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Got Carpetgrass? 2 Types Of Problems It May Have

Carpetgrass can be lush, green, and beautiful when it is healthy. You can keep your grass healthy by mowing it regularly and ensuring that it does not dry out during drought periods. There are problems the grass could have, however, two of which are listed below. This will allow you to take care of the grass if something like this happens so it can be healthy again.

Brown Patch Disease

One common problem you will see with carpetgrass is brown patch disease.  In the beginning, you will see small, round, water-soaked patches of grass, and over time the grass will turn brown and die. If not take care of, the round, brown patches will continue to get larger.

To take care of this problem you can use a fungicide that you can purchase at garden centers or online. Once applied, the fungicide will kill the brown patch disease but leave the healthy grass alone. If you are not sure what type of fungicide to use, ask an employee at a garden center. They should be able to find this information out for you. Brown patch disease develops quickly when the temperatures are cooler, such as in the early spring and late fall. This disease also needs a lot of moisture to grow.

To prevent carpetgrass from becoming infected again, keep your lawn aerated. This allows water to seep into the soil instead of sitting on top of it providing moisture for the brown patch. If you have a large tree shading much of the grass, keep it trimmed so you can get as much sun on your lawn as possible.

Mole Cricket Pest

Another problem you may have with the carpetgrass is mole crickets. Mole crickets live under the ground and are very small. These pets come up out of the ground about twice per year to mate, generally once in the spring and once in the fall. If you look closely you may see small holes they exit out of. The nymphs the mole crickets leave behind are even smaller and they do not have wings. You may get numerous nymphs on your lawn which can cause a lot of damage.

If your lawn has mole crickets you will see brown, wet areas. If you look at the grass closely you will see that it has been eaten in different areas. The wet areas may become yellow over time.

You can determine if you have mole crickets by flushing them out. To do this put one gallon of water in a bucket and add three tablespoons of liquid dish soap and stir. Pour the entire bucket over the area you see damaged. Within a few minutes, you will see mole crickets coming to the surface.

Unfortunately, there is no way you can completely remove mole crickets off your lawn because even if you get rid of them they can always come back. The only thing you can do is to apply an insecticide on a regular basis during the growing season.

The best thing to do to take care of these problems is to contact a pest control company. They know how to treat the problems with certain insecticides and they can teach you what you should do in the future to keep your lawn healthy. To learn more, contact a company like Yuma Pest Termite Systems.