Insects
Insect control and grub control can help you achieve a healthy and green lawn. The key to insect control is to inspect your lawn regularly. Look for unwanted spots in the grass or insect populations. Eco-Lawn System use two basic types of insect control — preventative and curative. (Organic & Chemical) These are just a sample of the many insects that can damage your precious lawn, Grubs Japanese beetle traps are not suggested as they only attract more beetles to your yard where they lay more eggs.
causing brown patches and eventually destroying your entire lawn.
Eco-Lawn System can help you develop an insect control program that addresses the problem.
Grubs are the larvae of insects such as Japanese beetles, European chafers and Oriental beetles. They are usually creamy white and C-shaped.
Grubs live underground and feed on grass roots. When infestations are severe, turf will look wilted and won't revive even when watered. Damage usually shows up in August and into September when your grasses are stressed.
Birds and small mammals may also damage your lawn while feeding on grubs.
Japanese beetle
The Japanese beetle spends about 10 months of the year in the soil as a white grub. The grubs grow quickly and by late August are almost full-sized (about 1? long). Grubs feed on the grass roots, doing best in warm, slightly moist soil that has plenty of organic matter and tender grasses. However, they can survive in almost any soil in which plants can live. Adult beetles feed voraciously on ornamental plant leaves.
Chinch bugs 
Chinch bugs are surface-
The female lays eggs on roots, stems, leaves, leaf sheaths or crevices in nodes and other protected places. Eggs are laid over a 2 – 3 week period, with one female laying as many as 500 eggs. Damage is most severe in drought years, and can be prevented by planting endophytic enhanced grass. Regular moisture (without overwatering).
To scout for chinch bugs, cut both ends out of a coffee can and press it at least 1 inch into the soil. Fill it with water. Chinch bugs and other insects will float to the surface.
Moth
Cutworms are surface feeders. Look for gray-brown-black caterpillars between 1/8 and 2 inches long that curl into a C when disturbed.
They are the larvae of night-flying brown or grayish moths. Cutworms occasionally infest lawns. They feed on the leaves or cut off the grass near the soil.
Cutworms feed at night. If you suspect a problem, scout for them with a flashlight.
To monitor, mix 2 to 4 tablespoons of dishwashing soap in a gallon of water. Sprinkle over about 1 square yard of turf. Cutworms will come to the surface in about 10 minutes. Flush the area with fresh water to prevent injuring turf.
Sod webworms / Moth
Sod webworms are surface feeders. If lots of sod webworm moths are observed in the evening, watch for damage in about 10 – 14 days. This is when their eggs begin to hatch into caterpillars. These caterpillars chew off the grass blades Look for young caterpillars with black heads. Adults are up to ¾ inch long, brown to green with dark spots. Adult moths had snout-like mouthparts.
Signs of feeding include chewed grass blades and fecal pellets.
To monitor, mix 2 to 4 tablespoons of dishwashing soap in a gallon of water. Sprinkle over about 1 square yard of turf. Webworms will come to the surface in about 10 minutes. Flush the area with fresh water to prevent injuring turf.
Prevent damage by planting endophytic enhanced grass.
Bluegrass billbugs
Bluegrass billbugs are surface feeding insects. Adults have a distinctive snout.
You can often spot them crossing driveways and sidewalks migrating to lawn in the spring. Look for sawdust-like feces where they are feeding.
Prevent damage by planting endophytic enhanced grass .
Aphids
There are many species of aphids, and they feed on all types of vegetation. The white pine aphid feeds on the bark of twigs and branches of Eastern white pine. Heavy aphid infestations can seriously weaken small trees and ornamentals.
Chiggers
Chiggers (red bugs) invade lawns from surrounding grassy or woody areas. These mites are annoying to people. They attach themselves temporarily to the skin and release a point that causes severe irritation and intense itching. They are very tiny and are seldom seen.
Earthworms
Normally, earthworms are beneficial to lawns and soils in general. When they become too numerous, they sometimes become pests because of the small mounds of castings that look unsightly in short grass types. An imported species, the oriental earthworm, is found in some eastern states. It is 6? – 8? long and about 1/5? in diameter. It is light green on the upper surface with a purplish-green line down the center of its back. It throws up abundant castings.
Earwigs
Earwigs are beetle-like insects about 3/4? long and reddish-brown. The insect has a prominent pair of forcept-like cerci at the rear of the body. The cerci of the male are curved. Earwigs hide during the day and forage at night. These insects are occasionally found in lawns and sometimes they breed in enormous numbers in piles of lawn clippings. The feed on all kinds of food, but do not normally damage lawns.
Fleas
Fleas occasionally spread to lawns from infested dogs, cats, or other nearby animals. They may attack people or pets. The female flea lays eggs on the skin of its host animal and as the animal walks the eggs fall off, which, could be in your lawn, carpet or your furniture. When the eggs hatch, they seek out a new host to provide a fresh meal. Some flea eggs can lay dormant for months or even years until they are activated by the vibration of a passing host.
Grasshoppers
Do not feed on the grasses of a well-kept lawn except when they are so numerous that forage is scarce. They usually migrate to lawns from croplands or wastelands. Control measures in lawns are seldom necessary.
damage they cause may not show up until early fall and by then, it’s too late. The best time to control grubs is in early summer, just after they hatch. At this time they are very susceptible Grubs
The larval stage of many different beetles, including the Japanese beetle. The grub lives below ground and feeds on the roots of tender grass
Leafhoppers
Tiny triangular or wedge-shaped insects that fly or hop short distances. They are less than 1/5? long, are green, yellow or brownish gray. Many species of leafhoppers infest lawns. They suck the sap from the leaves and stems of the grass. New lawns may be damaged so extensively that reseeding is necessary. Damage to established lawns is evident in whitened patches. It is often mistaken for damage due to dry weather or disease.
Mites
Several species of mites attack grasses. They suck the sap and cause the leaves to be blotched and stippled. Severe infestations can kill the plants. The Banks grass mite occurs throughout most of the US and occasionally attacks lawns. It is not ordinarily a pest in well-managed lawns. Clover mites feed on clover and other lawn plants. They are very tiny and brown. Although they feed only on plants, they are a nuisance when they enter homes. This usually occurs in spring and fall.
Thrips
Thrips are found in lawns and sometimes in homes. They come from nearby grass or flowers. These tiny black or brown insects may inflict painful bites on people working about the lawn. Control measures in lawns are seldom practical.
Ticks
Several kinds of ticks infest lawns. They drop on the grass from dogs and rodents. Most of them will attach themselves to people if given the opportunity. Pain main result from their bites. Some ticks transmit diseases, including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis, Lyme Disease and tularemia. They usually aren’t harmful to lawns however.Shown: Deer Tick
