TURF INSECTS

INSECT HABITATS Leaves and stems Aphids and mites

INSECT HABITATS Thatch Chinch bugs and Sod webworms

INSECT HABITATS Soil White grubs and Mole crickets

CONTROL Know insect Timing of application is important

CONTROL Healthy, competitive turf Avoid succulent growth Reduce thatch

CONTROL Endophytes: fungi symbiotic with turf repels insects Currently, limited to cool-season turf Primarily tall fescue and ryegrass

CONTROL Insecticides Typically curative

SOUTHERN CHINCH BUG HOST: St. Augustine DAMAGE: suck juice from grass

SOUTHERN CHINCH BUG Hot, dry weather

SOUTHERN CHINCH BUG Reside in thatch

SOUTHERN CHINCH BUG SYMPTOM First water stressed Most active at perimeter

SOUTHERN CHINCH BUG SAMPLING Flotation Threshold: 25 to 30 per square foot

SOUTHERN CHINCH BUG CONTROL Resistant varieties

WHITE GRUBS AND BILLBUGS White grubs: Larval stage of beetles May and June beetle, masked chafers, etc. Rarely a pest in Lowcountry

WHITE GRUBS AND BILLBUGS Billbugs: larva of snout beetles (weevils)

WHITE GRUBS AND BILLBUGS DAMAGE August Feed on roots just below surface Roll back dying turf like carpet Predator damage (skunks, moles)

WHITE GRUBS AND BILLBUGS SAMPLING Strip one sq foot of turf Threshold White grubs: 3 to 4

WHITE GRUBS AND BILLBUGS CONTROL Milky spore disease only controls one type of white grub Japanese beetle

CATERPILLARS Fall armyworm Sporadic pest in lawn More common on golf course

CATERPILLARS Sod Webworm Much less common than armyworm

CATERPILLARS DAMAGE Eat foliage

CATERPILLARS SAMPLING Soapy flush: 1 oz of dishsoap / gallon

CATERPILLARS CONTROL Birds can be an indicator

MOLE CRICKETS Tawny and Southern are IMPORTED PESTS Northern and Short winged are native

MOLE CRICKETS DAMAGE Eat roots Tunneling uproots turf Predator damage Bermuda and bahia, but also centipede Tunneling uproots turf Predator damage

MOLE CRICKETS SAMPLING Soapy flush Threshold: 2 to 4 per sq ft

MOLE CRICKETS CONTROL Introducing natural predators (parasitic nematode, parasitic fly, fungus)

MOLES Searching for food

MOLES DAMAGE Tunnels mostly visual Minor damage to turf

MOLES CONTROL Look for active tunnel Collapse and check back in a couple of hours Against concrete Spike trap kills ‘em dead

MOLES CONTROL Sonic Hair Hot peppers Caster oil (Mole-Med) Baits Gum Other products

MOLES CONTROL Control food source?

Nematodes

Nematodes Host: Centipede, Bermuda

Nematodes Favorable Conditions: Sandy soil with a poor pH

Nematodes Symptoms Water stress Poor root system

Nematodes Control Requires soil test to ID Nematicide