Skunks, armadillos and moles, what do these 3 pests have in common? Really, very little, with the exception of one key factor, an insatiable taste for white grubs! In fact, if you have any of these creatures digging up your yard, they are probably there to enjoy the fine cuisine!

You can exclude them from your yard with the proper fencing, which for moles would require an underground fence, but wouldn’t it be smarter to remove their food source? We give more information on how to do this below.

Skunks

Skunks can be a problem, especially when they make a home under your home. If you have grubs, and an easy place for skunks to get under your home, you will probably have a skunk problem at some point. Getting the skunks away from your home can be a problem, and a bad plan for doing so is far worse than no plan at all. This is the method that seems to work best:

A method for removing skunks

1. Block every point of entrance along the sides and ends of the building, but leave the suspected main entry open.
2. Spread powdered chalk or flour around the entrance for a couple of feet in front of the entrance opening.
3. After dark, check the chalk or flour for exit tracks which indicate that the skunk has gone to forage.  If no exit tracks are visible, check back in an hour. Keep doing this until you are sure that they are all gone, or that none were there.
4. Temporarily seal the entrance.
5. Open the entry again the next night for an hour or so to allow any stragglers to get out, and then seal the entrance well.

Armadillos

Armadillos are less of a problem to get rid of than skunks, because they won’t spray you with foul smelling gas if you disturb them. Exclusion usually works for prevention.

Moles

Moles don’t understand the difference between your property and your neighbors property, and since they travel underground, an above ground fence will not keep them from coming into your yard. To exclude moles, would require an underground fence, either one that covers the entire yard, or surrounds the entire yard about 3 feet deep.

Habitat modification

Fortunately, there is a better way. If there is nothing on your property these pests will not visit your property. The best way to keep all these creatures from digging up your lawn is to get rid of what is attracting them. To get rid of the critters, you should get rid of the grubs, to get rid of the grubs, you should get rid of June Bugs, to get rid of June Bugs, you should get rid of your outdoor lighting! I understand that you can’t get rid of your outdoor lighting, but in most cases, you can change the color of the bulbs you use for outdoor lighting. A yellow light will not attract June Bugs, and if there are no Jun Bugs, there will be no June Bug larvae, which is what white grubs are.

If you can’t change the lighting, there are some chemical treatments that work pretty well. Early spring and fall treatments with carbaryl granules will do the trick for those seasons, and early summer or late spring treatment with Imidacloprid will do the job for the remaining months of summer.

Integrated pest management or IPM

This is a good example of good IPM practice.

1. Start with the least toxic method. Prevent the things that attract the pest.
2. Practice prevention methods like exclusion, that is, change the habitat.
3. Use the least toxic pesticides available as a last resort.

Question:

Is there a non-chemical weed control for bahiagrass?

Answer:

To my knowledge, there is only one sure fire non chemical control for bahiagrass, and that is to prevent it to begin with. Removal by hand can be done, but getting all roots is almost impossible, and the seeds left over will cause future problems. It might be possible to use solorization to get rid of the problem, but this will kill other surrounding grasses for a time as well. There are some very low dose chemicals that will do the job with minimal environmental impact.

Question:

Is it possible to kill weeds without killing bahiagrass

Answer:

It is possible, but why would you want to? No, I am just joking. I realize that there are types of bahaigrass that grow low, and are used for turf grass in some parts of the country. Most weeds that could be a problem in bahaigrass turf would be broadleaf weeds, and there are many products on the market for killing broadleaf weeds. Most broadleaf weed killers will work without damage to grasses if label directions are followed.

Question:

How can I improve your lawn in winter?

Answer:

One of the best ways to improve your lawn in winter is to get rid of  broadleaf, and grassy weeds that crop up during the lawn grasses dormancy. If your lawn grass is completely dormant, a non selective weed killer can be used to kill any weeds that might be living. If you read this early enough in the fall of the year, or in the early spring, using  pre emergent weed control is a good option.

