Which program should I choose?

Hello Gerry:

I am interested in going with your company.

I like the fact it appears if you have a problem or a question is there usually someone that can answer within a day or two.

This was my main beef with the current company I have. No one was ever there or for that matter cared  and since I am fairly new to all of this believe me, I was not impressed

I am trying to compare your program with what I have now, 

What would be the best thing to do from here.  I was hoping I could get a discount for prepaying or any others I may qualify for.

Thank you, looking forward to hearing from you 

Judy

Hi Judy

Sometimes doing the same program as before is okay if that program is what you need.

Sometimes it may be helpful to start from square one to figure out what your needs in fact are.

Most people want a healthy, green lawn-> fertilization. We find it costs the same time for our guys to spread high quality fertilizer as it does to spread mediocre quality fertilizer. Our 3 fertilizer program is equivalent to many other 4 fertilizer programs. 

Most people prefer to not have too many weeds- so at least a couple of spot weed treatments if the lawn is in reasonable shape. Blanket treatments may be necessary if the lawn has been neglected and is very weedy.

You mentioned grub treatment. You may have had a problem in the past. No one can predict if the adult beetles will lay eggs on your lawn this year or not. Certain areas of the city are often more likely to get grubs than other areas. Areas with high grub populations are likely to have more adults that will lay eggs in the summer. 

Some people feel more comfortable, knowing that they have done something to reduce the risk of grub damage. Organic nematodes are not as effective as Merit (the product now banned that was less poisonous than table salt.)

Your neighbour, Bob says he has a problem with crabgrass. This is usually a problem in sunny areas, especially along the edges. An organic crabgrass preventer can be applied. It is about 50% effective. That sounds not bad, but in August the 50% that may come up can look 100% terrible. Because of this it is important to look at other cultural methods to reduce the risk of crabgrass. Mowing higher, re-adjusting the lawn levels along the edges, and seeding to increase lawn density in crabgrass-risky areas may be needed as well.

A prepayment discount is always available to new customers, the paying of which we appreciate but target is not fixed until we figure out what you need.

Gerry

Something to Crow About- NO

When you have a white grub problem, it is usually skunks or raccoons that make a mess of the lawn, tearing up the sod to eat the grubs.

Although the books often talk about birds feeding on the grubs, I have personally not seen the actual birds feeding. Driving through one subdivision the other day, I snapped this photo of 2 crows in the middle of a lawn feeding on grubs.

Animals Digging in the August Lawn

Several people have called about animals digging in their lawns the past couple of weeks. They say the lawn has been torn up and has holes in it. Many times they will call and say that they think they have grubs.

At this time of year, it is still a bit early for white grubs.
If I ask them what the holes look like, most people describe it as a neat hole about the size of a golf ball. The ones I have seen are nicely cleaned out with not dirt crumbs to be seen. These holes an 1 1/2 inches around are an indication of leatherjackets.

While it is possible to see white grubs at this time of year, generally they are very small. This indicates that they are very recently hatched. Skunks and raccoons are harvesting leatherjackets right now because the leatherjackets are at what I call their pre-Thanksgiving size. Just like turkeys are harvested just before Thanksgiving, so the animals are harvesting the leatherjackets when they are at their largest size.

The baby white grubs are not worth digging for. Let them feed on the lawn for a few weeks- we can come back later when they have put on some fat.

Leatherjackets are the larvae of the adult Crane Fly.

At this stage, we don't recommend treatment. The leatherjackets are not feeding or damaging lawns. They will soon pupate and turn into adults. The adult Crane Fly looks like a giant mosquito. They don't hang around very long. They mate and the females lay eggs.

If you see a multitude of the adults, then a control application this fall or next spring may be worthwhile. This treatment is done once the eggs have hatched into larvae. The adult is hard to treat since it is a flying insect. Insect eggs are hard to control. The larvae are the easiest stage to control.

