Lawn Insect Control

How to battle lawn-hungry insects.

Insects come in all shapes, colors and sizes, but they are really of two general types - surface active (above ground) and soil active (below ground).

Webworms, cutworms, army worms and chinch bugs fall into the surface-active category.

Grubs are typical of soil insects. They feed underground on grass roots, cutting them off just below the surface, killing the grass in patches. Attacked turf can be rolled back like carpet, often exposing the grubs themselves.

White grubs feed on grass roots and become active in the spring when soil warms up. They destroy lawns from late spring to early fall.

Sod webworms are one of the most troublesome lawn pests. They damage lawns throughout the entire growing season by eating grass blades. Small moths flying in zigzag patterns across the lawn are a good indication that sod webworms, army worms or cutworms are present.

Chinch bugs are small and difficult to locate. They begin to damage lawns when temperatures are consistently 80°F or above. They attack grass stems and suck out plant juices. Grass attacked by chinch bugs is totally destroyed and these areas must be re-seeded.

Trees and shrubbery are susceptible to some of the same insects and fungi that plague the lawn or garden, but they also have their own list of pests. As with pesticide use in the vegetable garden, consumers who want to protect fruit trees will be looking for safe, but effective, chemicals.

Care while spraying trees is of the utmost importance because of the greater potential for long-distance wind drift. In special cases of insect infestations, as with gypsy moths, sex pheromone-baited traps are used. The pheromone, a synthesized sex lure, attracts the male moth to the trap where it is killed by a pesticide strip. By reducing the number of males available for mating, this pest-control method helps to prevent future infestations in an environmentally safer manner than heavy spraying. But, it requires that you understand the life cycle of the particular pest.

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