Protecting your lawn from insects is possible!

There are several factors that lead to a great lawn; proper pH, timely addition of recommended fertilizers, controlled irrigation and proper watering, weed control, disease control, proper mowing and insect control. Insect control is a continuous problem I will help you address today.

Q. What insect is in my yard?

A. There are many insects and pests that you should be aware of when managing your lawn, and these pest can be broken down into two groups. The first group is those insects that live in the turf but do not eat or cause major damage to your lawn; examples include centipedes, mosquitoes, chiggers, fleas, ticks, and fire ants. The second group is those that do harm your lawn by feeding on leaves, stems, or root systems and includes: grubs, mole crickets, chinch bugs, caterpillars, and billbugs.

Q. How do I control for different insects?

Many of the insecticides we use work by acting on the nervous system of pest and few products have growth regulators as active ingredients.

For non turf damaging pest such as fleas, ticks and ants most concentrated insect and multi insect products work to help control this pest, an example is Hi-Yield 38 Plus or Sevin Concentrate Bug Killer.Most ant baits work by sterilizing or killing the queen thus the hill or colony is not replenished with workers. Other ant baits, sprays or drenches work by killing the workers, but ants are one pest you will never achieve 100 percent eradication for so be prepared to battle these pest each year.

Chinch bugs are insects that I have seen active in many St. Augustine lawns so far this year. Chinch bugs damage the lawn by feeding or sucking on the leaves of the turf, when present lawns will have areas of discolored and dying grass. Using Sevin Concentrate Bug Killer, Hi-Yield 38 Plus Turf, Termite & Ornamental Insect Concentrate or Bayer PowerForce Multi-Insect Killer can control chinch bugs.

Grubs are another damaging pest that feeds on the root systems of lawns and is most active from late May until late July. Using Sevin Concentrate Bug Killer, Bayer Season-Long Grub Control, or Ortho Bug-B-Gone Multipurpose Insect Killer can aid in controlling grubs.

Lawn-infesting caterpillars can be devastating because they have multiple generations of species each year. Species may include the infamous armyworm, cutworm and webworm. These adult insects are nocturnal so they are better controlled when treated in the evening due to nighttime activity. Caterpillars lay their eggs in the turf and cause most damage by chewing the leaves and stems of lawns and pastures. Most of the products previously mentioned will control this pest.

The two-lined spittlebug is a pest in centipede and St. Augustine lawns with more activity during years with spring and summer rains, like we are seeing now. Products that control chinch bugs are effective for this pest as well. It is recommended to mow your lawn and water 2-4 hours before treating for this pest.

Be sure to read the label before applying these products on your lawn! Some products recommend you irrigate your yard before application and some after for optimum results depending on the species.

David Carter is the Mississippi State University Agriculture Extension Office county agent for Adams County. He can be reached at dcarter@ext.msstate.edu.