These two types of damage will look similar in that they will show up as brown, or maybe yellow, sick or dead looking patches in your yard.

There is actually an easy way to tell which damage you have and it’s a simple test: if you can reach down where that area is discolored or sick looking and it comes up easily, that usually means that the root system is no longer attached because it’s been eaten by grubs. So it’ll come up very easily, it won’t have any roots attached to it, and that’s usually a good indicator for grub damage. You’ll want to treat that with a product we recommend called Grub Free Zone. This works as a preventative so that you can take control of white grubs before they damage your lawn. You put it down now and it’ll take out the larvae before they have a chance to do any more damage than they may have already done. Then it will continue to protect your turf and landscape all season long. It is safe to use on lawns and landscape areas, inducing flowers, ground covers, bushes, and trees. Something to remember: any of the existing damage is most likely from the previous year. You’re going to want to re-seed those areas and fertilize them from the bottom.

The other type of damage to look for is fungus damage. Try the same test on the area in question that we just discussed for grub damage, but if it’s fungus damage it will actually stay put. If you can step on it and the grass doesn’t pop back up/doesn’t have a springiness to it, that means the fungus has done its job and it’s sick and doesn’t have life to it. In that case, we recommend that you treat your grass with a product called F-Stop. This comes in both a dry, granular formula as well as a liquid formula. This is a specialty fungicide that provides a systemic protector and curative fungicide. It controls turf grass diseases in established lawns and in ornamental turfs. F-Stop is safe to use on lawns, landscapes, golf course greens, tees and fairways.

No matter what your lawn and landscape issues are, we are always here to help at Pete’s! You can contact our Landscape Services team here for a consultation, or come by and see us and ask any one of our experts for assistance. We look forward to seeing you at the greenhouse!