Tell us what you need, what you would like to know, what home and garden issues are important to you, and we will try to respond with the type of information that best meets those needs! It is as simple as that! We want to serve you with the home and garden info that you can use.

At X Ring Home And Garden, we aim to meet your needs!

Lawn and landscape design is changing to meet the challenges of new water requirements and a revived interest in native habitats that encourage native wildlife.

Traditional lawns

Everyone loves a beautiful, freshly cut green lawn, well, almost everyone. More and more people are moving away from the traditional large grass covered areas, opting instead to use more trees, shrubs, and other plants, and they are “going native” with the varieties used in lawn and landscape design.

Water use and phosphorous

I suspect that this trend will continue, as water use restrictions and environmental laws begin to effect the amount of water available for lawn and landscape use, and the allowable nutrient “run off” produced by traditional lawn care. Certain lawn nutrients may eventually be severely restricted, particularly the amount of phosphorous, due to it’s negative effects on lakes, ponds and waterways. Such restrictions are inevitable unless we learn to self regulate. It is only a matter of time.

Traditional lawn grasses

Most of our traditional lawn grasses are not native, and therefore require extra water and nutrients to thrive. While they do produce oxygen and process water fairly efficiently, the extra nutrients, pesticides, and other excesses may make them a less practical practice than in the past.

Traditional landscapes

Traditional landscapes, with their heavy use of exotic plants, are also losing favor. Most of these non native plants require more water, more fertilizer, and more insecticides than their native counterparts.

Lawn and landscape design and biodiversity

There is also a biodiversity issue involved in lawn and landscape design. Who would have ever suspected that so many of the popular landscape plants from the middle of the last century would have taken on the role of environmental terrorists? The Japanese Silk tree, commonly called Mimosa, the Chinaberry, the Chinese Tallow, and a variety of Asian privets are now more prevalent in our woodlands, than in the home lawns where they were once used as landscape plants. Thought to be safe, and non invasive at the time, they have now become a serious threat to native biodiversity throughout the lower half of the country. Which of the currently popular exotics will become problems? It is hard to know, but just because they do not appear to be invasive now, does not mean that they won’t gain a foothold later.

Why non native plants are a problem

When invasive species gain a foothold in our forests and waters, they tend to eliminate the native competition, much of which is needed to support native wildlife. If a native plant preferred by pollinators disappears, the pollinator may move on. This gives the non native an even stronger foothold. It also means that the insects which pollinate food crops may be gone as well.

Non native plants and wildlife

Studies have shown that the nutrient value of most of the non native species is less than that of the native varieties, particularly for native wildlife. As these exotics take over more and more territory, the native wildlife populations sometimes get hungry, and move on. These are just a couple of the hundreds of reasons why biodiversity should be considered when devising a landscape strategy. It is not just an issue in some remote forest or jungle, biodiversity is a problem on the home front as well.

Backyard habitats for lawn and landscape

The fact is, that our traditional ways of dealing with our outdoor habitats are responsible for a number of environmental problems such as water quality, biodiversity, and over use of pesticides. With growing awareness of these effects, many are choosing to take a different approach to lawn and landscape design.

Backyard habitats, or, native habitats, are viable alternatives to traditional lawns and landscape designs. Rather than imposing our will on the environment, we simply allow the native environment to do what it does best, with our assistance. In the long run, there is less fertilizer, water, and pesticide needed. The native varieties are acclimated to the native environments, and native soils, and are resistant to native pests. After the initial installation or modification, there is much less labor involved. It is a cheaper, easier, more environmentally friendly form of landscaping.

Traditional backyards, with their non native lawn grasses, and non native landscape plants have a few problems. There is now a trend which replaces these with native plants, and less grassy lawn area.

Backyard wildlife habitats can soften the environmental impact of the backyard, and can soften the economic impact to your wallet.

