Chafer grubs are plump little grubs which live in the soil and feed on the roots of plants and grass from mid-spring through to mid-autumn.
If you see yellow or dead patches of lawn you may have chafer grubs. Where lawns are heavily infested, you may also see additional damage caused by foxes, badgers and birds ripping up the wilting turf to feed on the plump little grubs.
Our expert operatives can look at your lawn and advise on the best solution.
In the autumn you often see crane flies (daddy long legs) flying around and gathering near lights, at the same time your lawn could have yellowish brown patches and be covered in small round holes. This is a sign that your lawn has an infestation of leatherjackets. Pulling up a section of grass will reveal greyish brown grubs up to 30mm long with no legs or obvious head. Crows, magpies, rooks and starlings love to eat them hence the small holes in the grass.
Greengrass operatives will be happy to come and have a look at your lawn and determine the correct treatment to bring it back into full health.
This is one of the most damaging diseases found in lawns and is not easy to treat. Commonly known as snow mould, fusarium patch often forms in lawns when snow thaws and in prolonged very wet periods. The disease forms due to wet, humid climate conditions. When the disease first appears you could notice a small circle shape, like a tennis ball, in your grass in a creamy straw like colour. Whilst the disease is actively growing the outer circle has a slimy texture, this can make the circles look like an irregular shape and some might say even look like clouds.
If you have Fusarium and it’s not treated during the winter and spring, it will survive the summer months lying dormant within the thatch in your lawn. Once the correct weather conditions arrive it will attack the living blades of grass within your lawn. It can spread quickly through lawnmowers, feet and any wheelbarrows etc.
This is best treated with a professional fungicide, Greengrass operative will advise you on this.
Fairy rings are circles of dead grass or circles of toadstools that spread out across the lawn usually in late summer and autumn. They are caused by colonies of the fungus Marasmius oeades, which lives in the roots of the turf.
Other types of fungi can cause fairy rings, but doesn’t have an effect on turf, and has been known to encourage growth of the grass! Symptoms vary depending upon the type of fungi that you have, however you may see the following symptoms within your lawn:
An irregular ring of dead grass that gradually expands across the lawn.
Directly across from the dead grass, the grass might be greener
Crops of brown toadstools at various times of the year.
These toadstools produce vast quantities of spores so there is no point in trying to remove them. In principle you can dig them out going at least 1ft beyond the ring, then reseed or returf.
This is best treated with a professional fungicide, Greengrass operative will advise you on this.
With any of the above problems the best treatment is always to prevent them in the first place. Greengrass offer a complete Lawn Service that will help maintain your lawn in peak condition throughout the year, including treatments and regular cutting. Please call for details.
In addition to our annual treatment programme, we can also provide specialist services to your lawn wherever necessary, including:
If you look at your lawn and see patches with a reddish or light brown tinge then this may be caused by a fungal growth known as Red Thread. This can be seen all the year round but is much more common in the autumn. Patches vary in size from 7.5cm (3”) to 25cm (10”) or larger. Close examination will show pinkish red gluey thread-like structures on the leaves.
When you see Red Thread an application of nitrogen or iron can help to strengthen the leaves and this may be enough.
The problem of Red Thread can be reduced by good lawn care, improving the general condition of the lawn with aeration and scarification. Mechanical scarification removes thatch and moss resulting in improved air flow through the lawn.
Severe cases of Red Thread will require the application of a fungicide. A Greengrass operative will visit your lawn on request and advise on the best treatment. Home gardeners can only use a fungicide (Trifloxystrobin – Provanto / Bayer Lawn Disease Control) applied a maximum of 2 times in a year. Professional lawn companies like Greengrass have other fungicides available to treat lawns complying with strict legislation.
Greengrass Ltd is a trading name of Greengrass Commercial Ltd
Since 2008, Greengrass has been providing first-class customer-focused service to both residential and commercial clients. We work tirelessly to exceed client expectations with high-quality landscaping, maintenance and lawn care services.
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Phone: +44 (0) 1206 392813Email: info@greengrassltd.comLawns Email: lawns@greengrassltd.comOffice HoursMonday – Friday 9.00am – 5.00pmEssex Office
7 Brooklands Rise, Brantham, Manningtree, Essex, CO11 1TU Telephone: 01206 392813Suffolk Office (Registered Office) Park View, 28 Exeter Road, Claydon, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP6 0BP Telephone: 01473 846164Registered company number 7428249VAT number 179594248