Think positive. The animals are getting rid of the leatherjackets, so that's a plus. Just put a bit of soil and some grass seed in the holes.

Lawn Care Challenge

This lawn is in more than rough shape. It appears to have been neglected for some time. Lawn care is certainly essential to maintaining a healthy green lawn.

The bare and thin spots did not yield any white grubs or leatherjacket larvae. The thin lawn is likely to have been caused or exasperated by chinch bug damage.
The thinned out turf coupled with a lack of nutrients has also permitted moss to get a toehold on the lawn.

Our recommendation would be to aerate and overseed heavily with a high quality lawn seed mixture that contains endophytic perennial rye, in order to restore a healthy population of grass plants in the lawn.

A program of regular applications of a high quality, slow release fertilizer will help to thicken the lawn and to increase its density.


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Grubs Starting in British Columbia

By: ctvbc.ca

Date: Monday Jan. 3, 2011 5:04 PM PT

An invasion is underway in Vancouver's wealthiest neighbourhood, where the tiny European chafer beetle is causing thousands of dollars in lawn damage.

The disaster is unfolding on the manicured lawns of Shaughnessy, where skunks, raccoons and crows are ripping up the grass to get to the beetle larvae buried below.

"We're talking multi-million-dollar properties where people spend thousands of dollars a year on their landscaping, and some of them with rather large lawns. It's not a problem that's going to go away in the foreseeable future," Paul Corbett of Cutting Edge Lawn Care told CTV News.

The beetle infestation has been a problem in New Westminster and Burnaby since 2001. It's believed an infected shipment of soil arrived from Ontario, and Corbett says the beetle is now migrating west toward the University of B.C.

"The beetles, when they hatch, fly towards the setting sun. They always hatch at night or in the evening, and they always just tend to fly toward the sunset," he said.

Homeowners like Annie Jangze are trying to stop hungry animals from pawing at their lawns by laying down chicken wire.

"I tried to scare a raccoon off, and I brought a hockey stick and I said, ‘Hey you,' and he just looked at me," she said.

"I want to enjoy my green."

Some residents on Wiltshire Street are removing their lawns altogether.

Corbett says the cold weather won't kill the beetles, and there is nothing that homeowners can do until the summer, when the insects lay their eggs.

There are only two treatment options: microscopic worms called nematodes that attack the eggs, or Merit, an insecticide that is only allowed in certain municipalities.

Corbett suggests that neighbours get together and agree on a treatment plan so that the beetles can be eradicated.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Lisa Rossington

Hamilton Lawn Care

Grub Damage Recovery Plan

Angie emailed about animals digging in her lawn. Here is our recommendation to her.

Angie, Thanks for your response

The digging by animals is a problem. Most likely there are grubs there. There are not insecticides currently allowed for the treatment of grubs. Nematodes can be used in warm weather. (mid Aug to mid Oct). One problem with nematodes is that they may only control 50-75% of the grubs (if we are lucky). Also it does take time for the grubs to die, therefore, sometimes the skunks and/or raccoons may still come for dying grubs or for the ones that were not controlled.

To look on the bright side, the animals digging for grubs are at least getting rid of some grubs. If you could train them to put the sod back after they are finished, we could hire them.!

The grubs do survive the winter. The animals may be back next spring. By the spring, I would not recommend treating at that time. Nematodes could technically be used in the spring once the soil warms up. Even when chemical insecticides were available, I normally did not recommend treating for grubs in the spring.

Reasons for not treating.

1. Most of the damage to the lawn by the grub is done in the fall. Some feeding does occur, but generally it is minimal

2. Spring grubs have now reached close to their maximum size and are harder to kill with insecticides.

3. Even if they could be controlled, the grubs in your lawn are not necessarily the source of the next batch of grubs to invade your lawn. (grubs pupate in May-June, then emerge as adults in June-July. The adults can fly. This means they can go to other lawns to lay their eggs which then hatch into baby grubs.) So even if we got rid of all the grubs in your lawn, adults from down the road, across the street or from a neighbourhood park, may still fly over to your lawn and lay eggs in the soil. Controlling the grubs in your lawn in the spring will mean less adults flying in your neighbourhood, but not necessarily any less eggs laid on YOUR lawn.