Backyard habitat savings

• Save on lawncare cost
• Are environmentally friendly
• Save water
• Save on pest control costs

To establish a wildlife friendly wildlife habitat project, there are 3 main components:

Backyard wildlife habitat water

All life needs water. Without it survival is impossible. To be able to attract wildlife to your backyard wildlife habitat there will need to be an ample supply on hand and available for the animals you are trying to attract. This can be attained in a number of ways, through naturally occurring sources such as streams, and by less natural means such as rainwater containment, and even by supplying, or supplementing with water from a water supply such as your city supply, or rural coop.

Backyard wildlife habitat food

The species you want in your wildlife habitat will want to eat. Otherwise, they will not stick around. The best method of providing food, is to have an ample supply of plants native to your area. Non native plants usually destroy the balance in the food chain, while native plants provide food in sufficient quantities for the animals native to your area. In some cases, alternative feeding may be needed, but the best method is native plants in a native habitat.

Backyard wildlife habitat cover

Animals need cover, to hide from predators, to nest and protect their young, and for periods of rest. The best cover is natural cover provided by plants native to the area. If it is not possible to provide such a thick dense growth in your habitat, other means can be constructed.

Structures for backyard wildlife habitat cover

A native, natural setting is always preferred, but due to size limitations, or other considerations in residential areas, this may not always be completely possible. In such cases, the use of the most natural, least invasive method is always the best means.

Stone and wood structures can help to supplement your cover for your backyard wildlife habitat. Bird houses, bat houses, butterfly houses and even owl houses can be built or bought.

Lawn care and lawn pest control

In this, like most other activities, balance is the key. Balancing your lawns water and fertilizer needs with your mowing schedule, and balancing the right mowing height between too long and too short, will give your lawn the best look, and the best health. The best defense against insects, disease, fungus, and weeds is a healthy lawn. Like a healthy body, a healthy lawn will ward off attacks by invaders. Proper lawn care will give you a healthy lawn, which will in turn, give you, the best lawn pest control.

The list below gives a few details about  lawn care, as it relates to lawn pest control.

• Scalping your lawn, weakens the scalped area’s turf, and allows weed invaders to take the place of the weakened grass.
• Not mowing the grass at a low enough level, leaves cover for insects and allows some low growing weeds to reproduce seed under the mowing height.
• Thatch hides insects, and should be removed or cultivated, and not allowed to build up. Good mowing practices will stop it from building.
• Waiting too long between mowings, can allow weeds time to reach seed head maturity, and plant themselves in your nice green lawn. Too much growth also provides cover for insects.
• When you have waited too long to mow, change your mowing height, so that you take off less leaf blade, and then mow again in a few days at a lower cutting height. Do this in increments until you reach your desired cutting height.
• You should never remove more than one third of the top at a time. Taking too much off at once will leave your lawn in a weakened condition, inviting more bugs and weeds to take over.
• Avoid mowing weedy outside areas before you mow your lawn. If you have to do this for some reason, stop and thoroughly clean your mower between the two areas.
• Mow away from your landscape beds and toward your lawn. Care should be taken to avoid throwing grass, weed clippings, and seed into them.
• Don’t “over water” your lawn and landscape beds. Many weedy lawn pests, and bug pests enjoy excess water, and may decide to take up residence in the new sea side resort in your landscape. Over watering fuels fungus, and bacteria as well.
• Over fertilization leads to most of the same lawn care problems as over watering.
• Don’t fertilize your lawn too late in the year. If you do, you may be fertilizing winter weeds instead of grass. This will have a bad effect on your lawn pest control efforts in the spring.
• Avoid aerifying late in the fall. Aerifying at that time, will plant the weed seeds that would have otherwise rotted on top of the ground.
• Avoid lawn compaction. Areas with heavy foot traffic, are likely to have poor quality turf, and are subject to invasion by weeds that like compacted areas. If you have compaction, loosen it by aerifying.
• If the problem is human pests, and an area is getting so much traffic because it is convenient to walk in that direction, a good lawn care tactic might be to add a paved foot path through the area, or you could plant or build a traffic barrier to make it less convenient.

Good lawn care is great lawn pest control. See more on lawn care and lawn pest control on our lawn management pages.

