In this dry summer we are experiencing this year, there are typically only two factors creating brown spots in your Gainesville lawn - drought stress or chinch bugs. The two are actually related as well, because chinch bugs prefer to attack struggling lawns that have been stressed from dry weather. 

DROUGHT STRESS

When explaining drought stress, the common response many homeowners have is, 'How can that happen if I have a sprinkler system?' It's a valid concern. Most of our clients have irrigation systems that are running properly and are following the watering restrictions - only running them 2 days per week and watering early in the morning. So, why is their lawn struggling? It's not about whether their irrigation system is running, but how long and often it's running that matters.

Picture a bucket filled with water and left in the middle of a sunny lawn. If you were to check it a week later you’d see it probably lost about 1” of water. That bucket resembles the moisture in your soil. If you don’t replace that inch of water, gradually your soil (especially the top layer) gets more and more dry. As the temperatures rise in summer, that bucket will have more water evaporated in a shorter amount of time due to the heat.

Many times, this is counter-balanced by our summer afternoon rains that are typically very frequent. Unfortunately, this year those afternoon rains haven't come yet. Typically, a norrmal sprinkler system's settings can make up the difference between the evaporation of water and lack of rain within the water restrictions, however this summer that has not been the case. We have two suggestions to fight the drought stress until the rain comes:

1. Increase your irrigation run times. (See our blog post on changing irrigation timer settings) Instead of running :20, try :30 or even :40 minutes on each zone, depending on sun exposure and plant need. Where your lawn/plants are struggling the most, don't be afraid to double it or even triple it. Although GRU's water is expensive, your plants and lawn probably cost more.
2. Sign up for HydreTain.  Hydretain is an appicationto the landscape that improves water retention by 50%. It's a seasonal application and will help minimize drought stress in dry summer heat like this. Call our office and See this YouTube video for more info. 

CHINCH BUGS

The second factor we see damaging lawns this time of year are chinch bugs. Chinch bugs are the most destructive lawn pests we have and are also the most difficult to control - especially without the right equipment.

They damage the grass by sucking the plant's juices, leaving it looking drought-stressed. Normally, we first see the damage to the grass in the hottest and driest areas of the lawn first - many times near the driveway or sidewalk. A clump will go from green to yellow to brown in color within about a week.

If you're a DIY client, you can buy insecticide at your local home improvement store labeled for chinch bugs. We highly recommend getting the lquid product and spraying it versus using granular though, due to it's ineffectiveness. 

As discussed in the article, 'Why Chinch Bugs aren't a Cinch to Control,' many homeowners are finding that the same old products they used to buy at Home Depot and Lowe's aren't working anymore though. As the insects develop a resistance to certain products, other means have to be used to protect your Gainesville lawn, and that's where a professional lawn pest control service really excels.

A reputable Gainesville lawn spraying company has access to products beyond what the home improvement stores carry, and as an added plus, those products are also child / pet safe. Whichever way you decide to go, this time of year it is crucial for the health of your lawn to watch out for both dry soil and insect damage. They will wreak havok on your investment, and more importantly your curb appeal.

If you think chinch bugs may be attacking your lawn, contact our office today for a no-obligation lawn consultation with Joe, our lawn technician. If you feel that your irrigation system isn't functioning properly, we would love to schedule a One-Hour Irrigation Tune-up with our sprinkler technician. If we can be of help in any way, please call our office at (352) 378-LAWN today, or fill out our online request by clicking the above links. 

From May until the cooler weather of October is officially Gainesville's Chinch Bug Season – the most dangerous season for your St Augustine lawn. Why?  First, Chinch Bugs like it hot and dry – or at least they like their St Augustine turf hot and dry. Nothing is more inviting to a chinch bug than St Augustine grass dry from the lack of irrigation and baked all day under the hot Gainesville, Florida sun.  Second, Chinch Bug damage is so complete and so fatal to St Augustine turf grass that there is no recovery – your lawn is officially dead! So what are Chinch Bugs? and how do you prevent Chinch Bugs from destroying your beautiful Gainesville lawn?

WHAT ARE CHINCH BUGS?

Chinch Bugs are not only lawn pests, they are predators. Their prey is weak, suffering St Augustine turf grass – preferably St Augustine turf grass that is weak and suffering from drought stress. As a predator, their role is to remove the weak to make room for the strong. In a lawn that means destroying the struggling St Augustine grass and allow for stronger weedy species like Wild Bermuda grass and crabgrass to establish and prevail. The only problem with that is that Wild Bermuda and Crabgrass weeds are so hideous in your lawn.

CHINCH BUGS ARE SMALL BUT ALWAYS PRESENT

Chinch Bugs are small! They are about the size of a ball point pen head. They are very difficult to observe in a lawn. But they are there – almost every St Augustine turf grass lawn in Gainesville, Florida has at least a few Chinch Bugs in or near the lawn. And when conditions are good, the population can rapidly expand to thousands.

CHINCH BUGS FEED ON SAP AND PREPARE THE NEXT MEAL

Chinch Bugs feed on the sap of St Augustine turf grass and also inject a toxin that prevents the movement of water in the plant. It is an especially dangerous one-two punch for your St Augustine lawn – less sap and less water. Plus the Chinch bug is not only getting food, they are creating the next meal of hot dry St Augustine turf grass.

CHINCH BUG LIFE CYCLE: MORE CHINCH BUGS MORE FOOD

So what is created is a fire storm of activity – well-fed chinch bugs are more fertile and create more chinch bugs, and more chinch bugs create more dead grass quicker – it is a logarithmic expansion of predator and prey. This all started when your St Augustine turf grass lawn was allowed to suffer drought-stress and become weak.

st. johns water management district AND CHINCH BUGS

The obvious solution is prevent drought-stress. But, that requires the freedom to water as often and as much as weather, soils, exposure and other conditions dictate. But the SJWMD has removed that freedom and required irrigation systems only be used on a certain days – regardless of when the lawn needs water. The consequences  from such restrictions is more drought-stressed St Augustine turf grass, which of course gives us more Chinch bugs. This creates a desperate need for a Lawn Fertilization and Pest Control Program. 

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Insecticides applied Properly will Protect St Augustine Turf From Gainesville Chinch Bugs. The Turf on the left was sprayed regularly to prevent Chinch bugs - the right side is untreated.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Chinch bug damage mimics heat and water stress. However, there are three distinct symptoms that differ from having a simple drought stressed lawn:

1. Incomplete Damage – the damage seems to be selective in contrast to drought-stress damage that is equal damage over the area. Look for islands of green isolated within the damaged area. This is because the Chinch bug will feed on the weak turf first, and then attack the healthy grass last.
2. Yellow Leaves along the edges of the damage caused by the injection of the toxin. The feeding progresses from a central point and moves outward. The pattern will be dead grass ----> yellow leaves on the edges ----> healthy turf.
3. The presence of Chinch Bugs – If you cannot find any Chinch Bugs then either something else caused the damage or you don't know how to look for them. Finding the small match-head sized bugs can be difficult. Soap drenches or physically investigating the edges of undamaged turf is the best method to get a visual verification.

Warning: Chinch bugs are predators and are often a secondary causal agent. A turf damaged by drought stress, herbicides, or other stressors will be attacked by Chinch bugs first.  Our goal is to cure the cause of the stress and regardless of the primary cause, control the Chinch bugs at the same time.

PREVENTION AND CURE

The good news is that Chinch Bug populations are easily reduced with modern and safe insecticides. Since the Chinch bugs live in the base of the leaves, using a liquid insecticide is superior to granular insecticides, commonly sold at local stores. Remember that Chinch Bug activity is so lethal, the lawn will not recover and will have to be replaced with new sod if left to fight the Chinch Bugs without help.

Therefore, preventive Gainesville lawn applications during the peak seasons is better than curative applications. Preventative Insecticide applications every 6-8 weeks during Chinch Bug season will protect your lawn, just as it did in the photo above.

