Lawn pests can be a major source of frustration. While there are plenty of pests that might just hang around your lawn and you’d never know they were even there, others can be destructive by feasting on the grass or its roots.
There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to enjoy your lawn when there are pests working against you! Nobody wants to worry about suffering lawn damage as a result of pests.
That’s why we are talking about lawn care for pests in Louisville.
There are two main lawn pests that we face in our region so we’ll focus this article on those. With the right lawn care partner on your side, you don’t have to worry about lawn pests causing you major trouble.
Jump to:
Why are lawn pests in Louisville a concern?
Identifying lawn pests
Best ways to control lawn pests
Choosing lawn care services in Louisville
There are certainly pests that live in the lawn and don’t cause any problems. But there are some lawn pests in Louisville that can destroy your lawn, making it important to have a plan in place.
The two main destructive lawn pests that we see here are grubs and armyworms, so we will focus on them.
In general, lawn pest damage can look like yellowing or brown grass or thinned out areas and bare patches. But other lawn concerns can cause these issues, too. That’s why it’s important to get to the bottom of any symptoms you might be experiencing on your lawn.
If damage from lawn pests becomes severe, you might need a lawn restoration strategy like aeration and overseeding. This will fill in those bare spots that might have been caused by pest damage.
But ideally, you want to prevent damage when you can.
That starts with identifying lawn pests, which we’ll cover next.
As we mentioned, we deal with two main lawn pests here in Louisville. One is a potential threat at all times and needs an ongoing solution while the other is an outbreak situation that needs to be monitored.
Let’s talk about each of these pests.
Grubs are the larvae of beetles, including the Japanese Beetle, which you might know from their pesky habit of feeding on tree leaves. Beetles are born in the soil as grubs, where they begin feeding on the roots of your grass around mid-August.
As the grass detaches from its roots, it will turn brown. Brown spots on your lawn could be signs of a lawn grub problem. But there are other issues that cause brown spots (including lawn disease and drought), so it’s important to get to the bottom of what’s going on.
Increased animal activity on the lawn can also be a sign of grubs. Since animals like gophers, birds, and moles feed on lawn grubs, you might see an increased presence of these other animals.
Whereas grubs are a constant concern, armyworm outbreaks tend to come into our area in waves. It’s not every year that we have a problem with them so this is something that we do want our clients to notify us about.
Of course, we are also always monitoring if there is an outbreak in the region.
Armyworms are a form of caterpillar that gets their name because they travel in such large groups (“armies”). They aren’t small, so homeowners can generally spot them (unlike lawn grubs, which are hidden in the subsurface level). They are dark-colored caterpillars that have a Y-shaped mark on their heads.
Armyworms will feed on grass as they move through your lawn, leaving behind shredded and chewed-on grass blades.
Let’s talk about the best lawn insect control methods for grubs and for armyworms. These two different pests require different approaches.
Because lawn grubs are an ongoing threat, we always recommend preventative grub control as the best way to control these pests. Preventative grub control products take care of young grubs before they can start feeding on your lawn’s roots.
But these products need to be applied prior to grubs hatching. We start treating lawns in May.
When people reach out about grub concerns, sometimes, it is too late to treat for grubs preventatively. If that’s the case, and grubs have already hatched, we will have to use a curative product that kills on contact.
Because grubs can be such a hassle, we suggest investing in lawn grub treatment every year. Grub damage can be such an expensive problem that we simply don’t think it’s worth risking it.
One of the biggest problems with lawn grubs is that people don’t know they’re lurking. Since they feed at the subsurface level, they can go completely unnoticed. This is why we always recommend a proactive approach. It’s not worth waiting until you spot signs of trouble as it could be too late at that point.
As we mentioned previously, armyworms are not always a problem here in Louisville. They tend to move into the region when conditions are favorable and we can go many years without seeing major infestations.
In fact, some homeowners may never see a problem with armyworms on their lawn.
The trouble is, armyworms can be highly destructive if they do show up. That’s because they tend to show up in large numbers. A couple of armyworms wouldn’t be a major problem. But a host of these creatures can really do damage to your lawn as they feast.
A lot of people end up spotting the armyworms themselves (or seeing damage like chewed grass blades). Sometimes homeowners spot an increased presence of birds on their lawn since birds love to eat armyworms.
When there is an increased presence of this pest in our region, we will alert our clients. But we also tell clients to let us know as soon as they see a problem on their lawn (whether it’s armyworms or something else). We always aim to be proactive in putting solutions in place but sometimes we do need our clients’ help.
We understand that nobody wants to worry about lawn pests in Louisville. For that reason, it makes sense to partner with a lawn care company that takes a proactive approach to lawn insect control.
At Limbwalker, our Gold and Platinum programs include free grub control. Gold is our most popular program and a big part of that is the grub control and lawn fungus control treatments that are included.
We feel that grubs are simply not worth taking a risk on and we believe that grub control is a protection of your investment in your lawn’s health.
As far as armyworms, we do keep up with the latest information and are always watching for outbreaks. But we partner closely with all of our lawn care clients and keep the lines of communication open.
Whenever you spot signs of a potential problem on your lawn, we want to hear from you.
Whether it’s pests or something else, we want you to know that we’ve got your back. We’re here to help with any issues that might arise.
When you partner with a lawn care pro, lawn problems do not have to fall solely on you. A pro will know exactly what your lawn needs, and when it needs it, so that you aren’t handling everything on your own.
That can deliver peace of mind when it comes to dealing with lawn problems like pests.
Are you ready to have a thick and healthy lawn that’s getting everything it needs at your Louisville, KY home? Get in touch with us to get a quote for our lawn care programs, which include three lawn care pricing options.
