Several people have called about animals digging in their lawns the past couple of weeks. They say the lawn has been torn up and has holes in it. Many times they will call and say that they think they have grubs.

At this time of year, it is still a bit early for white grubs.
If I ask them what the holes look like, most people describe it as a neat hole about the size of a golf ball. The ones I have seen are nicely cleaned out with not dirt crumbs to be seen. These holes an 1 1/2 inches around are an indication of leatherjackets. 

While it is possible to see white grubs at this time of year, generally they are very small. This indicates that they are very recently hatched. Skunks and raccoons are harvesting leatherjackets right now because the leatherjackets are at what I call their pre-Thanksgiving size. Just like turkeys are harvested just before Thanksgiving, so the animals are harvesting the leatherjackets when they are at their largest size.

The baby white grubs are not worth digging for. Let them feed on the lawn for a few weeks- we can come back later when they have put on some fat.

Leatherjackets are the larvae of the adult Crane Fly.

At this stage, we don't recommend treatment. The leatherjackets are not feeding or damaging lawns. They will soon pupate and turn into adults. The adult Crane Fly looks like a giant mosquito. They don't hang around very long. They mate and the females lay eggs.

If you see a multitude of the adults, then a control application this fall or next spring may be worthwhile. This treatment is done once the eggs have hatched into larvae. The adult is hard to treat since it is a flying insect. Insect eggs are hard to control. The larvae are the easiest stage to control.

Think positive. The animals are getting rid of the leatherjackets, so that's a plus. Just put a bit of soil and some grass seed in the holes.

 If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

My lawn is thick and dense, but it still gets some weeds. How do weeds get into my lawn? 

Weeds will sprout up where the lawn is not dense enough to keep them out. That's why a thin lawn will have more weeds than a thin lawn. Today, I was on a lawn where a load of soil had been added last fall. The lawn had been seeded, but the new grass was still small and sparse. Most people realize that weeds will love those conditions.

Now at any given time, even in a thick healthy lawn, there will be a little bit of sunlight getting through here and there to the soil surface. The soil is full of weed seeds. When conditions are right for that particular seed it will germinate. Not all will reach the top of the lawn, some will die out from the competition from the grass blades.

I know this because I have seen how weeds will react in the vegetable garden. A mass of weed seed will germinate and start to grow. If I don't get around to weeding that patch, the weeds will continue to grow, However, I notice that only some of the original weeds will survive. The weaker seedlings cannot survive the competition from the stronger seedlings and die out.

Applying the Iron product to control weeds is usually easier than hand pulling. I do ask that you remember that not all weeds will be controlled. Most will need at least a couple of treatments to control them down to the roots.

Some hand pulling in conjunction with weed treatments is usually the best.

 If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Hand Pulling Crabgrass

With this summer's hot temperatures and dry conditions, Lawns are being attacked all over by hordes of crabgrass.

With Ontario's Cosmetic Pesticide Ban, post emergent crabgrass treatments for this time of year are no longer available (or legal) to control crabgrass.

Hand pulling is the only choice. 

This can be a tedious chore. 

Is it worth doing? 

We look after 2 different Burlington condo sites on the same street. Last year, one condo decided to pay some young people to hand pull the crabgrass along the walkways. The second condo decided that they couldn't afford to do the hand pulling. 

This week, when our lawn technician was on the 2 sites, he reported that the first condo had a lot less crabgrass than the second one. 

Although we treated both with the organic crabgrass reduction product this spring, the difference in the amount of crabgrass at this time of year is likely due to the hand pulling that was done last year. 

The good thing about crabgrass is that it will die when we get a good frost. The bad part is that the produce so many seeds. 

Make sure to pull the crabgrass before it goes to seed. Crabgrass plants are capable of producing thousands of seed. 

Try to pull the crabgrass after a rain. When there is some soil moisture, the crabgrass will pull up much easier. 

 If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN: