Dr. Frank Hale of the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service urges gardeners not to use insecticides indiscriminately. He describes ways to determine whether you have a problem and proposes several alternatives for coping with lawn pests.
To test for the presence of pests, apply a soap drench. Mix 2 teaspoons dishwashing liquid with 1 gallon water, and pour the solution over a 2' by 2' area of your lawn. This will irritate pests below the surface and kill some of them. Those that survive will float to the surface, where you can pick them off and have them identified. Then, if pesticides are necessary, you can buy precisely what you need to solve your problem. The soap flush may be effective all by itself.
If you see more than two or three armyworms (figure A), five or six sod webworms or a single cutworm (figure B) in a 2' by 2' area, it's time to treat your entire lawn to a soap drench. Or apply the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis to treat the foliage that the caterpillars feed on.
Here's another way to determine whether pests are living below the surface of your lawn: peel back a 1'-square area, and look for evidence of insects (figure C). If you find more than five to eight insects, you probably should treat your lawn. It's not necessary to treat if you find fewer pests.
Don't use a pesticide to control moles: they feed on grubs and insects that can harm your lawn. Insects are much easier to control in late summer, when they're feeding near the surface of the soil.
GUESTS :
Dr. Frank Hale
5201 Marchant Dr.
Nashville, TN 37211-5201
Phone: 615-832-6802
Fax: 615-832-0043
Email: fhale@cru.gw.utk.edu
Website: www.utextension.utk.edu
UT Agricultural Extension
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