One thing that most homeowners hate to see is pests in their lawn in Baltimore, MD. These pests can munch on your lawn under it’s barely recognizable. Plus, some insects transmit and carry diseases, such as ticks for example. Plus, some of these pests can hitch a ride into your home and even cause more problems.
There are many diseases and pests which can cause disaster in your yard and cause you spend money trying to repair the damage. Here are some common pests and disease which may affect your lawn in Baltimore.
1. Chafer grubs: Grubs will not only eat the roots of your grass, but because they’re a food source, other animals can tear up your lawn searching for them. Because the grubs eat the roots of your grass, this may make it difficult for you to develop new grass during the growing season. You can apply chemicals to kill them, but if you want to go organic, then you can order nematodes instead.
2. Slime mold: This doesn’t even sound good and is as nasty to look at as it is to touch. It shows up in the late summer, and throughout the fall id drainage is an issue. It won’t harm your lawn, but you can prevent it by aerating your lawn. You can remove the mold by spraying it with the high-pressure function of your hose nozzle.
3. Red thread: Red thread makes your grass tinged slightly with red, then it becomes brown and dies. It tends to show up after a summer or fall which has been unusually rainy. To avoid your lawn from developing red thread, be sure that it’s getting enough nitrogen. You can also use ammonia sulfate and then aerate your lawn not to let this problem develop.
4. Salt damage: This isn’t a disease or a pest, but it will still damage your lawn. It does damage by sucking the moisture of whatever it touches. Try not to let salt touch your plants or lawn whenever you’re deicing your driveway or use a non-sodium defroster to avoid the problem, to begin with.
How to prevent and avoid pests
There are some ways to prevent and avoid pest problems in your yard to prevent pests from taking up residence. Your lawn could have poor drainage, not getting enough air which is moving or even a lack of nutrients. Below are some preventive measures which you can take that will help prevent pest problems in your yard in Baltimore, MD:
1. Standing water: When you have standing water in your yard, it’s an open invitation to mosquitoes. Water which is standing is a prime breeding ground, and this can even be water which is in your gutters or your child’s wading pool. Any standing water is an attraction for these pests.
2. Garbage cans: If your garbage can is uncovered or your recycling bin lid isn’t closed, it can attract pesky flies and ants. These two containers need to be kept closed and as far away from the house and yard as possible.
3. Birds: By installing a birdhouse or a birdbath will attract birds to your yard. Since birds eat insects, this is a natural way to keep pests under control plus provide a free meal.
4. Keeping grass trimmed: When your lawn is tall, or weeds are thick, insects will move in and take over your yard. Trim back the brush, weeds, and grass to keep this under control.
To help control an outbreak of grubs when mid-summer hits, you need to hit when the beetles are laying their eggs. Eggs are killed by grub control easily but are killed easier in the summer. Once the grubs become more mature, its harder to kill them with chemicals since they are more resistant.
Insect and disease control is essential when dealing with lawn damage. Once these are taken care of, you’ll have that green lawn that you’ve been working for. If you have questions about what might be damaging your lawn, visit our Baltimore lawn care page for more information.
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