Have you ever noticed those brown spots on your lawn? These are not any type of disease of the lawn grass. Instead, this is a sign of pest attack on your lawn. Even though you do all possible care to keep your lawn neat and healthy, pests still can invade and eat your lawn. Despite of those weekly mows, sprinkling of water, and planting, it is very difficult to keep your lawn in a healthy condition. Here is a list of the most common pests that attack lawn grass.
Ants
These pests are the most common enemies of lawn grass. Fire ant varieties are the most dangerous pests for your lawn. As ants stay in colonies, they invade your lawn very easily. Thus, the damage due to ants on your lawn is comparatively more. Ants also keep tunneling into the soil. That surely damages the grass and the grass bed. Ants not only weaken the grass roots, but also damage the soil bed. Home owners should take immediate action whenever they find ant colonies in their lawn.
Grasshoppers
Although the hoppers don’t eat grass, they significantly damage the lawn grass. They usually come searching for food on ant colonies on the grass bed. As grasshoppers also come in herds, they damage a well-kept lawn badly. If your home is near to a cropland, then grasshoppers will come very often. Home owners, however, shouldn’t worry much about the control measures in lawns if affected by grasshoppers.
Japanese beetle:
If you ever notice munched-on leaves and skeleton leaves on your lawn grass, then you can be sure that your lawn is affected by the Japanese beetles. These pests often attack lawns and gardens during summer. They always start eating the top foliage first before moving their ways downwards. As they lay eggs in the soil, they significantly damage the soil bed. The grubs from the eggs eventually eat the lawn grass and its roots. These beetles can damage the entire lawn bed in a few weeks. Be sure to take immediate control measures whenever you see beetle attack on your grass bed.
Chinch Bug:
Another common grass eating pest is the Chinch Bug. These insects are the reason of yellowing of grass in your lawn. As these bugs tend to eat a variety of grass, it is very difficult to prevent them from damaging your lawn. These tiny critters also hide in grass beds all day and chew on grass leaves. Some of the Chinch varieties also attack the thick turf areas on your lawn and eat up grasses. While eating, they also release some juices that in turn kill grass in your lawn. These juices contain harmful toxin that cause the yellowing of grass leaves and loosening of grass roots.
Mole Cricket:
These types of pests are more common in the Southeast area. Gardeners often find these pests as the most devastating lawn pests. These Mole crickets not only eat grass, but also decay the plants by weakening their roots and shoots. If you find those irregular brown patches on your lawn, then this is a warning sign of Mole Cricket invasion. As they damage the grass roots, your lawn beds become brown and spongy. You need to use some of those high-quality insecticides to keep your lawn clean from these pests.
If your lawn is affected by any of these lawn pests, then call us immediately for help. Visit our webpage for more information.