What should you do?

Once the animals have stopped coming to your lawn, replace the sod pieces as best you can, (green side up.) Don't do it every morning, because, most likely they will come back and rip up the same piece tomorrow night. At this time of year, it is cool and damp, the sod, if it is still alive, will survive a few days on its back. By waiting you will be less frustrated - hopefully you replace the sod only once or twice.

If the damage is very minimal, sometimes a couple of pieces of sod, may be an easier fix. Do this if sod is available.

In the spring, add some soil as needed, and sprinkle lots of good quality grass seed that is appropriate for the sun/shade conditions of your lawn. If it is both sunny and shady, and you only want to purchase on type of seed, use shady grass seed. Shady grass seed will grow better in the sun than sunny grass will in the shade.

If the damage is very severe, the easiest way to get grass back is to aerate and overseed. Seeds falling in the aeration holes are protected from drying out, and from the birds. 

Feed the lawn to help it recover from the damage. Good quality fertilizer is important to help the lawn fill the spaces where the roots have been eaten by the grubs.

Consider doing a nematode treatment for Late August- September to control any grubs from the next generation.

Wanted Dead or Alive-Grubs

Grub treatment time is coming.
Inspected a lawn today, found chinch bugs, leatherjackets and baby grubs. 

This guy was not the smallest one I found, but the one that stayed still enough to pose for his mug shot.

Although there was a fairly large patch of dead, brown lawn, I'm sure that the damage was due to the many chinch bugs crawling around. The white grubs are newly hatched. Yes, they may be starting to feed, but, I think it is unlikely that they have caused damage that started 2 weeks ago.

Nematodes should be applied to lawns where there are grubs or where the risks of grub infestation is high. Nematodes have to be applied when the grubs are present. The difficulty for lawn care operators is that, not all grubs will hatch at the same time. In the lawn above, the various grubs were different sized. A smaller one was half the size of the one pictured above. Treating too early means some grubs may be missed. 

Please call if you have a need for a grub treatment.

www.hamiltonturfking.ca

White Grub Report

In  the 7th edition of the "Turf Management Report" sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Pam Charbonneau  reports on: 

Insects

New on the insect front this week are European chafer flights.  They began roughly a week ago and were pretty much right on time.  Flights have been heavy all week. I have spent roughly a half hour every night over the last week at dusk observing the adult emergence and flights.  I really should get a life.   I think people are surprised at how many adults are flying, but that is usually the situation in a wet year.  The grubs were there, but there was very little turf damage.

http://bit.ly/9iSD34


Here at Turf King we received an email from someone who has been seeing adult flights as well.

White Grub Sense

Found a White Grub in a lawn today. The customer says that this week a 6-10 inch circle appeared in the lawn . The grass was not completely dead or yellow, but looked dry. About 30-40% of the grass blades had turned brown thus creating a noticeable difference within her lawn.

The sod was easy to pull up. In each of 2 of these circles, I found a single white grub. This seems either early or late?

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

One lawn expert says that the look of the grub's exoskeleton is "crinkled" which would indicate that it is ready to pupate. The peak adult flights are about 2 weeks away, so the timing seems to be right on.

The raster end of the grub identifies it as a European chafer larva. White grubs can be from European chafer, Japanese beetle, or the June beetle (June bug).

Nowadays in Ontario, the only thing you can legally use to treat white grubs is Nematodes.

www.hamiltonturfking.ca

Lawn Repair Time

Fall is an ideal time to get your lawn in shape. Lawn care is especially important at this time of year.
There are several reasons why your lawn can need some help. Now is a good time to thicken the lawn.

