The northeast of the United States has experienced yet another mild winter. Warmer than average temperatures and below-average snow amounts mean that spring will come sooner than later. With a mild winter and an early spring, homeowners and landscapers should prepare for an early appearance of lawn and garden pests. Valley Green Incorporated has a variety of pest control and insecticide products to keep common spring lawn and garden pests in check. Here are some of the most common spring lawn and garden pests you should start watching out for.
Common Spring Lawn and Garden Pests
Grubs: Grub infestations are extremely common and extremely dangerous to a lawn. The grubs damage and feed on grassroots. They can also attract other animals who will want to eat them and in turn, tear up your lawn. Fortunately, grub infestations are easy to spot. Look for circular patches of dead and dying grass on the lawn. The grass on the patches will be yellow and sickly looking. You can also pull up the grass on the patches and if it pulls up easily, it means the grubs have eaten away the roots. The grass patches will also feel spongy when walked on.
Chinch Bugs: Chinch Bugs cause little damage in spring but if left unchecked, they can lead to serious summer lawn damage. Once these insects come out in spring, they feed and mate. When their offspring hatch, they actually cause the most damage. Chinch Bug infestations are, fortunately, easy to spot. Because these insects feed by sucking, grass that is affected by them will appear like it is suffering the effects of drought. You can also see the pests in the affected area by parting the grass away. If you see an insect burrow into the dirt with a red or white stripe on their back, you probably have a Chinch Bug infestation.
Ticks: Ticks are often the most dangerous of all the early spring pests. Ticks can attach themselves to humans and pets and infect them with sicknesses such as Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Mild winters with low snow amounts always mean a bad tick season. Pre-treat the yard to keep ticks at bay. Our favorite product we carry for this is called Tick Killz, it is all-natural and also kills mosquitoes. There are other steps you can take to keep ticks at bay in the yard. Keep the grass short, don’t let brush pile up, and don’t put patio furniture or playscapes under long tree limbs.