Prevent Spring Problems with Late Summer Lawn Care Tips

Oh, the dog days of summer! Who wants to be outside working in the yard in triple digit temperatures? Certainly not me, but August is the month when some lawn pests and diseases need to be dealt with so they don’t overwinter and become bothersome next year. Remember that late summer is the time insects are laying eggs that will overwinter in the ground. I like to take care of these pests now to make next year’s gardening much simpler.

Late Summer Lawn Diseases

Fungal diseases like brown patch and dollar spot will continue into August, so be on the lookout for the signs. Summer patch diseases are most severe in the sunniest, warmest places in your lawn. Areas near driveways, walls and walks are especially susceptible. Drought or flood stressed grass and compacted soils add to the dangers of infection.

Although there are chemical treatments for lawn patch diseases, most times they are ineffective. The best treatment is actually prevention by planting resistant grass cultivars or species.

Late Summer Lawn Pests

• Watch for signs of chinch bugs. Young chinch bugs are the most damaging, causing yellow spots that quickly turn into dead, brown areas. To determine if you have chinch bugs, I learned a trick from one of my gardening mentors. Cut the bottom and top out of a can and push it halfway down into the lawn. Fill the rest of the can with water. The chinch bugs will float to the top.
• Treat the lawn with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to kill white grubs before they get out of control. Bt can take awhile to build up in the soil, so use chemical solutions if necessary. Not many chemicals kill white grubs, so read the labels carefully to make sure to get the right kind.
• Continue to fight mole crickets, which is something you have to keep up with all summer long. Don’t kill toads in your garden, because they are a natural enemy of mole crickets, as are some introduced parasitic wasps. In late summer, I like to use baits set out in the early evening, since they feed at night. You can’t set baits if it’s going to rain or you have irrigation that goes on at night.
• Spittle bug eggs overwinter in the lawn grass stems, and hatch in the summer. They damage grass by sucking out the fluids, leaving the grass weak and susceptible to disease. They are easy to spot because of the “spit” they leave on the grass leaves that protects their nymphs. We used to call this “snake spit,” when we were young, because snakes usually hung out in the tall grass where spittle bugs thrived, waiting to feast on toads that came to eat them. There are chemical controls for spittle bugs, but they have to be applied diligently at certain times of year. Late summer is a good time to kill the adults before they can lay eggs for next year.

I know nobody likes to go out in the heat to take care of your lawn, but unless you want it killed by pests and diseases next year, you’re going to have to be brave and get out there. It’s best to check with your local extension service to get recommendations for the best treatments in your area.

More by Deborah Aldridge:

Ticks in the Trees: How to Protect Yourself in the Garden
Replace Your Lawn with a Crop You Can Eat
Get Your Garden Ready for Fall Vegetables