On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 13:46:17 -0700, travelinmatt wrote:
Take the information for what it is worth and don't worry that a company
sent it out.
1. If you want to prevent grubs, now is the time to appy the products to
do so. It helps with the environment because treating now with the
specific product for grubs is a lot less toxic than treating after they
are already doing damage to the turf and the lawn company has to use a
general pest control that kills a lot more insects including the
beneficial ones.
I have to completly disagree with this statement. You CAN NOT prevent
grubs but only kill the ones that may already be there. Laying down a
"Preventive Chemical" is completly irrisponsable to the enviroment and the
insect community at large. This application will harm all of the beetles
that reside in your lawn. Many (more likely most) of the insects on your
property are beneficial and the application will reduce all populations
of beetles good and bad. This inturn will leave a vacuum in the
enviroment and other insect populations will become overbalanced, thus
casuing other issues in the landscape that you may feel inclined to treat.
I am by no means advocating for a strict organic standard but a moderate
IPM approach. A healthy, well established lawn can handle 10 or so grubs
per square foot. That's 10,000 grubs per 1000 square feet! These grubs
will be hunted by many different insects like parasitic wasps or even
other beetles. If the damage becomes too much for you, then you should
consider treatment. Treatment options should be explored and the selection
be made on your personal circumstances. Don't feel comfortable with the
use of posion..? BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), nematodes or even pyrethrum
maybe an option depending on the time of the year for the application. Not
so worried about the chemicals, then start with the weaker pesticides like
synthetic pyrethroids.
soapbox
All in all it might be your lawn, but it's our
community, country, world and it would be nice to ensure that there is
something to hand to our grandchilderen./soapbox
2. Webworms are all over the south. Rather than let them do any further
damage to very expensive trees in your landscape, get them sprayed. There
are a lot of very environmentally responsible ways to treat the
infestations. Just treat them so you don't lose your investments.
Again this is all about tollerance. Most trees that are healthy and well
maintained should be able to withstand a moderate to heavy defoliation for
a few seasons or more. Least we forget that trees have been dealing with
damaging insects for millions of years and they have figured out a few
strategies for survival.
Many creatures feed upon webworms. Birds,parasitic wasps and even mice. If
the damage becomes too much for the homeowner, than an application of BT
(Bacillus thuringiensis) is in order.
3. Fall is fast approaching. The best time to seed a good local blend of
fescue varieties. If you have shady, thin, bare, or existing fescue areas
then it will be time to seed in September. It's not cheap or easy work so
you should start to prepare the soil for better germination rates. Yes I
should use spellcheck more.
Good call on this one.
4. A soil test from a local reputable lawn company or extension office
will check for your pH. If the soil pH is too hi or low then the plant
investments in your landscape including your turfgrass will not be able to
absorb the correct nutrients it needs to remain healthy. If you have had a
pH test with bad results then late summer heat will be that much worse on
your plants. Amendments to the soil the correct pH or soil structure will
go a long way from now through winter to prevent more damage.
Generaly the lawn company will send the samples to the extention office
anyway and the extention office will charge you less for the test. The
test returns should contain the big 3 (N-P-K) levels and the micronutrient
levels and the extention office will generaly give you a recommendation
sheet on what to supplement.
We care about everyones environment and want to be a reliable resource
for anyone anywhere. We are a locally owned company and only treat
lawns in the Greater Oklahoma City Metro area but are happy to answer
questions from anywhere. We have been to a lot of conferences around the
country and have made friends with many reputable companies. Maybe we
can help you find what you are looking for. We don't want to spam. We
just want to help make our environment look good with professionals
doing the work correctly.
--
Yard Works Gardening Co.
http://www.ywgc.com