IN SUMMARY

Chinch bugs are here; they are not easily seen but are an ever present danger to your lawn. Chinch bugs are not pests; they are predators, preying on weak stressed turf. Chinch bug damage is so complete that the turf does not recover. It is imperative to take care not to allow Chinch Bugs to expand their populations to damaging levels.  Therefore keep your turf healthy with proper sprinkler / irrigation as often as you can and mow your turf as high as the mower will go (yes tall turf is not appetizing to Chinch Bugs). and reduce Chinch Bug populations with a modern insecticide every 6-8 weeks.

This is the time of the year when we start getting a lot of calls and emails from customers worried about dry dead spots they are finding in their yards, and they seem to be growing. Typically, this is chinch bug damage, especially if it's between April and October.

The concern is valid because chinch bugs can cause all wreak havok in Gainesville, Florida lawns.

It is important to know that chinch bugs do not die in winter. Which means In our area many think they are chinch bug-free once they go dormant in winter, but then are surprised when they have a mass invasion again the following spring if not treated properly with a Gainesville Lawn Insect Control.

Another problem is that Chinch bugs are attracted to drought stressed grass. What does that mean? It means when we have a dry spring (like this one), chinch bugs are much more prolific and can do more damage quickly.

Now is the time to treat for chinch bugs.  If you want to do-it-yourself, look for a product in the local garden section using Imidacloprid.  I know that’s a tough name to remember (let alone say), but you need to make sure that is one of the active ingredient if you are treating for chinch bugs. Another is bifenthrin. Imidacloprid will give the long-term protection, whereas bifenthrin will conduct an immediate kill if you have an active infestation. Don’t make the mistake of picking up the first bag of Ortho or Bayer with an easier name that has a picture of a bug.  Take the time to read the labels and make sure you get a product that has Bifenthrin or Imidacloprid which will create actually take care of the chinch bug

It is important to remember that Imidacloprid is a great preventative against chinch bugs, which means it is NOT effective once they are actively feeding.  You need to treat before they become active. Also, if the infestation is bad enough, you will need to apply 3-5 times over a span of 6 weeks. This will assure you kill the entire infestation. Otherwise, the eggs will live through the insecticide application (it will wash off before they hatch) and then you will have a second wave infestation. 

People often ask me why they should hire a Gainesville Lawn Treatment Company when they can just run to Lowe's and take care of it themselves? I appreciate the question, and it's very easy to answer - it's about time and expertise. Many times DIY-ers will mistake fungus for chinch bugs, or vice versa because they dont have the expertise that our technicians have who have been treating lawns for over 25 years. Mistreating a lawn one time can cause thousands of dollars in sod replacement costs. 

The other point I would make is - what is your time and stress worth? The frustration of analyzing your lawn and running back and forth to the home improvement store trying to treat a dead spot before it grows isn't fun, and it certainly isn't relaxing. Let us handle all of that for you, and let you enjoy your yard on the weekends again - knowing that it's under expert care.

If you have any Gainesville lawn or landscape questions, give us a call at 378-LAWN or email info@themasterslawncare.com. 

Your home can be considered your castle, and your lawn is a major part of that kingdom. But when your Gainesville landscape is covered with pests like fire ants, it sure doesn’t feel that way. Instead of enjoying a blissful stroll through your front and back lawn, you may feel like you are walking through a minefield. Fire ants will attack your feet, ankles and legs in no time at all with one simple misstep. Their bites sting, and can often cause severe reactions—especially for those who are allergic. Even for those not allergic though, they certainly cause pain, frustration, and small infectious sores.

There are a few reasons why ants can be such a nuisance to the lawn. For one, they aren’t always easy to notice. One minute you are pulling the hose across the lawn to water the plants, and the next minute you are desperately trying to hose the pests off of your legs. When they attack, they attack in large numbers—and once they settle in they multiply quickly.

Of course, there is another thing you need to consider when ants take over your lawn, more than just your personal comfort. You always have to worry about your family and pets. A child  getting into a fire ant bed in your lawn is obviously dangerous, but having a pet attacked by fire ants is a major problem too,  because they're unable to communicate what's wrong - and many tiems their fur blocks your from being able to recognize the problem. 

There are several ways that you can rid your lawn of fire ants. The best way is to contact a professional. It is never safe to bring pesticides onto your property when you aren’t sure what you are dealing with. A professional lawn pest control expert can ensure that you are using the right products to treat the pests that are present, in a way that won’t harm your grass, your pets or your children.

How do many homeowners in Gainesville fight fire ants? They spread bait around the mounds from the local home improvement store. It works for a week or two, but then 1 or 2 mounds will pop up  about 10-15 feet away. Why? Because they didn't treat the entire problem - just one of the symptoms. The one mound of fire ants isn't the problem. The problem is fire ants being in your Gainesville landscape at all. 

Controlling fire ants in your lawn can be very difficult and may only last for a short time as the ants tend to reinvade in a few weeks. By contacting a professional, such as our team of experts at The Master's Lawn Care, we can not only rid your lawn of fire ants for a couple weeks - but we guarantee to keep your lawn fire ant-free for ONE WHOLE YEAR. That's only one treatment, too.  That's our guarantee. If we treat your lawn for fire ants once, you have 365 days of protection or we'll come back out and treat again - at no charge. 

The Master's Lawn Care provides full service lawn fertilization and pest control including Fire Ant elimination.  Fire Ants are a common problem in Florida lawns. If you have ant mounds in your lawn, contact the Gainesville Lawn Experts.  Ask about our Lawn care with fire ant elimination bundle, too! Our techs are waiting to meet with you. Call (352) 378-5296 or fill out our online form by clicking here!

This time of year, we have clients call several times a week about cinch bug infestions in their lawn. The call usually goes something similar to this:

"I have a chinch bug problem in my St. Augustine lawn. I bought the granular pesticide from Lowe's that guaratees to kill chinch bugs, but it either is not working or the treatment isn't working fast enough because my brown spot is still growing. I don't want to resod just because of lawn pests. What should I do?"

Chinch bugs are the most destructive lawn pests we have and are also the most difficult to control - especially without the right equipment. The heat of summer really brings them out. They damage the grass by sucking the plant's juices. Normally, we first see the damage to the grass in the hottest and driest areas of the lawn first - many times near the driveway or sidewalk. A clump will go from green to yellow to brown in color within about a week. If you get down on your hands and knees and look very closely at the interface of the green grass and the damaged grass, you should see small gray insects, a little smaller than a grain of rice. You can try to flush out the chinch bugs by making a bucket of very soapy water and pouring it over a couple of square feet of damaged grass. After a few minutes, the chinch bugs will crawl up the grass blades and you can get a better idea of how many insects you are dealing with.

You're probably spreading the same product many other homeowners and lawn pest control businesses have found ineffective. According to Dr. Eileen Buss, a UF/IFAS landscape entomologist, there are pesticide-resistant chinch bugs in localized areas of Gainesville. Chinch bugs have become resistant to Bifenthrin, a very popular turf pesticide. Bifenthrin used to be extremely effective against chinch bugs, but now the insects have developed some resistance to it over time.

Therefore, it is important that you have a Gainesville lawn pest control company that uses a management strategy that includes pesticide rotation, application rates, and making sure that the product they use is watered in. The problem with using a granular insecticide is that if the lawn isn't watered enough after it is spread, it doesn't provide great control. The lawn pests are controlled much faster with a liquid application that has just the right mixture and application to cover the lawn consistently.

One of the chemicals that is used in our rotation of prevenative treatment requires that the insects feed on the grass before they die. This prevents chinch bugs from ever getting to an infestation without using a chemical thay've developed resistance to. If your lawn service company is using the proper chemical rotation and using the right application rates, you can expect control of the chinch bugs. There currently is research going on to deal with the pesticide resistance in the chinch bugs in Florida, as well.

The best way to prevent chinch bugs from moving into your lawn is by following good cultural practices. Use a lawn company that treats your lawn more prevantively for lawn pests, rather than reactively. Use a company that fertilizes with good portion of nitrogen in a slow-release form. Frequent applications of water soluble nitrogen fertilizers may increase chinch bug survival, development time and the number of eggs that they lay. This is why we only use granular fertilization for better and long-lasting lawn results.

