What a "AG Rep" for Lowes told me today...

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
Post Reply
Ric Clint
Posts: 258
Joined: May 22nd, 2015, 12:57 am
Location: Western part of NC
Grass Type: TTTF Mix of Cochise IV & Bullseye
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

What a "AG Rep" for Lowes told me today...

Post by Ric Clint » September 26th, 2017, 8:37 pm

To make a long story short...

Last week when I cut my grass (TTTF) I noticed thousands of tiny little flies or lawn moths or something flying up throughout my yard as I was cutting grass... not sure what they are. But I was wanting something to put down (in Granular form) for this because I heard when you see these flying up that it's probably linked to Sod Webworm and I knew that Ortho Bug B Gon (a.i.: Bifenthrin 0.115%) was suppose to take care of that so I was just gonna drop some to see.

Well, Lowes was out of the Ortho Bug B Gon and there happened to be a guy there that said he was the "AG Rep for all the Lowes in NC" and he said that Ortho had Discontinued the Bug B Gon because they had been getting so many complaints from it. Has anybody else heard this? Is it true?

I tried to find the Ortho Bug B Gon at some places and nobody has it so it may be true. So what else can I use for this? Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer (a.i.: β-cyfluthrin 0.05% AND Imidacloprid 0.15%) I think targets these tiny little flies/moths, will this be a good alternative or should I use something else?

Thanks!



.

User avatar
MorpheusPA
Posts: 18129
Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
Location: Zone 6 (Eastern PA)
Grass Type: Elite KBG
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Advanced

Re: What a "AG Rep" for Lowes told me today...

Post by MorpheusPA » September 26th, 2017, 9:00 pm

To my knowledge, Bug B Gon is still kicking--I can get it here in PA. It may have been banned in NC for some reason, though. I wouldn't know.

If those are sod webworm, in reasonable numbers they aren't doing appreciable (or really any measurable) damage to your lawn. Not unless you've got them in overwhelming numbers and can ID the damage.

I get clouds of them when the robot mows with no visible harm done. Since application of any wide-spectrum insecticide (and most are) will wipe out anything it touches, I'd think about it long and hard before doing that. Most insects are neutral or beneficial to the lawn.

User avatar
probasesteal
Posts: 1032
Joined: March 29th, 2014, 3:39 pm
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Grass Type: FRONT: SPF30, NuGlad and Midnight. BACK: Hogan's TTTF with SPF30 HBG
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: What a "AG Rep" for Lowes told me today...

Post by probasesteal » September 26th, 2017, 9:26 pm

MorpheusPA wrote:
September 26th, 2017, 9:00 pm
To my knowledge, Bug B Gon is still kicking--I can get it here in PA. It may have been banned in NC for some reason, though. I wouldn't know.

If those are sod webworm, in reasonable numbers they aren't doing appreciable (or really any measurable) damage to your lawn. Not unless you've got them in overwhelming numbers and can ID the damage.

I get clouds of them when the robot mows with no visible harm done. Since application of any wide-spectrum insecticide (and most are) will wipe out anything it touches, I'd think about it long and hard before doing that. Most insects are neutral or beneficial to the lawn.
Morpheus, you have some of the most helpful/practical posts. Thanks

User avatar
MorpheusPA
Posts: 18129
Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
Location: Zone 6 (Eastern PA)
Grass Type: Elite KBG
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Advanced

Re: What a "AG Rep" for Lowes told me today...

Post by MorpheusPA » September 27th, 2017, 12:36 am

probasesteal wrote:
September 26th, 2017, 9:26 pm
Morpheus, you have some of the most helpful/practical posts. Thanks
Thanks! Now get me rambling on some strange subject and you'll rapidly see how impractical I can be. :-)

User avatar
HoosierLawnGnome
Posts: 9591
Joined: May 22nd, 2013, 5:59 pm
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Grass Type: Blueberry KBG
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: What a "AG Rep" for Lowes told me today...

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » September 27th, 2017, 9:38 am

MorpheusPA wrote:
September 27th, 2017, 12:36 am
probasesteal wrote:
September 26th, 2017, 9:26 pm
Morpheus, you have some of the most helpful/practical posts. Thanks
Thanks! Now get me rambling on some strange subject and you'll rapidly see how impractical I can be. :-)
Tell me about your robot mower. In a new thread of course. Seriously :D We love our Roombas.


Ric Clint
Posts: 258
Joined: May 22nd, 2015, 12:57 am
Location: Western part of NC
Grass Type: TTTF Mix of Cochise IV & Bullseye
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: What a "AG Rep" for Lowes told me today...

Post by Ric Clint » September 27th, 2017, 1:26 pm

Thanks for the input! I'm trying to learn all I can about this.

A couple of questions:

1.) So you're saying that the Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer is a "wide-spectrum insecticide"? Is that because of the Imidacloprid that's in it? As compared to other Insecticides (like maybe Dylox, etc.) that just target "certain" pests and not a whole variety of pests? Is that correct?

