Lawn Talk with Harold Enger - Podcast Transcription
Episode: Insect Control
Tim Kauffold: Welcome to Lawn Talk, I'm your host Tim Kauffold.
Lawn Talk is a series of conversations with Spring-Green lawn care professionals.
Joining me is Harold Enger. Harold has worked in the Green Industry for nearly 30 years and is a Certified Turfgrass and Ornamental Landscape professional.
On this episode of Lawn Talk the topic is insect control. I guess first and foremost how do I even know if my lawn has insects?
Harold Enger: Usually with insects there are some pretty telltale signs. There is generally an area that is beginning to thin out. For example, with grubs if you go out to an area that is beginning to turn brown or lighter color, you are able to lift up the turf just like a rug. It's pulls up because the grubs, which feed on the root system, and grubs are the larva of adult beetles, there like little, mini side cutters, and they just feed on whatever is in front of them. They eat the soil. They eat the roots—whatever is in front of them and the turf becomes very loose and you can just pull it up.
Another indication for grub activity, of the annual or different grubs, is animal activity. Skunks, raccoons, even deer, will go and eat grubs when there is activity. They can hear them and they go in there—boy, it's just like a delicacy. Whenever we have grub season there is always some etymologist that finds his way onto television news, frying up a plate of grubs, because they are very nutritious. That's one easy insect to tell.
Some of them are more difficult. If you see a lot of birds feeding in an area of your lawn and you go out in that area and it looks like it's thinning a bit that could be an indication of an insect known as sod webworm. Or you see little piles of soil in an area or grass beginning to thin out again that could be an indication.
The best thing to do in all these situation is to have your Spring Green professional come out and take a look. Again, it's a partnership between you and Spring Green. You're going to be there every day and you're going to see those problems. Since we may not be out there for four to six weeks, we are not going to notice those changes as quickly. Just give us a call and we'll come out and take a look.
Tim: And when you talk about the animals coming in to feed on the grubs, if I'm understanding correctly, they are actually going to be tearing up the lawn to get to those grubs, aren't they?
Harold: Yeah, they do a very good job in eating the grubs, but they do a really bad number on your lawn. They really rip it up big time. That's actually a worse problem then the grub activity itself, because with grubs, like I said, they are like mini side cutters.
As long as the lawn is watered the roots will regrow and the turf will recover, but when it's ripped up by a bunch of raccoons, possums and those types of things, boy you're talking about pushing down little bits of grass that's almost impossible. That's why you want to try and get on to a control program if your area is prone to grub activity.
Tim: Okay. And once my Spring Green Professional is out to help me with insect control, is one application typically going to take care of it, or is this going to be an ongoing problem once they've settled in.
Harold: It depends on the timing of the year and when that problem is. For example, if we get out there in the fall and we see that you've had some grub activity, well we will put down a treatment to try and control those existing grubs, but then what we are going to do is schedule you for preventative treatment for next year so we can make sure you don't have that problem next year. Just like with disease, insects come up throughout the year, but most of your insects will be in the summer time.
Generally one application will control most of the subsurface feeding insects, but you also have some surface feeding insects, like sod webworm, cinch bugs, aphids, so you may need a different type of product, so it may require more than one application for the different types of insects that are in your lawn.
Tim: And you know in the summertime when I'm outside, bugs they just go with being outside in the summer, so what if I just choose not to treat for the insects at all? What could that do to the lawn?
Harold: Well, you know there are millions of insects, literally. For ever acre of turf, there is estimated to be $17 million insects. So there are a lot of bugs out there. Fortunately very few of them are damaging.
In most home lawns there are probably only about a dozen that can cause problems, but the problems can be extensive, because if the populations are high enough, they can destroy the lawn. They can cause a lot of damage, so if you don't have somebody come out and take care of it or have somebody check into it, it can become a much larger problem that could require some extensive renovation on your lawn.
The same thing is true with your trees and shrubs. Insects especially some of the sucking and boring insects can weaken the plant to a point where you are going to have to replace it. Replacing landscape plants is a lot more expensive than a lawn replacement.
Tim: If you would like to know more about services available from your local Spring-Green lawn care professional, visit the Spring-Green web site, at Spring-Green.com. There you will find more detailed information, including how to contact a Spring-Green lawn care professional in your area.
This has been Lawn Talk, an on-going series for homeowners looking to protect and enjoy their outdoor investment, brought to you by Spring-Green Lawn Care and its many local lawn care professionals nationwide.
Find more episodes at Spring-Green.com or on iTunes under Lawn Talk.
Thanks and have a green day!