Mowing at the correct height is another good cultural practice that will make your lawn less prone to chinch bug damage. Mow your standard St. Augustine grass at 3 to 4 inches. 

By applying lawn insecticides preventatively, fertilizing with slow-release granular products, irrigating properly, and mowing at the correct height, The Master's Lawn Care can save your lawn from experiencing Gainesville chinch bug damage before it begins. Read more about our program here!

 

When we have record-breaking rain in Gainesville, Florida we usually find that a few things really like the conditions.  This summer it has been nutsedge which must love the flooding rains because we’re seeing a large crop of it in lawns this year.  It is so prolific that our phones are ringing with people asking what it is and how to they get rid of it.  Perhaps you’ve seen some in your lawn this year?  

Nutsedge is a dark-green leafed weed that looks a lot like grass that is sticking straight up.  Typically, it grows taller than most Gainesville lawn trufgrasses so it becomes very obvious a couple days after mowing. But nutsedge isn’t a grass, even though it can be mistaken for a grassy weed.  This often confuses other lawn pest control technicians because they treat it with a grassy weed product  instead of a sedge control product.  If you look closely at, or feel nutsedge, you’ll notice the leaf isn’t flat, its triangular – that’s what makes it different from a grassy weeds, grassy weeds have flat bladed leaves. Another way to recognize one family of the nutsedge is that the Globe Nutsedge and Kyliinga have a soft sandspur-looking seed (see photo below for example).

Not all Sedges have this seed, but it's a common question we get: Can you treat for sandspurs in my Gainesville lawn? And in reality they're just a Globe sedge.

How to you get rid of nutsedge?  First, and this is very important - Don’t pull it.  Most of the time pulling nutsedge doesn’t work because it has two nuts attached to the roots.  You can pull up the first one but if you don’t get the second one, and you almost almost never can get it, you usually end up with it splitting and getting even more nutsedge.  In fact, nutsedge reminds me of the stories of fisherman who tried to get rid of starfish by cutting them up and throwing them back in the sea.  What happens when you cut up starfish?  The pieces each turn into a starfish and you end up with a lot more starfish.  That’s pretty much what happens when you pull nutsedge in Gainesville landscapes.

If you can’t pull nutsedge (and grassy weed killer doesn’t work) what do you do?  You still have to kill it, right?  Actually wrong.  There is no product that will actually kill nutsedge.  They will turn it brown and stunt it but most of it will come back the following year.   If you’re treating on your own, you can find a product called Image which can be used both in your lawn and your landscape.  Image is very slow and will need at least a couple of treatments but it is effective in stunting the nutsedge's growth. This product can typically be found at home improvement stores. 

At The Master's Lawn Care, we treat our client's lawns with a product not available to the public called Halosulfuron. It can only be used in lawns but it works much more quickly than Image.  It won’t kill the nutsedge but the product stunts it so the next time you cut the lawn, it won’t pop back up above the grass which is the thing that makes nutsedge so annoying.  I call it a magic trick – we can make it disappear for a year but eventually the magic wears off and it will come back.

So the bad news nutsedge is definitely going nuts this year.  The good news is if it is driving you nuts, we can make it go away for you (for a while.)

If you have questions or need help, give us a call at (352) 378-LAWN or email us at info@themasterslawncare.com. We are here to help with Gainesville Lawn Maintenance, Lawn Fertilization & Spraying, Landscape Rennovation and Improvements, and Irrigation repairs too. 

Weeds are simply defined as plants out of place, or anything growing where it wasn't wanted. Technically, St. Augustine grass can be a weed in a Zoysia lawn, or vice versa. Here is a list of the most common Gainesville lawn weeds that can be found in our area.

Yellow Woodsorrel – Oxalis stricta
Annual to short-lived perennial, upright, with a single taproot, spreads by seed. Leaves of three, heart-shaped, pale green and bitter to taste due to the presence of oxalic acid. Bright yellow flowers have five petals. Prolific seed producer, pods will scatter seed for several feet when touched.

