The first step in lawn pest control requires a basic understanding of the insects themselves. Understanding the life cycle can help determine which controls should be used and when they will be most effective.
If you see a concentrated area of damage on your lawn, you first need to identify the damage caused by insects or disease. After reading this article, you will know the introduction of lawn pests and how to control them.
Causes of pests on the lawn
In addition to the natural distribution of pests, the withered grass layer on the lawn is also one of the main reasons for the infestation of pests. The withered grass layer is generally formed by accumulating incomplete or withered grass leaves, stems, and roots. Since there is no metabolic activity, the grass plant decomposes slowly, and the withered grass layer often forms upper and lower layers.
The upper layer is the undecomposed or semi-decomposed grass layer, showing a certain yellow-brown; the lower layer is the completely decomposed withered grass layer. A layer of withered grass of a reasonable thickness can help the accumulation of soil organic matter and also make the soil resistant to trampling.
But when the withered grass layer is too thick, it will have an adverse effect on the growth of turfgrass, mostly it will become a breeding ground for pests and diseases, and due to the adsorption of the withered grass layer, the drug effect will be insignificant.
Types of pests on the lawn
The main pests on the lawn are leaf-eating pests: armyworm, spodoptera litura, grass borer, slugs, etc. Underground pests include grubs, cutworms, golden needle insects, earthworms, mole crickets, and so on. Underground pests mainly damage the roots of grass plants, which are serious in spring and autumn, and leaf-eating pests are serious in summer and autumn when grasses are lush.
Grubs are the larvae of scarabs, which are mainly concentrated within 10cm below the ground to bite grassroots. The grassroots are separated from the soil, cutting off the supply of nutrients and water, making the grass inactivate, and destroying the vegetation and soil structure. Soil erosion and alopecia areata will occur.
Mole crickets or earthworms mainly dig tunnels in the soil, and the roots of grass plants will be destroyed as a result, and the grass plants will die due to water loss.
The larvae of cutworms live in the roots of the lawn, gnaw on the leaves and tender stems of the lawn, and leave a large amount of manure on the soil surface, causing germs to multiply and spreading diseases. The larvae eat a lot and cause fulminant damage to the lawn.
Leaf-eating pests are easy to break out in the hot summer, gnawing a lot of leaves of grass plants, affecting the growth balance. Mythimna separata’s diet has gluttony, mixed eating habits, and pests multiply will make the entire lawn yellow and fall off.
Moths belong to the Lepidoptera, which are also a kind of gluttony pests, including the notorious Spodoptera frugiperda. They feed on the leaves and roots. They can eat up the entire leaves and cause the lawn to die, manure can also pollute the lawn.
The larvae of the grass borer larvae feed on miscellaneous, and the insects have the characteristics of cluster migration. After eating up one grassland, they will move to another grassland to continue harming. Adults emerge day and night and have a strong phototaxis. The hot and rainy summer is conducive to their proliferation.
Lawn pest control (solution pest and lawn)
Underground pests:
The best control period for underground pests is the larval stage and the pre-oviposition stage of adults. Pests at these two stages do not have the ability to resist the effects of the drug.
1. You can use lawn pesticides: diaziphos, phoxim, chlorpyrifos granules, etc. to mix with fine sand for spreading, and then water after spreading, which is also useful for the lawn bug control.
2. Take advantage of the characteristic that underground pests have certain phototaxis to trap and kill adults.
3. Biological restraint, which is suggested as organic pest control, it is using the useful microorganisms Beauveria bassiana and Bacillus thuringiensis to infect and kill the larvae. This organic insect control can help protect the grass, environment. Achieve the balance between these species.
4. The increase in soil moisture will affect the survival of some underground pests. Therefore, when watering, the watering amount can be increased appropriately.
Leaf-eating pests:
1. Clean the withered grass layer of the lawn in time to prevent pests from laying eggs in it.
2. Use its phototaxis to trap and kill adults with black light, sweet and sour liquid, and other means.
3. Chemical agents can be used in the evening, such as malathion emulsion, deltamethrin, and Bacillus spp.