With Spring comes fresh blooms and flowers but pests and diseases, unfortunately, come with it too. Many of these thrive in the humidity and are waiting to come and attack your lawn just as spring arrives. These pests and diseases can be deadly for your garden. While there is quite a variety of them, here are 8 of the common springtime lawn care problems. Keep a lookout for their signs so that you can prevent them from taking over and ruining your lawn.
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Brown Patch Disease
Brown patch disease is a common springtime lawn problem. It loves the heat so it comes during spring just in time for the summer. This disease affects different lawns in different ways, some are larger patches while others are smaller ones of just a few inches. Most people often mistake them to be a dried-out patch of grass when in reality they are a type of fungus. In fact, this kind of fungus is one of the worst lawn diseases that can damage your garden. If your grass seems drier than usual then you should check for this disease. It’s best to nip it in the bud before it attacks the roots of your lawn and kills your grass.
Red Thread
Red thread is also a kind of fungi that emerges in spring. It is a fan of humid weather and you’ll see it appearing as red or pink patches in your lawn especially between late April and June. Another sign that differentiates this disease from other lawn diseases is the small tufts on the top of your grass. However that being said, this disease isn’t as deadly as the others and will not kill your lawn as it doesn’t affect the roots. This problem can be easily solved by using fertilizers as they have nitrogen and that will help get rid of the fungus as well as rejuvenate the grass.
Crabgrass
Probably the most disliked weed out there this one is very common. It is a grassy weed that loves to take over and get rid of other grasses. This disease thrives in clay soil and lawns that are more compact. What you should also avoid using are fertilizers that have too much nitrogen as that encourages this weed. In order to prevent it, you can use non-chemical solutions such as corn gluten meal. It should be applied in the Spring two weeks before the last expected frost.
Dandelions
This flowering weed is beautiful to look at and at first thought, you may not even consider it to be a weed given its beauty! However, don’t be fooled. This weed will not let your grass grow; it will outcompete your grass and come back year after year. To get rid of them altogether you can dig them out by the root, make sure to remove the whole plant. If you wish to use another method you can use a herbicide from a spray bottle. Apply it in the fall so that it moves to the roots in time.
Leaf Spot
A springtime disease this one loves humidity and rain. You can spot this disease through tiny brown spots on the leaves of the grass. When it starts to intensify the spot will expand and have a dark purplish-red outside. Leaf spot will exhaust your grass and even dry it out. However, there won’t be much damage to your lawn unless it goes into the next phase. If it goes into the melting out stage you’ll find that it’ll spread to the crown as well as the roots of the grass, which will essentially cause the grass to die.
The good news is that you can prevent it from happening. Keep your lawn happy and healthy by watering it well and that’ll prevent leaf spot from emerging, it’s as simple as that!
Yellow Nutsedge
This weed comes in the form of a triangular-shaped stem and is not round like grass. It is bright and shiny and yellow-green in color. Yellow Nutsedge grows much more rapidly as compared to other lawn grasses so you’ll definitely notice it as it takes over your grass. This weed is quite the trouble maker and is a great competitor of lawn grass just after two weeks of its emergence in spring.
It continues to compete with the grass for light and nutrients throughout the summer. Its dangers do not just end there, it also limits vegetable crop production, sometimes not allowing it at all. Keep in mind that this weed is not exactly grass, neither is it a broadleaf weed, instead, it’s a sedge and therefore has to be dealt with differently.
Snow Mold
Just as the name suggests, this cold-weather fungus forms from heavy snow which piles up on top of unfrozen soil. Heavy snow combined with moisture can be deadly for your grass. This disease can only be detected in Spring once the cold has passed and the snow starts melting away. After that, you may start to see brown patches of grass that can go up to several feet as well. If your garden is affected by this disease your grass will be all tangled and a mess. Your best bet is then to use a rake to comb out the tangles, there’s not much else you can do.
White Grubs And Insects
If you spot raccoons and skunks in your lawn and if it starts to turn brown during early fall that means you could have white grubs. What they do is that they cause your lawn to turn yellow and eventually die. The solution to dealing with them is fairly simple; you can pull up the grass and water it during dry spells. In case that doesn’t work, you can apply an insecticide.
Now that you know about them you can take special care to avoid them and keep your lawn clean, happy and healthy!