Bull Thistle – Cirsium vulgare
Bull thistle is a biennial growing into a rosette with large, fleshy, coarsely-toothed spiny leaves. The second year, a woody, flowering stalk produces a few, rose-purple blossoms. Produces less flowers than Canada Thistle but all flowers are fertile.

Quackgrass – Agropyron repens
Blue-green rough bladed perennial reproducing by seed and aggressive rhizomes. Erect stems leaves rolled in bud, sheaths hairy. Short membranous ligule, large, very prominent clasping auricles. Spike seed head resembling perennial ryegrass. Spreads throughout lawn and from ornamental beds. Very difficult to control.

Broadleaf Plantain -Plantago rugelii / Plantago major
A perennial rosette reproducing from seed. Leaves are large, rounded and deeply veined with wavy edges and purple petioles. Seed stems resemble a rat’s tail and support small flowers and seeds. Long tap root, similar to Dandelion, increases plants’ hardiness to stress and herbicides

Crabgrass – Digitaria sp.
Several species that are true annuals. Peak germination by early summer. Yellow green leaves rolled in the bud with hairy edges, coarse-textured, broad collar, membranous liguile and hairy sheath. Blade flat with a sharp point. Seed head composed of three to ten finger like racemes or spikes, may appear purple to tan in color. Plant declines after seeding with shorter days. Eliminated by frost. Occurs all over the U.S., although less in the North than in Gainesville lawns

Dandelion – Taraxacum officnale
Perennial with long taproot produces by seed. Stems short arising from a rosette bearing oblong, lobed, narrow leaves. Large yellow flowers mature into round puffballs full of seed distributed by wind for miles. Mostly germinates during late summer.

Goosegrass – Eleusine indica
Annual forming rosette of flat stems, usually silvery at center. Leaves are folded in the bud with overlapping sheaths. Membranous ligule with sparse hairs on collar. Seed head forms two to ten finger-like spikes, zipper like, much broader than crabgrass. Germinates later than crabgrass. Persists under close mowing, even on putting greens.

Nutsedge - Cvperus esculentus (yellow) Cvperus rotundus (purple)
Also known as nutgrass, but is not a grass. Perennial, reproducing by seeds and nut-like tubers on roots. Stems erect triangular. Leaves 3-ranked, narrow, grass-like basal. Seed on unmowed plants arranged in narrow spikelets on umbel like inflorescence. Yellow nutsedge has single fleshy tubers on ends of roots. Purple nutsedge has strings of tubers on wiry rhizomes.

Pennywort: ( Dollarweed ) - Hydrocotvle sp.
A perennial growing from rhizomes, tubers and seed. Erect leaves with scalloped margins on a long petiole in the center of an umbrella-like leaf. Found in moist to wet sites. Most common in Transition Zone, South.

Spurge - Euphorbia maculate, E. supine
A summer annual that begins germination from seed when soil temperatures reach 85° F and continues all summer long. Small, oval, opposite leaves vary from dark green to red with a brown blotch on the upper surface. Reddish low growing stems, that fan out from the taproot, form a dense mat. Milky sap is sticky. Prolific seed producer, several thousand from one plant. Plant matures in a matter of days in hot weather.

Matchweed – Phyla nodiflora
Matchweed is a mat-forming perennial with opposing leaves on hairy branching stems. Leaves have small teeth at the outer tip. The purple to white flowers emerge around the tip of the seed stalk forming a match-head appearance. Matchweed spreads by both seeds and stolons along prostrate stems.

This time of year our phones are ringing off the hook and when those calls are about a client's lawn, there are two questions I hear all of the time. The first is "What can I do about the weeds taking over my lawn?" and second,  "Why isn't my lawn as healthy as the others in my neighborhood?".

 

While I wish I had a quick and easy answer to these common concerns the truth is that are a myriad of factors from the type of turf and mowing height to micronutients in the soil and drainage that need to be taken into consideration. There are, however, some common themes I find when a client's lawn isn't where they would like it to be.  In simplest terms the health of your lawn comes down to its most basic needs being met - Sun, water, and food. By taking a look at your lawn you can make a quick evaluation that could rule out one or two of these issues.

