Football Starting Means Fall is Coming

Horticulture Hotline 08/07/17

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

A friend of mine that grew hay used to say he could hear army worms munching on the pasture as they crossed the fields. Since army worms eat the green leaves off the plant, he would lose big hay dollars to this worm. Athletic fields, golf courses, and home lawns lose the aesthetic value of the green grass, and the worms thin the canopy of the grass where weeds will move in if given a chance. Prostrate growing weeds like spurge, lespedeza and Virginia Buttonweed seem to come in the fastest.

What bothers me the most is you work all summer on your grass to have it looking nice, and once it starts to slow down for the winter, fall army worms and then sod webworms attack the grass. Look for areas that appeared to have been mowed low and with a dull blade. You can see that the leaf blades have been chewed. Also thatch type debris will be churned up on the surface. Birds and low flying wasps are also predators of army worms. Thanks to cell phones last year, I took a cool picture of a wasp attacking the head of an army worm. I think my definition of ‘cool’ has changed over the years.

Since army worms are in direct contact with the ground, they are very easy to control. Bug Blaster, Bifen, Sevin, Cyonara and Acephate will all put a hurting on army worms. Thuricide (Bt) and Spinosad are organic products that will also work well if you get them while the worms are small. Since the population of worms is so high and hit so hard, keep your eye out for a second hatching.

For those of you with St. Augustine and Centipede, keep your eye out for the sod web worm. Watch for moths in your yard around dusk. If you begin to see a moth that gets out of the grass, flies for 6-10 feet then lands again (like a bobwhite quail for you bird hunters) you may want to consider using one of the above mentioned products. Usually sod web worms would not come out until September / October; however, with the crazy weather we are having, scouting for them could not hurt.

Now is the time to put out preemerge products in the lawn and beds to prevent those small seeded annual weeds. Henbit, chickweed, Poa annua (annual bluegrass), cudweed and lawn burweed are a few of the winter weeds that would like to occupy your lawn and flower beds. Poa annua (the green grass that is very visible in February and March) and lawn burweed (the prostrate growing weed that develops a sticker) are usually the most hated of the winter weeds. Some people use profanity while describing them at the counter of Possum’s! 

If your yard has thatch, drainage, or compaction issues, now is a great time to aerate your lawn (and beds where possible) before you apply your fall preemerge. Aeration is a great cultural practice, which will among other things help your roots grow throughout the winter giving you a head start for the spring. 

 

In my travels this week, I saw brown patch (large patch) fungus in several yards, and the “nasty rascal the chinch bug” is still sucking the life out of many lawns. Gray leaf spot is still alive and doing well. With all the rain, fire ants are mounding up everywhere – be careful where you step!

With all the rain, mosquitoes are out and biting, and the grass is growing like crazy. Does your mower blade need to be sharpened or replaced?

Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law.

Insects That Mess Up Your Lawn That You Have Worked So Hard On This Year

Horticulture Hotline 07/31/17

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

‘The Nasty Rascal, The Chinch Bug’ is about impossible to see (about the size of fine ground pepper), the damage can be confused between fungi, dry areas, and just dead areas and although they are easy to kill once identified, the chinch bug keeps coming back. Chinch bugs limit their diet to St. Augustine grass (AKA Charleston Grass).

In the old days (Dursban, Diazinon), you could put out a product in May and pretty much control chinch bugs for the season. Now depending on the product, if you get two to three weeks control you are lucky. Most of the products work on the adults and do not affect the eggs that are waiting to hatch.

 There are a lot of cases of resistance to certain control products in Florida, so be sure to rotate chemical families of your products (not just product names). Since some of our sod comes up from Florida, we will most likely experience these resistant chinch bugs before long. If you talked to some of the people I talk to, you would swear they are already here.

‘The Nasty Rascal, The Chinch Bug’ got this designation from attacking family’s lawns during the summer while families were taking their summer vacation. The fact that this very small insect and a lot of its buddies can wipe out a beautiful yard in a very short period of time is ruthless. Hard to control weeds like bermudagrass and Virginia button weed always seem to move in on the weaken areas.

There is a fungus in the soil that controls chinch bugs. When the soil dries out the fungus in the soil that keeps chinch bugs in check dies. When the fungus dies, the chinch bugs go crazy. The reason you see chinch bugs along the road, driveway, sidewalks or in the sunniest part of the yard is because that is where the fungus dies out first. Chinch bugs rarely attack grass in the shade because the fungus keeps them in check. We have had regular rains this year, so there hasn’t been the explosion of chinch bugs that we have seen in years past. With about 50 people moving to the Lowcountry a day, I wanted to make people aware of ‘The Nasty Rascal, The Chinch Bug’.

Since chinch bugs attack the grass along the road, driveway, and sidewalks, when people treat for them, they often throw product on hard impermeable surfaces (roads, driveways, and sidewalks). Always be sure to sweep or blow any particles back into the grass to avoid any unwanted runoff. This particular runoff situation would be another reason to refer to this pest as ‘The Nasty Rascal, The Chinch Bug’!

While working in my yard yesterday, I noticed more moths than last week that could be laying the eggs of grass eating worms. It was late in the afternoon, so I went to the closest Possum’s and picked up a little ammunition for my preventive attack. I picked up enough for two applications, so I would be ready in case I thought another application was needed.

Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law.

Be Proactive - The Bad Worms Are Coming To Eat Your Grass

Horticulture Hotline 07/24/17

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

I have been writing this column since around 1989. Right after Hurricane Hugo, I started this column (with the help of many others from the Post and Courier family) to try to help people out with their landscape situations after “The Storm”.

With over 28 years of articles in the archives (over 1300 articles), it is easy to spot trends. I see (in my article’s crystal ball) that during the next two weeks’ army worms will be looking to add a little fiber to their diet in the form of your turf grass.

While mowing the grass during the heat of the day, I noticed a few moths in my grass. I have also noticed several moths flying around in my yard in the evening, and I have been told by many of my fellow moth watching friends that they are starting to see them as well. Moths fly around, lay eggs, then the hungry worm emerges and eats your grass. They eat a lot of grass very quickly. The spineless insects do not care that you worked all spring and summer on your lawn. They munch down on it quickly and weeds move in.  The worm then becomes a moth and the cycle begins again.

Many people will be taking vacation before school starts or dropping off that loved one to college. I’m going to get something out on my yard in the next few days, so I don’t come home to a munched on lawn. These worms do a lot of damage fast.

07-00-14 + Allectus (if you need a little fertilizer to get you through the summer), Bifen, or Sevin G would help prevent the grass munchers from eating the grass you have tried so hard to cultivate over the summer. EcoVia is an NOP (National Organics Program) compliant product that works great if you prefer to use organic products.

While driving around and looking at my own yard, the grass is looking a little “washed out” from the high temperatures and the lack of fertilizer. Most people’s spring fertilizer has been consumed by the plant and turned into clippings. 07-00-14 + Allectus and Perk are two good fertilizers to get you through until it is preemerge time again. If you are working from information derived from a soil test or custom program, stick with those recommendations.

While you are out there working in the yard, remember the sunscreen (sun cancer seems to be another way our reckless youth catches up with us), sun protection clothing, and water (rotate in a sport’s drink as well). Mosquitoes?

Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply. Possum’s has three locations 481 Long Point Rd in Mt. Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (760-2600), or 606 Dupont Rd, in Charleston (766-1511). Bring your questions to a Possum’s location, or visit us at http://www.possumsupply.com. You can also call in your questions to “ The Garden Clinic”, Saturdays from noon to 1:00, on 1250 WTMA  (The Big Talker).