The best lawn treatment for any lawn, is to make sure that the lawn is healthy. No amount of any other lawn treatment can overcome the damage done by poor cultural practices. No lawn treatment known to man can benefit a lawn as much as good cultural practices!

What are cultural practices? They are the practices used to maintain a lawn. The day to day activities performed in lawn care. This includes such things as mowing, cultivating, fertilizing, irrigating, and yes, even lawn treatment practices.

Lawn treatment and cultural practices

Mowing as a lawn treatment

Mowing is the biggest part of, and the primary activity in lawn care. Mowing frequency has more to do with the health of a lawn than any other activity for producing a healthy lawn. There are still plenty of other cultural practices.

Your lawn needs air, water, nutrients, and an easy way to get them all into the root zone where those plants can make use of them. With that in mind, we will start with lawn cultivating. There is no need in fertilizing and irrigating if the ground is so compacted that it has no air space. Air, nutrients, and water can’t get into the root zone if there is no space for them to occupy. They will just run off into the drainage system. Cultivating will provide the needed space.

Cultivation as a lawn treatment.

Cultivating is not needed as often as the other items on our list, but it is a very important part of lawn treatment.

If you have a thatch build up, or compaction problems, aerifying, or verticutting will aid in keeping your lawn in good condition. Thatch hides insects and provides conditions which encourage insect reproduction. It also weakens the lawn grasses, deprives them of natural nutrients, and inhibits water intake.

If your lawn is in need of renovating, cultivation is essential. Top dressing could be a separate subject, but I mention it here because cultivation and top dressing are usually a collaborative efforts. Cultivating twice per year will have a positive impact on your law, and more frequent cultivation in high stress areas can work wonders. Avoid cultivating your lawn late in the fall. It will plant weed seed that would have otherwise rotted on the surface.

Fertilizing as a lawn treatment.

Getting the right amount of nutrients to your lawn is important. For the best fertilizer, mow more frequently, which will leave smaller, more easily broken down clippings, and don’t bag your clippings They can return as much as 60 percent of the nutrients to the soil. Of course, you will want to add more fertilizer, so start with something like one pound of nitrogen per thousand square feet of lawn space per application. Three applications per year should be sufficient.

Of course you will need to adjust this to the needs of your particular lawn. Most common lawn grasses can use as much as two pounds per thousand square feet, per application.

Some fertilizers use sulfur coated urea formaldehyde. The sulfur coating slows the release of nutrients, allowing for more time between applications. You can use these at higher levels, less frequently. If you use regular fertilizer, smaller doses at more frequent intervals are recommended. Organic and natural fertilizers can also work very well, and are usually slow release.

Irrigation as a lawn treatment

Keeping your grass healthy requires making the right amount of water available. Too little and it desiccates, to much and it will languish and invite fungus, pests, and disease. To have a healthy lawn, you don’t have to know all the details of precipitation rates, or evapotranspiration rates (yes, they are real terms) but you should watch your lawn. If it is soggy two hours after watering, you should probably back off the water a little. If it is dry at a depth of one inch, you should increase the watering.

Pest Control.

This is what most people mean when they talk about lawn treatment, but, if you have done everything else on the list right, the chances of having pest problems is greatly diminished. Pest control products for standard lawn treatment fall into 2 categories, insecticides and herbicides.

Insecticides

Insects need food and cover to survive, if you have done your mowing well, set your irrigation properly, not over fertilized, and gotten rid of thatch through proper cultivation, you have removed the source of food and cover. If there are problems at all, they will be few. Lawn treatment with the least toxic insecticide when any outbreaks occur will solve the problem easily. There are also systemic lawn treatment products available that work well. Always try to start with the least toxic lawn treatment first.

Herbicides

Weeds compete with lawn grasses where cultural practices have broken down. Scalping causes bare spots, and with no competition, weeds invade the bare spots, mowing weedy outside areas, and then mowing your fine lawn without cleaning the mower between spreads weed seed, overly wet, or overly dry soil allows weeds of one type or another to prosper. Poor mowing frequency gives weeds time to go to seed. Conversely, good cultural practices prevent weeds, and are the best lawn treatment for getting rid of weeds.  Herbicidal lawn treatments should be little needed if proper cultural practices are followed.

