You’ve spent time and money getting your lawn looking lush and bright, healthy green. It would be devastating to wake up one morning to see dead patches throughout the yard or even your landscape. The culprits are pests such as chinch bugs, white grubs, mole crickets, and more. Here’s how to spot these pests.

Chinch bugs suck all of the water out of the blades of the grass. That patch will look as if it’s going through a drought, even if you’ve sufficiently watered it. Their favorite choice of grass is Kentucky bluegrass, red fescues, and perennial ryegrass. Unfortunately, it will be hard to see any damage until early July to late August.

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Mole crickets are by far the most unsettling bugs on this list. They can get about 1 1/4 inches long while getting their name because of the large bulbous heads and mole-like digging claws. They feed on the grass at the surface, but the most damaging part is that they live under the thatch and dig tunnels underground. Those tunnels rip apart the delicate root system of the lawn.

White grubs are considered the most destructive lawn pest for Pennsylvania. They are the larvae of Japanese beetles and June bugs. They feed on the roots of the grass until they reach adulthood. In the late summertime, those adults will lay their eggs that hatch during the winter, causing damage to vulnerable root systems. They won’t come to the surface until it starts warming up where the cycle starts all over again. Some signs of white grubs are:

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Speaking of moles, they go hand in hand with white grubs. While moles aren’t insects, they are still a menace to your lawn. Their primary diet is grubs. In theory, you’d think they’d be helpful. Unfortunately, the reality is they can do just as much damage with their digging. Their tunneling will ruin root systems, cause raised areas in the ground, holes, and they dump the soil from the tunnel on top of the ground.

If you think pests infiltrate your lawn, contact us today!

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