If your lawn is not healthy, this can take away from your landscaping as well as affect the curb appeal of your home. In most cases, the thing that causes problems with lawns is pests. Below are signs that pests have invaded your lawn, the types of pests you may have, and the treatment options.
Signs of Pests
If you have pests on your lawn, you will see dead grass or grass that is dying. Brown spots are also common. Look closely at the grass blades to see if they have any bite marks on them. The grass blades may also wilt. Some pests go underground after they eat grass, so look to see if there are any holes in the dirt around the grass.
In the beginning, you will likely only see patches of grass that are dying in different areas. If you do not take steps to take care of the problem, however, these patches will spread, and before you know it, your entire lawn will be dead.
Types of Lawn Pests
One type of lawn pest is known as the armyworm. These are only about an inch long and can be black, brown, green, or yellow. There are strips that run down their side. These pests love grass blades and will cause brown patches to appear.
The billbug is another pest that can cause problems. You will also often hear this insect referred to as a weevil. They are easy to spot as they have elongated snouts. They lay red, inch-long eggs on the grass blades.
Grubs are another pest and there are different types. One grub is known as the chafer grub and is a yellowish or white color. White grubs are also common, which are as the name implies a white color. You may have masked chafer grubs which are generally white. No matter what type you have, they will cause the same type of damage, which is dead areas on the lawn.
Treatment
Because it can be hard to determine the type of lawn pest, you have to hire a lawn treatment service to help you. This service will know the type of pest(s) on the lawn, so they will know the type of treatment they need to use.
The lawn treatment service may spray a type of pesticide over your lawn. They may also put spread a powder over the lawn. For the areas that already have dead grass, the lawn treatment service will suggest that you remove this grass and plant new grass.
The lawn treatment service can give you much more detailed information.
Having pests in your home is more than just annoying. Many of the common pests that invade homes are actually dangerous. Rats can bite young children, spreading serious diseases like leptospirosis and salmonella. Cockroaches can spread E. coli, and many people are allergic to proteins in their bodies. Regardless of which pest is bothering you, it is important to get rid of it as soon as possible. Pest control companies can do a lot of this work, but it is also important to be informed. After all, you are the one who lives in your home and needs to take preventative measures against pests every day. Learn the basics here on this blog, and put them to use.