Guess the Pest

Every day, creepy crawlies make themselves at home in your soil and on your lawn. To them, your lawn looks like a safe place to rest their head for the night, but as a homeowner, you know that’s not why they are here. Many of the pests that come into your lawn can be detrimental. Some will deteriorate your lawn quickly, others take their time, but no matter what it is important to keep an eye out for them.

There are many varieties of pests that can make spending time on your lawn much less enjoyable. Curious about the lawn pests that are hiding just outside your door? We rounded up some common pests and their dastardly details. 

1. Grubs

Grubs love to make themselves at home in the root zone of your lawn. Known for creating dead or drying patches, it won’t be hard to spot a grub issue if you have one. Grubs chew on the roots of your grass to create these dying patches and often aeration and overseeding are required to repair. Eventually, once they’ve had their fill, they’ll burrow for the winter and emerge as beetles in early summer. You might know them as a Japanese Beetle or a European Chafer. To get ahead of these pests, preventative treatments on your lawn can give you the protection you need. TruGreen can help with these treatments so you can give grubs the boot. 

Pro Tip: If you see the local wildlife digging up a snack on your lawn, you likely have a grub problem. 

2. Chinch Bugs

When the summer heat is upon us, this pest makes its way to our lawns. They love a hot sunny environment to make their home in and can cause extensive damage rather quickly. Chinch Bugs can be behind those brown spots on your lawn. They use your lawn as their food source and inject blades of grass with venom to stop water movement causing the blades to perish. 

Pro Tip: These pests tend to hide in the thatch of your lawn and do their damage at night, so keep your lawn cleaned up to avoid giving them a place to hang out. 

3. Mole Crickets

If you come across a Mole Cricket in your yard, you’ll know it. These pests have been known to have skills in burrowing and swimming and are easily recognized because of their shovel-like front legs that resemble a mole. They prefer warm-season grass types and will dig their way through sandy soils. They are nocturnal and spend most of their lives underground in a tunnel system, which means you may never spot one but they can still be wreaking havoc on your lawn. They enjoy chomping on underground root systems and can cause grass and plants to dry out.

Pro Tip: This pest loves to make their home in agricultural fields, lawns, and golf courses due to the excess of grass - you can expect high populations during full moons. 

4. Army Worms

Named for their migration patterns - crawling in large numbers from place to place - Army Worms are a particularly devastating pest for lawn lovers. Their presence tends to be sporadic but when an outbreak occurs, the damage can be extensive. They feed In the early morning and evening hours and are typically hard to detect in the daytime. They will devour your lawn’s grass blades before moving on to new areas. 

Pro Tip: Army Worms have natural enemies so avoid killing wasps and spiders that might keep them at bay.

5. Sod Webworms

Sod Webworms are a large group of insects with over 20 different species that have been known to infest turfgrass across the United States. You may also hear them called “lawn moths” because they have wings around their body. They typically create tunnels as larvae in the thatch and soil and then complete development in early summer. These pests create silk webbing-lined tunnels that penetrate through the thatch layer and into the soil. 

Pro Tip: Webworms zig-zag over the turf around dusk and lawn owners can usually detect activity at the ground level. 

6. Cutworms

Cutworms have a taste for plants and they aren’t afraid to sink their teeth into them. You might notice your grass dying from the root and that is a good indicator that these pests have made themselves at home in your lawn. Cutworms tend to burrow into the soil below your lawn or plants and eat their way up from the root, leaving only destruction in their wake. Cutworms tend to feed in the evening or night and hide in the debris of plants during the day. 

Pro Tip: If cutworms are present, they will curl up into a “C” when disturbed.

No matter what pests are making themselves at home on your lawn, your friends at TruGreen are here to help protect your turf. 

TruGreen offers services performed by professionals that are backed by our Satisfaction Guarantee◆, and we’re committed to making your lawn the best it can be.