Pests and Lawn Diseases
All Green Lawn Treatments are able to deal with a number of the most common lawn diseases and pests.
As part of our free lawn analysis we will identify what disease or pest is damaging your lawn, and recommend the best treatment.
Disease and Pest Damage to Your Lawn
There are many diseases and pests that can damage the grass in your lawn.
Many can be treated quickly and effectively, and with little disruption.
Below is an overview of some of the most common to help you identify what might be causing your lawn to look less than its best.
Red Thread
Red thread is a relatively common lawn disease caused by a fungal growth.
The disease will cause patches of dead grass to appear on your lawn. If you look closely at grass affected by red thread you may be able to see red needle-like threads growing on the grass leaves.
The fungus tends to flourish during wet summers, when nitrogen is washed out of the soil, as well as in autumn.
As red thread only lives on the leaves of the grass plant and doesn’t affect the roots, lawns generally completely recover after treatment.
Treatments can be carried out as soon as you notice the presence of the disease.
Rust
There are a number of rust diseases and again they are fairly common fungal diseases.
Rust generally appears in late summer and autumn, with some varieties of grass – for example perennial ryegrasses and smooth stalked meadow grasses – being more susceptible than others. You may notice a rust coloured deposit on your shoes after walking on your lawn.
We use a professional fungicide to treat both rust and red thread. This is stronger than the treatments you can buy in the shops to give better results.
We are fully trained to use these chemicals, and we will also give you advice and guidance both before and after treatment.
Rust often becomes evident in late summer and should be treated then.
Chafer Grub
Chafer grubs are the larvae of chafer beetles and look like cream-coloured maggots.
They live in soil and, depending on the species, feed on either plant roots or decaying plant matter. Some will eat the roots of grass plants and consequently cause damage to your lawn.
You are most likely to notice yellow patches in your lawn. In addition the creatures that eat chafer grubs, such as foxes and crows, may dig at the turf, again damaging your lawn.
All Green Lawn Treatments utilise biological control methods to treat chafer grub infestations. This involves the use of nematodes that seek out the chafer grubs and kill them.
Once the nematodes have done this they multiply and continue to find and kill more grubs.
Treatment is generally carried out in late summer or early autumn.
Leatherjackets
Leatherjackets are the larvae of crane flies, also known as daddy-longlegs.
Like chafer grubs the larvae live in the soil of lawns and feed on the roots of the grass plants. Where the leatherjackets have damaged the roots, the grass will appear yellowish and will be easily pulled up. Again birds will attempt to feed on the larvae, damaging your turf in the process.
These insects need to be controlled at this larval stage rather than when they have developed into crane flies. As the adult flies lay their eggs in August, late summer is the best time to treat for leatherjackets.
As with chafer grubs All Green uses biological nematodes which attack the larvae and kill them within weeks. Nematodes are harmless to all other wildlife, and can be used safely around children and pets.
Wasps
As well as lawn pests, All Green Lawn Treatment operatives are also fully trained to treat wasps nests.
The most obvious sign of a wasp nest is the presence of a constant stream of wasps flying to and from the nest. You may become aware of this without seeing the actual nest, as they are often hidden, in wall cavities for example.
Even if you can see the nest you should never try to remove it or disturb it yourself. Wasps can become particularly aggressive if their nests are disturbed and may sting you.
If you discover a wasps nest, or think there may be one on your property, contact All Green Lawn Treatments who can destroy it for you.
We use professional-strength insecticides that kill the wasps. The nests will then disintegrate over time.