2.) The reason I thought it was Sod Webworm is mainly because I seen the thousands of tiny moths flying up AND also I have several little patches here and there of dead grass that I originally though might be a fungus like Brown Patch or something but I'm actually wondering if it could actually be Sod Webworm damage because some have told me that sometimes the Sod Webworm damage looks similar to a Fungus damage and both can sometimes be confused as the other... if that makes sense?


Thanks!



.

User avatar
ronfitch
Posts: 252
Joined: April 1st, 2012, 1:41 pm
Location: St. Paul, MN
Grass Type: original: I don't know; overseed: Kentucky Bluegrass
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Some Experience

Re: What a "AG Rep" for Lowes told me today...

Post by ronfitch » September 27th, 2017, 2:21 pm

MorpheusPA wrote:
September 26th, 2017, 9:00 pm
To my knowledge, Bug B Gon is still kicking--I can get it here in PA. It may have been banned in NC for some reason, though. I wouldn't know.

If those are sod webworm, in reasonable numbers they aren't doing appreciable (or really any measurable) damage to your lawn. Not unless you've got them in overwhelming numbers and can ID the damage.

I get clouds of them when the robot mows with no visible harm done. Since application of any wide-spectrum insecticide (and most are) will wipe out anything it touches, I'd think about it long and hard before doing that. Most insects are neutral or beneficial to the lawn.
I never made it past, "... robot mows ..."

Image

User avatar
MorpheusPA
Posts: 18129
Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
Location: Zone 6 (Eastern PA)
Grass Type: Elite KBG
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Advanced

Re: What a "AG Rep" for Lowes told me today...

Post by MorpheusPA » September 27th, 2017, 4:51 pm

It's a Friendly Robotics Robomower RL850, and a rather old model at this point. She does take a while, but I'm not in a rush when I'm not the one mowing the grass!

1) Most insecticides are pretty wide-spectrum, including Dylox. There are some specific ones (Milky Spore disease, nematodes, etc), but they can be unreliable in some circumstances and really do target just a few species. So if you misdiagnose, you get no benefit.

1a) That having been said, if you have a problem, you pull the trigger. Losing the lawn is unacceptable. I dumped Dylox down twice when I had a massive incursion of Japanese beetle larvae (countless numbers per square foot; I wretched a bit). It did its job, it saved the lawn, and the rest of the insects just had to recover on their own...

2) I'd follow the directions here: http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheet ... orms-lawns to see if you can locate the damage and indications that you have the larvae. While I do have webworms and larvae, they're not at high enough levels to cause damage (and I've never personally seen a lawn where they were causing detectable damage).

73Chall
Posts: 46
Joined: May 18th, 2017, 7:44 pm
Location: Hickory, NC
Grass Type: Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: What a "AG Rep" for Lowes told me today...

Post by 73Chall » October 11th, 2017, 5:03 am

Q - What is the most effectual / efficient Chemical - Curative Control Measure? (I.e., a product available either retail or DMYOPestControl)?

I ask as I sampled the thatch and I was shocked at the number of worms writhing all over the surface! Ha! Didn’t even need to worry about measuring off a square yard!

All this makes sense as I have been chasing damage spots that I had suspected was a fungal breakout (the heat and humidity in WNC this Fall have been a fungi dream!)

Great thread and glad I took the time to search here while doing research elsewhere.

Unforuntnately, and despite how “big” I am on them most of the time, my pending travel schedule right now precludes me from being able to rely on beneficial nematodes.

Looking for a chemical curatibe Control I can obtain as readily (and quickly!) as possible!

Thanks in advance!

User avatar
MorpheusPA
Posts: 18129
Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
Location: Zone 6 (Eastern PA)
Grass Type: Elite KBG
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Advanced

Re: What a "AG Rep" for Lowes told me today...

Post by MorpheusPA » October 11th, 2017, 10:53 am

Do you know what the worms are? If we're talking earthworms, ignore them. They're not only not doing any damage, they're massively helpful (and tend to help suppress diseases via good aeration and nutrient cycling). Earthworms help eat thatch. Red worms are going to go away at frost anyway, and are similarly helpful (how you got them in NC would be an interesting thing to solve, though).

If they're something more inimical, see if you can get an ID. Bug B Gon will probably work, but it might be a species that requires different or larger guns to take it out.

Post that, however, taking care of your thatch is the next issue. Anything up to a half inch when compressed isn't worth discussing. Half to three-quarters I consider a marginal situation. Above three quarters, I'd start to think about doing something about it. Above an inch, I'd dethatch and then consider the practices I'm using as they're obviously causing thatch.

Organic feeding can help rid you of thatch permanently; I have pure KBG with no thatch. I have, literally, absolutely not one single hundredth of an inch of thatch down there, it all gets eaten. If you'd rather not do that, feeding at the appropriate amounts at the appropriate times will tend to limit thatch buildup.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 16 guests