Lawn Care & Treatment

While healthy Florida lawns are some of the most beautiful anywhere, they are also extremely prone to attack by lawn pests. The most common lawn pests include:

• Chinch Bugs
  Tiny, at about ⅛ to ¼ inches in length and difficult to see, chinch bugs have distinct black, white and red spotted coloring, hard bodies, and wings that fold over their backs. All South Florida lawns contain small populations of chinch bugs with no problems but in large numbers, chinch bugs can cause damage that looks like drought damage as these tiny bugs feed on your grass, injecting a toxin that prevents turfgrass from absorbing nutrients and moisture from the soil.
• Sod Webworms/Armyworms
  A major agricultural pest, sod webworms/armyworms, the larval stage, or caterpillars of Spodoptera mauritia moths, sod webworms/armyworms are gray-green and about an inch long. You can see these pests curled up on grass surfaces during the day. Sod webworms/armyworms can undermine the foundation of your lawn, feeding rabidly on grass blades. Damage includes sections of grass separating from your lawn and/or brown irregular thinning of your lawn.
• Mole Crickets
  Tunneling in your lawn, particularly in Bahia lawns, might be mole crickets. Causing serious problems in Florida lawns, mole crickets kill grass tearing up the roots and munching on shoots of grass. These pests can be any of three mole crickets that are native to the southeast.
  • Tawny – Tan-colored, measure 1½ – 2 inches in length
  • Southern – Dark brown to almost black, with four light dots on their heads, measure 1 – 1 ½ inches in length
  • Short-winged – Dark to reddish-brown, with small wings and a u-shaped opening between their claws on their forelegs, measure 1 – 1 ½ inches in length
• Fire Ants
  While red imported fire ants build unsightly mounds on lawns, they are considered more of a threat to humans, livestock and pets, than as a lawn destroying pest. Stinging in numbers, fire ants can cause a severe allergic reaction in sensitive people. Mark mounds and contact a local pest control company to schedule an appointment.
  A detergent test, also commonly known as a drench test, can reveal the presence of some of these pests in your lawn. In most cases, lawns can recover with healthy lawn practices and proper watering. Contact Petri Pest Control Services to schedule a visit for lawn spraying and treatment of anything attacking your beautiful South Florida lawn. Our treatment program includes guidance as to what changes in lawn care and watering are needed.

A common ornamental plant pest, whiteflies puncture the underside of leaves and suck fluids from plants, via piercing-sucking mouthparts. Whitefly infestations can be hard to spot until leaves turn yellow and spotted leaves begin dropping off your ornamental plants unexpectedly. If shaking an ornamental plant produces clouds of whiteflies emerging from the plant, then you can see you have a whitefly issue. The most common whiteflies in South Florida include:

• Silverleaf
• Ficus
• Citrus

Trying to get rid of whiteflies using insecticides usually isn’t the first line of defense because these chemicals can also eliminate whitefly predators that feed on “honeydew,” a sticky, sweet substance that whiteflies, mealybugs, and aphids secrete. These predators include birds, ants, wasps, and honey bees. Without these predators, your whitefly problem could get worse. Checking the undersides of leaves regularly and contacting a professional pest control service such as Petri Pest Control Services to schedule an appointment for whitefly treatment will help eliminate whiteflies.

Florida’s options for beautiful, healthy shrubs to ingratiate your landscape are vast and diverse. Many native and non-native flowering shrubs and evergreen shrubs flourish in different parts of Florida. Native shrubs are less problematic than non-native plants. Some of these flowering shrubs include:

• Hibiscus – Growing statewide up to fifteen feet tall, with their showy display of tropical colored flowers, some as big as dinner plates, Hibiscus spp. also attracts butterflies, are high salt-tolerant, and come in many different colors and types.
• Camellia – Growing well in north and central Florida, you can train camelia japonica as a shrub or small tree that will grow 20 feet tall. With a low salt tolerance and the wide variety of cultivars, camellias produce many different colored blooms in the spring.
• Princess flower – Growing best in the central and southern regions, Tibouchina urvilleana with striking purple flowers, year-round can be trained as trees reaching 15 feet in height and have a low tolerance to salt.
• Buttonwood – Growing in central and south Florida, up to 50 feet, Conocarpus erectus, is also known as silver buttonwood. With foliage varying from silver to green with white or cream flowers produced throughout spring, they turn into reddish fruit through the summer and fall. Buttonwoods make good hedges and are salt, drought, and wind tolerant.
• Firebush – Growing in central and south Florida, up to 20 feet tall, Hamelia patens, sports orange or red, tubular flowers year-round. Firebush attracts butterflies as well as hummingbirds.
• Wild coffee – Growing in central and southern Florida, from 4 to 10 feet tall, Psychotria nervosa produces small, white spring flowers and reddish to purple fruits in summer that attract butterflies and various wildlife.

