August 2014-Trutco | Lawn Care Services

August was a very busy month for Trutco.  Chinch bugs were very active this year, particularly in new subdivisions.  Many of these yards are full sun and homeowners may have not yet hired a lawn service.  Temperatures were over 100 degrees with very little rain.  Watering was very difficult, and chinch bugs love hot dry turf.  Populations were spreading very rapidly.

Lawns in the shade were hit hard by army worms and sod web worms.  It is important to know that these insects love new growth.  High nitrogen fertilizer can accelerate these populations.  We treated many infestations.  The good news is that after the worms have been properly treated lawns will typically recover within a few weeks.  When left untreated they can compound other stresses causing permanent damage.

The primary weeds we saw were dove weed and chamber bitter.  Both of these weeds are relatively difficult to control without causing damage to healthy turf in high temperatures.  If your lawn is shady and wet dove weed will thrive.  Reducing irrigation is critical.  Dove weed appears rapidly and can leave holes in turf after treatment.  Our service will treat the weed limiting damage and help your turf recover after our lawn treatments.

In September we will be evaluating your lawn, and performing insect control, weed control, and fertilization as needed.  We will continue to see fall army worms, sod webworms, and chinch bugs.  August caused a lot of stress with temperatures dipping back down to the low 90s and high 80s we will have weed control and fertilization options available.  If your lawn is full sun I recommend continuing to water 2 times a week through September with a reduction to once a week in October.  For lawns in the shade, we suggest watering only as needed as to not accelerate dove weed and large patch fungus.

Please feel free to check out our website or give us at call at (904) 303-7285.