 

At Least 4 house of Sunlight

If you have dense tree cover from large oak trees and get less than 4 hours of direct sunlight a day, this is going to be your top problem and it's one of the more challenging issues to correct. You may also have an additional concern because you haven't fertilized or had any weed control done in your lawn recently - but your main reason why the lawn isn't as healthy as you want it is due to excessive shade. Canopy trimming, shade landscaping, and a couple other ideas can really transform your lawn quickly. Take a look at our full article about how to salvage a yard in deep shade. 

 

The Right Amount of Water

If you have a good bit of sunlight and the nutrition of the lawn has been handled well, the third concern to address would be the lawn's watering. We recommend that you conduct an annual inspection of your irrigation system to verify coverage is corect. Many times we see plants have grown up to block sprinkler heads, valves don't open properly, or heads have gotten out of adjustment and are missing the very area of the lawn you were concerned about. Also, using that inspection to verify the rain sensor is working properly and that it's set to run enough during the week and at the optimum times as well. We have a full article on water in regards to what happens if the lawn is watered too much, not enough, and how to fix it. 

  Fertilization and Weed Control

If you know you haven't had your lawn fertlized in more than 4 months, a lack of nutrition may be the main problem you are facing. It's important that your lawn get the correct balance nitrogen, potassium, and iron to help green up and choke out the weeds.  Carefully managing weeds and turf pests is another area that can be a challange for some of our Gainesville lawns. A good lawn care program is one that focuses on the overall health of your lawn and encourages healthy growth rather than just spraying pesticides.   

We hope this quick tip has been of assistance to you in getting your lawn bouncing back for spring. If you have time, take a look at our full article on lawn nutrition and how The Master's Lawn Care differs from the competition in our area. We also have selective weed control products that won't harm your lawn but will kill out the weeds that are invading. If you would like to get our professional opinion please don't hesitate to call our office at 352-378-5296 or e-mail me directly at rusty@themasterslawncare.com. 

   

Part of caring for your Gainesville lawn is creating an environment that’s pleasing to the human eye, yet unattractive to pests. The good news is you don’t have to be a Gainesville lawn pest control expert to have a decent looking lawn. You just have to invest the right time, preparation, materials, and money to make sure your lawn stays protected - especially in the fall.

 

By preparing lawns in the late summer and early fall, you help strengthen lawns and prevent the growth of unwanted weeds and uninvited critters that like to pop up throughout fall and spring. .

 

Pests of concern

• White grubs: Grubs eat the roots near the surface of the soil, causing your lawn to die. The presence of white grubs often attracts birds, armadillos, and moles to dig up your Gainesville Landscape as well searching for food.. 
• Chinch bugs: In Gainesville Chinch bugs destroy St. Augustine lawns by sucking the moisture out of grass blades, leaving them looking drought stressed. 
• Weeds: Weeds germinate in the fall to prepare for springtime growth. Pre-Emergent weed control is a must to help keep these under control.
• Fertilize: Gainesville lawn fertilization companies often recommend the use of a natural winterizing fertilizer to promote lawn root development and pest resistance.   
• 
• Eliminate leaves:  Fallen leaves make great places to hide for insects and rodents. Turn the leaves into mulch and use it in your beds to avoid having to buy pine bark as often..
• Keep mowing: Use the highest setting on the mower through the year so the grass stays insulated and strong during the winter.              
• Clean up food sources: If a client has plants or trees that bear fall fruit, pick up produce that falls to the ground so it doesn’t attract pests.

 

Pest prevention
As a Gainesville landscaper, it’s not unheard of for us to encounter a pest infestation on a client’s property. When this happens to you, make sure to call a professional lawn and landscape pest service. The techniques that the professionals use are tailored to the type of pest in question and eliminate unnecessary pesticide use, which helps keep a landscape and the environment safe and healthy. 

 

A healthy lawn prevents the presence of unwanted pests. By employing smart lawn care techniques, you’ll simplify future landscape care and go a long way toward preventing pests that can destroy your hard work. Never hesitate to call a local pest control service that uses green practices to help maintain a pest-free landscape that’s in line with your wishes.