Non-Native Shrubs Like Florida

Because of Florida’s warm, humid climate, many non-native shrubs grow well in Florida and make good hedges. These shrubs include:

• Awabuki viburnum – Making good screening plants, growing to 20 feet tall, Viburnum odoratissimum var. Awabuki produces small, white flowers beginning in spring and is highly drought and salt tolerant.
• Indian hawthorn – Growing best in central and north Florida, from 2 to 10 feet tall, with a spread of up to 6 feet, Raphiolepsis indica, produces white or pink flowers year-round, depending on the type. These shrubs are salt-tolerant with medium drought resistance.
• Selloum – Growing throughout Florida up to 12 feet high with a spread of 15 feet, Philodendron selloum, has glossy leaves with year-round green flowers and is salt and drought tolerant.

Should you have any questions regarding the best shrubs for your South Florida yard or proper maintenance of your shrubs with shrub spraying, feel free to contact Petri Pest Control Services.

You can improve your Florida lawn in many ways. Correct fertilizing, watering, and mowing techniques go a long way to help your grass stay green and healthy all year long but there’s more to it.

Consider these tips to improve your lawn in Florida:

• Start by cleaning up your lawn in the spring by removing sticks, animal droppings, and debris that has collected on your lawn during the winter months.
• Rake your yard vigorously to remove leaves and piles of thatch that have settled on your lawn. This helps air circulate better through your lawn and will also improve drainage, increase moisture and nutrient absorption, and help your lawn develop a tolerance for extreme weather conditions and heavy traffic.
• Remove weeds from your lawn – pull them out by their roots to prevent regrowth.
• If you aren’t reseeding your lawn, you can apply a pre-emergent herbicide in the early spring before weeds sprout to inhibit weed germination.
• Check for fungus, disease conditions, and lawn pests. Because identifying pests and fungus or disease conditions can prove challenging, contact a professional pest control and lawn care specialist such as Petri Pest Control Services to inspect your lawn and suggest a treatment plan to support your lawn’s overall health.
• Mow your lawn after you tune up your mower and sharpen or replace your blades. Never mow your lawn shorter than ⅓ of the length of your grass blades when mowing. Mowing your grass shorter will weaken your grass’s root system.
• Apply the correct fertilizer. Early spring is a great time to fertilize in South Florida. A soil test will tell you if your soil needs nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium. Choosing a fertilizer high in the deficient nutrient will help nourish your lawn.
• Watering your lawn correctly is important to train grass roots to go deeper in the soil to find water. Otherwise, over-watering leads to a shallow root system for your lawn and allows pests, fungus, and diseases to enter your lawn.

Contact Petri Pest Control Services to help you maintain a healthy and happy, green lawn all year round.

The best way to treat your lawn for pests is to prevent pests from becoming a problem, by correctly watering, mowing, and fertilizing your lawn. A healthy, green lawn can tolerate some pest activity and pesticide treatments are not always recommended as they can kill off natural predators that feed on lawn pests. However, if a pest is present and identified, then pesticide applications may be necessary. If so, contacting a pest control professional, such as Petri Pest Control Services, with experience treating lawns for pests can make all the difference for your lawn.

At Petri, we offer several lawn-spraying services for treating your lawn to keep it pest-free.

• Our General Lawn Program treats lawns for harmful insects and fungus. Petri technicians use a power sprayer to apply an insecticide to the lawn to control everything from chinch bugs and armyworms to sod web worms and fire ants. While spraying your lawn, our service technicians will keep an eye out for fungus conditions (i.e., brown patch or gray leaf spot) and if found, a fungicide will be applied.
• The Total Lawn Program (TLP Plus) is an all-inclusive program that includes protection against harmful insects and diseases of the lawn, fertilization, and broadleaf weed control. During nine scheduled visits throughout the year, Petri technicians thoroughly inspect your lawn, and then we recommend whatever may be needed. We will also explain proper watering and mowing practices and address shade and traffic on your lawn. If needed, we will treat for chinch bugs, armyworms, sod webworms, and fire ants as well as fungus. Based on your lawn’s needs and the time of year, a liquid fertilizer will be administered to properly feed and nourish the lawn. During the cooler months (November through March), Broadleaf weed control will be performed. The TLP Plus service is guaranteed and offers free retreatment for all covered pests should an issue arise between our regularly scheduled services.

In addition to treating your lawn for pests, properly caring for your lawn involves several factors.

