The warm days of spring and summer are great for entertaining on your lush green lawn. However, the elevated temperatures can also increase the chance of pest infestations in your outdoors. To keep your outdoors safe for you, your family, and your pets in summer, you need to ensure proper lawn pest control. Knowledge of the pests that commonly trouble lawns in the warmer months can help with this job.

Identifying Common Lawn Pests and Getting Rid of Them

Here are some of the common pests that infest lawns during summer:

1. Grubs

If you’ve come across Japanese beetles on your trees and dead grass patches on your lawn lately, most likely there’ll be a grub infestation. Grubs are the larvae of June beetles, Japanese beetles, and chafers. Grubs feed on your grassroots and can cause a lot of damage to your lawn.

To prevent grubs or treat a grub infestation, apply the lawn treatment when grubs newly hatch or just before. Grub treatments are the most effective in June and July when grubs come to the surface. All American Turf Beauty can offer a highly effective lawn grub treatment for lawns in and around Spencer.

2. Chinch Bugs

Chinch bug is one of the chief surface feeders. An adult chinch bug is as small as a pencil tip, has a black color with the design of an hourglass shape on its back. They usually move in large numbers in the summer heat. These pests cause grass damage by removing the sap from grass and with the saliva, they inject into the grass while feeding. If not controlled, they can hugely damage your lawn.

Dry, stressed lawns are more likely to be attacked by chinch bugs than healthy, well-hydrated lawns. Observe the blades of your grass in the early morning; if you find folded blades, then your lawn is dry and needs watering. It’s better to check in the early morning in scorching summer months, as blades are naturally folded during the day because of the heat.

3. Ticks and Fleas

Ticks and fleas may reach inside your home through your kids or dog. To prevent this, pretreat your yard with proper lawn pest control measures. Ticks and fleas flourish in humid and warm weather and reproduce fast.

You can keep off these lawn pests by treating your lawn before the summer sets in. Our lawn insect control services/perimeter pest control services can free your lawn from ticks and fleas!

4. Ash Borer Beetles

Ash borer beetles are non-native bugs, troubling homeowners a lot currently in the Midwest. They attack healthy Ash trees, tunnel into the roots and trunks of the trees to lay eggs. The larvae – after the eggs hatch – feed on the trees’ plant tissue.

To check for ash borer infestation, look out for dieback of leaves high in the tree canopy, splitting of the bark, and tiny D-shaped holes on the bark. These holes are created when the adult beetles appear. Untreated Ash trees can die of infestation. Therefore, if you suspect of ash borer infestation on any of your Ash trees, get it treated straight away.

5. Spider Mites

These lawn insects have a tiny size and are difficult to see but can cause considerable damage to lawns. If you find yellowed leaves with tiny webbing in between, spider mites might be causing the issue. To ensure that spider mites are the offender, take a white sheet of paper and hold it under an unhealthy branch. Notice what comes out on hitting the branch.

Tiny black, brown, green, yellow, or red specks falling on the paper indicates spider mites. You can prevent these pests by cleaning up dead plants, debris, and weeds around plants and trees. If there’s an infestation, contact a lawn care company for lawn pest control service.

6. Bagworms

If the leaves of your trees turn brown or needles fall off pine trees during the middle of summer, the reason might be bagworms. These pests feed on over a hundred species of plants, with pine trees being the most common in the Midwest.

The sacks of these insects often resemble small pinecones. Bagworms are slow spreading. The treatment of bagworms should start at the beginning of their lifecycle. Lawns should be treated in May or June, when they normally hatch.

Tips to Keep Away Lawn Pests

Here are some tips to prevent pest infestation in your lawn during spring and summer:

• Remove standing water from lawns

We know that standing water serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes. So, if you have any areas that are prone to water pooling, fill them up and add pumps to fountains or fishponds. Also, empty buckets, toys, and flowerpots after rainfall.

• Remove debris and clutter

Things like tires, toys, and half-used potting soil bags can be great containers for accumulating rainwater. Fallen branches, piles of leaves, and rotting fruit too can draw insects to your lawn. By eliminating such debris and clutter from your outdoors you can ensure lawn bug control.

• Keep your lawn neat and trimmed

Weeds and tall grass can shelter fleas, ticks, and anthills. Additionally, overgrown tree branches and shrubbery that are in contact with your home can let in cockroaches and other troubling pests.

Mow your lawn regularly in spring and summer to minimize the hiding areas for insects. Also, keep your shrubs and trees trimmed, by a professional preferably. There should be a gap of 1 foot between any branches and the walls of your home.

• Store firewood carefully

Firewood offers shelter and food to many insects, so you need to store it properly. Before storing firewood, ensure that it’s dry. Then, it should be kept stacked above the ground over a platform or rack, so that pests living in the soil (like termites and ants) can’t access the firewood easily. Moreover, store piles of firewood away from any building or your home. Ideally there should be a gap of 3 feet between any structure and a stack of firewood.

Firewood with a roof over it or top cover will remain drier. However, don’t wrap firewood fully with plastic or tarp as this will help trap moisture, making it an easy place for termites to breed.

Rely on All American Turf Beauty for Expert Lawn Pest Control!

Prompt lawn insect identification and lawn insect control can help you preserve the health and beauty of your lawn in Spencer during summers. All American Turf Beauty has a team of expert lawn pest control professionals who can keep away lawn-destroying insects with effective lawn bug control treatments. We offer lawn care services in Spencer, Ames, Des Moines, and many other areas in Iowa. Call us today for a lawn and pest control consultation!