September damage every year. Stumped

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
Post Reply
Coop_V
Posts: 122
Joined: June 22nd, 2016, 5:29 pm
Location: Outer Banks, NC
Grass Type: Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

September damage every year. Stumped

Post by Coop_V » September 19th, 2019, 3:54 pm

Ok so every year this time I get lawn damage. Mostly in my front yard near my driveway and house. My lawn stayed perfectly thick this year up until about 2 weeks ago. The first year I thought it was disease so last year I sprayed preventive apps of fungicide all summer. Still had a couple spots pop up last year so I figured it had to be grubs because of research I had done saying it was grub feeding time, I also could find them here and there. Never as many as I read it would take to damage grubs( certain amount per sq ft can’t remember). Anyways I thought for sure I had the problem solved then because I ran to Home Depot and put some bug destroyer on my trouble spots and it seemed to stop.

On to this year I was prepared to treat the whole yard with grub ex in late may early June so that’s what I did thinkIng that I had the problem fixed I didn’t spray any fungicide this year( I also didn’t notice any fungus all year so I won’t be wasting money on that anymore). About 2 weeks ago I start seeing the same spots grass just dying in little spots in similar spots it’s done it previous years. So thinking the grub ex didn’t work I went to site one and dropped dylox. Now here I am a couple days into my fall overseed and my front yard is deteriorating little by little everyday. Sorry for the long post but I’m stumped and a little discouraged. I’ll try to get pictures later but I don’t have a camera phone at the moment so I’ll have to use my wife’s.

Pway
Posts: 771
Joined: May 29th, 2014, 5:42 pm
Location: Piscataway NJ
Grass Type: Northern Mix
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: September damage every year. Stumped

Post by Pway » September 19th, 2019, 5:35 pm

I believe that the AI in grubex is Chlorantranipole and no longer imidicloprid. It needs to go down in April or May.

Coop_V
Posts: 122
Joined: June 22nd, 2016, 5:29 pm
Location: Outer Banks, NC
Grass Type: Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: September damage every year. Stumped

Post by Coop_V » September 19th, 2019, 6:14 pm

I put it down late may. I’m in the northern Obx I figured a April or early may app would be more for northern areas. But next year I’ll put it down earlier. I tried looking for chinch bugs today also but couldn’t find any. Dug up a couple sections of dirt and also didn’t see grubs. I’m at a loss. It seems to only really be in my front and a little into my side yard. I have large portions of my backyard that literally never have any issues and stay super thick all year. Wish I could get this issue ironed out.

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: September damage every year. Stumped

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » September 19th, 2019, 9:52 pm

By the house, beds, and driveway are where I normally get more grubs too.

At this point I would suspect fungus or lingering damage from grubs.

Could be a localized soil issue too.

Get some pics up.

If its grub damage or just thinned out, nurse it back to health with more frequent, light watering and light regular doses of N. Good timing for that anyways.

Of budget and time arent a problem, I'd hit the area with an curative dose of something like Propacanazole, and nurse it along.

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: September damage every year. Stumped

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » September 19th, 2019, 9:58 pm

Other possible causes are wear and tear from mowing equipment turning amd driving the same patterns, debris under the soil, downspouts and pooling water, or perhaps over application of herbicides if you follow a pattern and use a pull behind.


Coop_V
Posts: 122
Joined: June 22nd, 2016, 5:29 pm
Location: Outer Banks, NC
Grass Type: Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: September damage every year. Stumped

Post by Coop_V » September 22nd, 2019, 7:57 am

Image



Image


Image

Coop_V
Posts: 122
Joined: June 22nd, 2016, 5:29 pm
Location: Outer Banks, NC
Grass Type: Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: September damage every year. Stumped

Post by Coop_V » September 22nd, 2019, 8:00 am

I'm leaning towards some sort of insect damage because it happens this exact time every year like clock work. I'm gonna check for chinch bugs again because it kind of looks like some videos I'm seeing on them.

Coop_V
Posts: 122
Joined: June 22nd, 2016, 5:29 pm
Location: Outer Banks, NC
Grass Type: Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: September damage every year. Stumped

Post by Coop_V » September 22nd, 2019, 8:03 am

Some germination going on.


Image

KBGkicksazz
Posts: 546
Joined: April 19th, 2018, 5:12 pm
Location: S. New Hampshire
Grass Type: KBG
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Some Experience

Re: September damage every year. Stumped

Post by KBGkicksazz » September 22nd, 2019, 9:23 am

Does it pull up easily? You finding any grubs?

Definitely has the look of insects.


Coop_V wrote:
September 22nd, 2019, 7:57 am
Image



Image


Image

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: September damage every year. Stumped

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » September 23rd, 2019, 8:07 am

Yeah looks more like insect damage than fungus to me too. Looks pretty wet. I have low lying areas that die out of they get swamped in the spring

ENVY23
Posts: 721
Joined: April 20th, 2014, 1:48 pm
Location: E. Tennessee
Grass Type: KBG: Midnight, Bluebank, Mazama
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Some Experience

Re: September damage every year. Stumped

Post by ENVY23 » September 23rd, 2019, 10:53 am

I had a similar problem and it turned out to be chinch bugs. Find something with bifenthrin in it. I use RoundUp Bug Destroyer around mid June and haven’t had a problem since. Keep in mind your application timing may be different than mine.

Coop_V
Posts: 122
Joined: June 22nd, 2016, 5:29 pm
Location: Outer Banks, NC
Grass Type: Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: September damage every year. Stumped

Post by Coop_V » September 23rd, 2019, 3:36 pm

That's what I'm thinking it is but I haven't found any.
I've been noticing some insect mounds in the infected areas (see pic). When i dig up these areas I can't find any bugs in the soil. But I actually have some liquid Bifen I was going to spray but couldn't find any info on spraying seedlings with it.
Image

Coop_V
Posts: 122
Joined: June 22nd, 2016, 5:29 pm
Location: Outer Banks, NC
Grass Type: Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: September damage every year. Stumped

Post by Coop_V » September 23rd, 2019, 5:57 pm

So I got a picture of this bug I can't tell if it's a chinch bug but if you walk or ride the mower I will see tiny little bugs flying around. But every thing I see on videos just show chinch bugs walking around so I'm not sure what this bug is. Maybe a nat. There was a cluster of them flying a couple feet off the ground where I took this picture.

Image

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 39 guests