• Conditioning your lawn for improved drainage, as well as, increased nutrient and moisture absorption, begins with clearing your lawn of debris and animal droppings. Then raking your lawn to remove leaves and thatching, in addition to weeding your lawn, and aerating the soil in the spring will prepare your lawn for a healthy growing season.
• Fertilizing your lawn properly will help deter pests and help keep your lawn healthy. A soil test will reveal if your lawn is deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium. Finding a fertilizer high in the lacking nutrient will help make your lawn healthier.
• Mowing your lawn properly helps to keep your lawn pest-free. Always mow your lawn with sharp mower blades and never cut more than ⅓ of the length of your grass blades when mowing. Shorter grass can stress your lawn and weaken your lawn’s root system, encouraging pests to infest your lawn.
• Watering incorrectly accounts for most damage to lawns in South Florida. Watering too often leads to a shallow root system because your grass doesn’t have to reach deeper into the soil in search of water. A shallow root system invites pests into your yard and stresses your lawn.

Choosing a type of grass that grows well in your area should also be considered when cultivating a healthy lawn. In South Florida, the most popular turfgrass varieties include:

• Augustine Grass
• Zoysia Grass
• Bermuda Grass
• Bahiagrass

Contacting Petri Pest Control Services, a pest control professional, to treat your lawn and boost the health of your lawn can take the guesswork out of getting the lush, green South Florida lawn you want!

You should spray for bugs in the early spring before pests come out of their dormant states, waiting in shrubs and trees for spring to emerge. Spray your lawn, trees, and shrubs to control these pests in early March before new green begins to sprout. Using a dormant spray, such as horticultural oil or neem oil will control aphids, mites, caterpillars and the eggs of insects laid just before the dormant season. Spraying these insecticidal oils for these insects early will prevent pests from developing into threats and protect your new plant growth from infestation. Neem oil is tricky and must be applied at certain times of the day to protect beneficial insects from elimination. Dormant sprays can also make your plants susceptible to sunburn if applied in direct sunlight.

Spraying your lawn with a pre-emergent herbicide in the early spring before new growth starts will keep weeds from growing on your lawn and will also help to keep the bug population in your lawn in check. A pre-emergent herbicide should not be applied if you’ve reseeded your lawn, however, as the herbicide will inhibit your grass seed germination, as well.

To take the guesswork out of preventing bugs on your lawn, contact a trusted, professional pest control company, that also specializes in lawn care programs. If you want your South Florida lawn to reflect your tropical ornamental landscaping, only a lush green, healthy lawn will do. Therefore, spraying your lawn for bugs in the spring should be done by a professional pest control service as over-the-counter DIY insecticides may eliminate beneficial insects that feed on lawn pests. As professionals, we use proven materials and techniques only available to licensed and certified pest control professionals that will save you money and time, while also minimizing the impacts on beneficial insects and the environment.

Contact Petri Pest Control Services to address your lawn care and lawn bug concerns.

Regularly scheduled lawn maintenance is the best way to keep your lawn pest-free. A healthy, green lawn is a deterrent to pests, weeds, and diseases. In addition to the proper lawn care practices described below, you may want to consider professional lawn care to monitor for pest issues such as chinch bugs, armyworms, sod webworms, fire ants, and even fungus.

Correct mowing

Making sure your mower blades are sharp and your mower is performing properly will help keep your lawn healthy. Also, never remove more than ⅓ of the height of your grass blades during a session. Mowing your grass too short can cause your lawn to develop a shallow root system, creating the right environment for pests and weeds to move in. Mowing your lawn at least once a week in the summer, when your grass is dry is a good practice to adopt. Avoid mowing wet grass as that will dull your blades and clog your mower. If you have weeds seeding on your lawn, or a lawn disease, mowing your lawn when it’s wet can spread weed seeds and spread diseases to more of your lawn.

Correct watering

Generally speaking, overwatering causes more issues than anything else you can do. It can result in a lawn with a shallow root system and make your lawn more vulnerable to weeds, lawn pests, fungus conditions, and lawn diseases. Watering less will help train your grass to reach deeper into the soil for the water it needs. A deep root system helps your grass tolerate extreme weather and heavy traffic. Signs that let you know your lawn is thirsty include:

• Grass blades that are starting to fold over
• Grass that appears blue-gray
• Grass that doesn’t bounce back when stepped on

A good practice is to water less frequently for longer periods – lawns require ½” of water per watering session. Too much water washes the nutrients off your lawn and into local water sources, potentially contaminating your water.

Correct fertilizing

Fertilizing in early spring is a good idea in South Florida. A soil test from your local nursery can determine the pH of your soil and reveal any nutrients your soil is lacking. To get the right amount of nutrients for your soil to nurture a healthy, green lawn, choose a fertilizer with a high number of that nutrient in the NPK ratio.

Contact a professional pest control company, such as Petri Pest Control Services, to provide preventive support and nourishment for a healthy, green lawn in South Florida.