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Bumps On Leaves? Learn About Leaf Bladder Galls
While doing some yard work last weekend, I saw the first leaf that had dropped due to an excess of Maple Bladder Galls growing on it. The leaf dropped not because of any direct injury to the leaf by these wart-like structures, but because there were so many of them that formed on the leaf that it could no longer stay attached to the branch. Every year I receive numerous pictures from our Field Service Professionals asking about these weirdly shaped growths or galls form on the leaves of Maples, Ash, Oaks and Cottonwoods. The growths take on many shapes such as: the wart-like growths on map
Grub Control: It's Time To Treat Grubs On Your Lawn
One of the most common and potentially destructive insect in lawns of all types is white grub. It is also known as grub worms, annual white grubs or just plain old grubs. They damage turf by feeding on the roots of the plant as well as disturbing the soil with their constant search for edible roots. They eat whatever is in front of them, including soil and other organic matter. The digging and feeding of grubs is bad enough, but there are several animals that will feed on grubs when the grubs are active. Grubs are generally active in the late summer through fall and then again for a brief time in the early spri
What Attracts Mosquitoes and How to Avoid Bites
 Did you know only the female mosquitoes bite? Female mosquitoes use blood meals for its protein and other components it contains in order to produce their eggs. Males do not feed on blood; they mainly sip on plant nectar. When females bite, they are doing what comes natural to them in order to survive. That does not make their bites any less bothersome, but maybe a little more understandable. There are 175 different species of mosquitoes and they have been around for about 170 million years, so they are not going away anytime soon. What Attracts Mosquitoes Mosquitoes are attract
How Do Lawn Diseases Develop and Ways to Prevent Them
If there is a disease that can develop where you live, the spores of that disease are probably in your lawn already as they will move from lawn to lawn mainly through wind movement. Some diseases are soil borne, meaning that they already exist in the soil. All diseases are waiting for the right environmental conditions to develop to infect the turf. Development of Lawn Disease It is important to understand how a disease develops. The term used to explain how a disease develops is called the Disease Triangle . It is basically the same concept as the Fire Triangle. There are three basic component
Ways to Prevent Flea and Tick Problems For Your Pets
If you have ever had to endure an attack of fleas or ticks on your pet, you will understand the frustration of trying multiple approaches to eliminate this nuisance from your home and yard. Having had to endure an outbreak of fleas on my dog last fall, I have come to understand the futility that comes with trying to control these nasty little insects. It required three trips to the vet, numerous baths, extensive cleaning and vacuuming, an outdoor insect control application and “bombing” our house twice before the problem ended. It took over two months to clear up the problem. “How did our dog ge
Is Organic Fertilizer or a Lawn Care Program Better For My Lawn?
The first thing to understand about lawn care and lawns in general is that the lawn as we know is not a natural system. Most of the grasses we grow in our home lawns, sports fields, commercial properties, parks and playgrounds are not native to North America. Here is a quick summary of the origins of common turfgrasses: • Kentucky bluegrass – native to Europe, northern Asia and the mountains of Algeria and Morocco. • Perennial ryegrass, Fine and Tall Fescue – native to Europe. • Centipede grass – native to southern China
Lawn Mold: Signs and Treatment for Slime Mold On Your Lawn
We have received this type of question from several homeowners, stating that their lawn has “mold” and want to know how to correct the problem. The term mold can mean any number of maladies that may affect a lawn that cause turf to turn brown across the entire lawn, in small spots or rings, or in irregular shapes. For those of us in the lawn care industry, lawn mold usually refers to Slime Mold , a non-serious condition that can occur on lawns, usually occurring in the summer, especially after a good rain. How does Slime Mold Develop? Slime molds are primitive organisms called s
Striped Lawns: How to Make it Look Like a Sports Field
As you watch a baseball game or golf tournament on television, you may wonder how beautiful the turf looks and how you can make your own lawn look as great as they do. We all need goals in life and wanting a perfect lawn is something one can strive to attain, albeit it is a challenge for the average homeowner. The first thing to understand is that the people who manage sports fields and golf courses have spent years learning their trade as well as usually earning a degree in Sports Field Management, Golf Course Management, Turf Management or other advanced degrees in the Green Industry. The turfgrasses that a
How To Control And Treat Red Thread Lawn Disease
One of the more common late spring to early summer diseases on cool-season grasses is Red Thread lawn disease . It is most severe on Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass and Tall Fescue . There is another lawn disease that occurs at the same time and under the same environmental conditions known as Pink Patch . The main difference between the two lawn diseases are the fruiting structures. Red Thread takes its name from the red thread-like structures called sclerotia that are produced by the fungus. Pink Patch produces tiny puffs of pink-co
Control And Treat Damaging Grubs On Your Lawn
Going to the hardware store on the weekend is something many homeowners do, especially in the spring. People stock up on fertilizers, weed control products as well as controlling insect pests in and around the home, and in landscape, gardens and lawns. In regards to insects, it is estimated that there are over 1 million identified species of insects and probably several times that number is yet to be discovered. Fortunately, there are only about 2 dozen species of insects that feed on lawns. It is hard to say which of these insects are the most damaging, but the species that seems to be the most discussed are white g