What’s up with your lawn?

and varieties. If you apply a fungicide, be sure it is labelled for the disease you are trying to control and follow all label directions. You can try cultural controls such as aerating or raising your mowing height during stressful times. You can trim tree branches in order to get better air flow over shaded lawn areas where fungus occurs.

Lawn insects are very active during summer months. This is due to their natural life cycle; they flourish during hot summer days. Some like the heat and dryness and some need moisture to reproduce abundantly. Insect populations may be significantly higher this year due to the mild winter we experienced. Normal winter cold weather can reduce the life cycle of many lawns’ insects, but not this past winter. Surface lawn insects include ants, fleas, ticks, and chinch bugs. Soil insects include billbugs, grubs, sod webworms and cutworms. Be sure to identify the insect you are trying to control to apply the correct insecticide, following all label directions. Timing of applications and watering, or not, are critical to successful insect control. What about heat and drought stress? Well, we can’t control Mother Nature, but we can better prepare our lawn to withstand some levels of heat and drought each summer. The best defense is following a sound lawn care program throughout the years. This includes using quality grass seed, sharp mower blades, and raising your mower height during summer months. Also, fertilize your lawn properly prior to summer to increase root depth and drought resistance. Don’t water every day in the spring, which promotes shallow roots and also creates a false sense of security; your lawn thinks it will rain every day, but it doesn’t in this part of the world. We are not living in the rain forest, so why water every day? The lawn needs about one inch of water weekly during the growing months from March to November to look its best. Less frequent, longer waterings are best to drive grass roots deep into the ground to find moisture during drought periods. Has Fido been contributing