Treatment for existing weeds

To eliminate the weeds that exist, find the least toxic method, starting with manual removal if possible. Otherwise, find the proper herbicide for your particular weed, and follow the label directions exactly, and follow up by using good lawn cultural practices to prevent the weeds from returning.

The best lawn treatment a healthy lawn!

Want to save money on fertilizer? Why not take advantage of the free fertilizer available from your own lawn?

That’s right, lawns produce fertilizer. The fertilizer they produce comes from the grass clippings. It is possible to recycle as much as 60 percent of the nitrogen from the clippings by doing nothing more than leaving the clippings on the ground! Of course, if you are going to get the maximum effect, you will need to mow often, leaving short clippings that are easy for soil microbes to digest.

There are other reasons to mow often and leave your clippings on the ground instead of bagging them and sending them to a landfill. Speaking of landfill, that is a good place to start.

Lawn clippings and the environment

Leaving your lawn clippings on the lawn keeps them out of the landfill, which is good for the environment. Most cities, and many states have laws prohibiting the bagging of lawn clippings because of over stuffed landfills.  By leaving the clippings, you are avoiding this problem altogether.

Lawn clippings and organic matter

Organic matter is essential to healthy lawn growth. Lawn clippings are a great, and free source of organic matter.  Clippings add organic matter to the lawn when they are left in place and allowed to degrade naturally.

Lawn clippings and thatch

Mowing often, and leaving short clippings will also prevent the accumulation of thatch. That is the layer of dead grass at the base of the plant. Short lawn clippings will degrade more quickly, and even help to break down the thatch built up from leaving long grass clippings.

Reasons why people bag

Thatch problems.

Thatch problems are caused by leaving lawn clippings that are too massive to break down through microbial activity. If this is the case, the lawn should be mowed more often, or fertilization, and irrigation should be lowered. If the lawn is growing so rapidly that it can’t be mowed often enough, there is usually a problem with excessive fertility, and, or, too much water. In such cases, the answer is not to bag the clippings. The answer is to moderate the activity that is causing the problem.

It is habit.

It is habit learned from someone in the past, who needed to bag, or thought they needed to bag. The world is full of stories about people who continue to do things when the need is long past, or a better solution is available.

See also: Grass Clippings UC Davis

Bahia grass is an invader!

Bahia grass is an invasive weed in the southern United States. No matter what officials may say. Sure, it can help to control erosion along highway right of ways, like almost any aggressive grass or vine species, but what is the cost of the cure? Hundreds of thousands of man hours are spent annually to maintain and control this weed, and the cost of such controls would easily offset the wiser choice of  establishing other grasses  for erosion control.

Bahia grass control options:

• You can live with it, and mow it at least once a week during the growing season.
• You can control Bahia grass by suppressing it’s growth with a number of different agents.
• You can kill it.
• You can prevent it.

Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Bahia grass control: Living with Bahia grass

If you live with the problem, you will need to mow pretty often, since at certain times of the year this invasive grass will grow more than a foot in under a week! Mowing twice each week is what I would recommend. The advantage of this course of action is that it allows for doing nothing, the disadvantage is that you will need to mow more often, or learn to live with the tall grass.

Controlling Bahia grass

It is possible to control the growth rate of Bahia grass using chemicals. There are a number of chemicals which can accomplish this when used in combination with other chemicals, and some that are labeled specifically as preventative growth regulators. These “pgr’s” are expensive to use. There is however one chemical which will do the job with a low dose, and at minimal cost. It is glyphosate. Glyphosates are made under several brand names, many of which are labeled for the suppression of Bahia grass, and do a great job of doing just that. The dosage is generally 2 to 6 ounces of 41% glyphosate per acre. At this rate, damage to other grasses is minimal to non existent. This combination will give seed head suppression for several months. The lower level of treatment will require re treatment after a couple of months, but will give a lower level of  phytotoxicity, or yellowing. The highest rate will give season long control, but will cause a higher level of yellowing. The advantage is, that you get to lower the number of times you mow, and avoid the problems of erosion, and weed invasion that can occur when you kill off the majority of your Bahia grass turf. The disadvantage, is that you do not kill the Bahia grass. This however is offset by the weakening of the Bahia which allows other grasses to catch up, which might later allow you to actually kill the invasive grass without totally destroying your turf.

