with insect control labeled to kill Sod Webworms, be sure to read the label or hire a professional.

2) Fertilize your lawn to get the areas that are stressed out healthy again consistently.

3) Aerate the lawn to allow deeper water, nutrient and root penetration and also lateral growth from the roots, this will help areas fill back in.

4) Water properly

5) Don’t mow the lawn after treating for 15-20 days, let the grass grow up and out to make a full recovery.

After 15-20 days of your lawn being damaged by Sod Webworms it’s natural to see weeds and Bermuda grass growing in damaged areas. As St. Augustine becomes healthier it will overtake the weeds and Bermuda grass as long as you follow as directed.

Final Reminder on Sod Webworms:

Sod Webworms, Grub Worms and Brown Patch Disease can all three be active at the same time of year. Understanding Sod Webworms, knowing when they start to feed, recognizing the signs, and taking the proper actions can save your whole lawn from dying and possibly save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

18 Jul 2017

Understanding Grub Worms

 

What are Grub Worms?:

This is an insect that you will find in the soil of your lawn or landscape year round. The only time they feed enough to kill the lawn would be starting at the end of August up until the end of December (give or take a week or two). The grass will start yellowing in an area or areas, then it will turn light brown and then die. If you catch the problem early it can save you a lot of grief, money and your whole lawn (watch my video showing how to check for grub worms and what they look like) This insect has potential to kill the entire lawn costing you hundreds and potentially thousands of dollars. You must treat with insecticide labeled for grub worms or whatever insect you may be treating for. It is important to read the label when you apply (or you can hire a professional).

How to check for Grub Worms in your lawn:

The roots of your grass are dangling down into the soil, the grub worm is down in the soil cutting across the roots and cutting the roots in half (imagine holding a shoe string and cutting it in half with scissors) that is what they are doing to the roots of your grass. The grass will pull up like picking up carpet off the ground (very easily). Early in grub worm season, when pulling up on the grass, you may see grub worms just underneath the carpet of grass. Further into the season they go deeper into the soil and you may not see them (this doesn’t mean they are not feeding on your lawn). Remember they don’t stop feeding until the end of December (give or take a week or two).

How to get rid of Grub Worms:

1) Treat as soon as possible with an insecticide labeled for grub worms (read the label or hire a professional).

2) Fertilize your lawn to get the areas that are stressed out healthy again, treat consistently.

3) Aerate the lawn to allow deeper water, nutrient and root penetration and also lateral growth from the roots, this will help areas fill back in.

4) Water properly

Don’t take out dead grass just yet, if you catch it in time after treating you may see St. Augustine start to recover in areas that have been damaged. After treating give your lawn seven to twelve days to see if it will start to recover, healthy grass will start to peek up through the damaged areas. Keeping St. Augustine healthy around stressed areas will help it repair itself during spring and summer. Fall and winter areas may take longer to repair themselves due to the soil temperatures and the temperature outside. Weeds and Bermuda grass will naturally fill in dead spots when St. Augustine dies or is stressed. It may take up until spring or summer to make a full recovery.

Final Reminder:

Grub worms, Sod Webworms, and Brown Patch Disease can all three be active at the same time of year. I have seen areas as small as a trash can lid to the size of a house fill back in with good, healthy St. Augustine grass, as long as areas were treated properly. Understanding Grub Worms, knowing when they start to feed, recognizing the signs, and taking the proper actions can save your whole lawn from dying and possibly save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.