Killing Bahia grass

Why not kill the Bahia and be done with it? Well, that is an option. If you plan to kill it, there are products available such as the metsulfuron ureas that will do the job selectively. If you plan to do this, I recommend extensive forethought. If you kill the Bahia grass, and do not replace it with another grass, and it is your primary turf, the result will be grass burs. You must take care to use only the proper ratio, over the exact area, or you run the risk of salting out the good grasses. You should plan on seeding, fertilizing, and irrigating as soon as the label directions allow, in order to prevent the growth of grass burs and other weeds. If you do not do this, you will have grass burs in areas that have become bare. It is a fact, grass burs won’t grow where there is competition. You must make the soil able to produce competition for them, to prevent them.

Preventing Bahia grass

The best way to control  Bahia grass, or any other weedy grasses,  the best way to deal with any weeds, or for that matter, any pest is to prevent it from gaining a foothold! If you avoid, or prevent a problem, you don’t have to deal with it. How can you prevent Bahia from taking hold in your yard?

1. The number one means of transporting weeds in lawns is dirty mowers. If you clean your mower before you mow your lawn, you can prevent the majority of seed transfer problems. If you have a Bahia grass right of way, mow your lawn while it is clean, and before you mow your right of way, or wash it between. This simple act will prevent the majority of  transfers. It should be mentioned that you can not legally perform a chemical treatment on a highway right of way without a license in that category.
2. The next thing that you can do, is to develop a healthy lawn. A healthy lawn will prevent a host of problems, and will prevent weeds from getting a foothold. Think of your lawn as an organism. If the organism is healthy, it resists disease and parasites. Weeds are parasites!

Of all the home maintenance operations, lawn care takes the lions share of resources. The average home owner spends more on lawn care than any other aspect of managing property.

Add up the cost of weekly mowing, fertilization, irrigation, and pest control, and a half acre lawn can cost as much or more to maintain is a mortgage payment.

Traditional lawns have a big carbon footprint

If you pride yourself on being green, and having a green lawn, there may be a few contradictions at work. There can be issues with fertility runoff, chemical usage, water usage, and excessive fuel use for equipment, and the manufacture of the products used to keep a lawn green. Even the “organic” pest control products available from manufacturers have a large carbon footprint, because they have to be gathered, processed, stored, packaged, shipped, and so do the packaging and labeling products used.

Lawn alternatives

There are ways to avoid this conundrum, save money, and have a beautiful landscape without sacrificing the environment, or your time and money. It can even be done without starting a massive landscape project, gradually, over a long period of time, and won’t look awkward and strange while it is being done. What we are talking about is a native habitat, or backyard habitat. Native habitats are an excellent and inexpensive way to modify your lawn, and save money in the long run.

How to start a native habitat

Start by adding a few native trees and shrubs around the parameter of your property. I say “native” because native plants will withstand the rigors of their native environment better than the exotic species more commonly used in landscaping projects. Native plants are already acclimated to your region, are naturally resistant to the pests in your area, and have evolved to adjust to your soil type. As a side benefit, native plants will attract native wildlife, particularly birds, which will then lower your pest population.

Find ground covers native to your area, and add them where appropriate to help prevent erosion. You can also add some landscape stone paths if you like.

Continue to add trees, shrubs, and ground covers including native grasses until you have no lawn, or very little lawn left to mow.

Native habitats:

• Are less costly
• Are less time consuming
• Use less pesticides
• Use less fertilizer
• Require less maintenance
• Provide built in pest control
• Have a smaller carbon footprint
• Are wildlife friendly