Crabgrass can be problem in many lawns. Overseed to help crowd out crabgrass next year. If tthe lawn is thick, crabgrass is less likely to grow. Make sure to mow the lawn at 3" high. A higher mowing height is one of the things you can do to help reduce crabgrass.

Chinch bugs can also devastate a lawn and leave it in need of repair. Sometimes a homeowner says they need weed control. But sometimes it just the chinch bug damage has left the lawn thin and weak. Weeds jump into the bare and thin spots. What is perceived is a weed problem may just be the result of a chinch bug infestation.

Japanese beetles and European Chafer can lay eggs that hatch into white grubs. These larvae feed on the roots of the lawn. The only method of control for grubs is to use nematodes.

One way to seed the thin spots in the lawn is to add some soil to the bare spots. Sprinkle the soil, then level it out. Spread some high quality grass seed over the soil. Rake it lightly to help cover the seed. Water lightly daily until the seed has germinated. Keep watering as needed for a couple more weeks.

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Turf King Home

Click here to Request a Quote Online -

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

If you would like more information, please Contact us

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Copyright 2009 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.

Environmentally Friendly Lawn Care

People are afraid that if they switch to an environmentally friendly lawn care method, they will have difficulty having beautiful green grass because of grubs or unwanted weeds. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, if you have done the ground work, you will notice that an environmentally friendly lawn care system is superior to using insecticides/pesticides for many reasons.

First of all, you will notice that once the initial work is done, this innovative lawn care method is more economical than the old-fashion method of having to buy lawn fertilizers and spraying twice or more times during one summer with all kinds of chemicals.

Secondly, using ecological or natural lawn care methods supports the ecosystem in many ways.

1. Your grass keeps getting thicker and thicker which prevents soil erosion

2. Your soil becomes a rich source of worms and other microorganisms which help nourish the soil and keep it healthy. In turn, a healthy soil promotes growth.

3. A soil full of worms provides food for the birds which in turn help you get rid of unwanted insects

4. Grass which is not contaminated can filter contaminants from rainwater and many types of pollutants such as soot and dust from the air

5. And more importantly for us humans, healthy grass, like trees, can absorb the carbon dioxide from the air and give off oxygen back into the air. This exchange helps clean the air. Switching to an environmentally friendly lawn care system is one way to help diminish the effects of global warming.

In order to get good results when using an environmentally friendly lawn care system, you must think "preventative". In other words you must take steps to discourage weeds and insects from taking over your lawn.

If you follow these steps, you can work with nature and avoid using pesticides/herbicides but still have a beautiful lawn:

A. Mow high (up to 3 inches) and often so that you cut no more than a third of the blade length at a time.

B Use a mulching lawn mower and allow the mulched clippings to fall back onto the lawn where they can decompose into rich fertilizer which promotes a slow but steady growth year round. With nutrients being slowly but constantly released, the grass can produce good strong roots which are not as attractive to grubs.

C. If you must fertilize, avoid fertilizers which make the grass grow very quickly. Too much fertilizing or using fertilizers with a high nitrogen or using "green up" liquid fertilizers makes the grass grow fast -- too fast. It cannot develop good firm roots, so you end up with weak roots which grubs just love. Fertilizing once a year is more than enough.

D. As more and more of your clippings continue to fall back onto the lawn, it will accumulate between the grass blades. If you have half an inch or more of this thatch, you may need to dethatch. Otherwise, the water will not get through to the soil.

E. Water sparingly (once or twice a week) and deeply. Keep a small container on your lawn at all times to measure the amount of water your lawn gets when you water or when it rains. When watering, don't stop until there is at least 2 cm of water in the container. In addition make sure the water has penetrated the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches minimum.

F. If you need to level your lawn, top dress with topsoil for lawns mixed with compost to prepare it for overseeding

G. When overseeding, use grass varieties which suit the specific location (sunny spot? shady spot?)

H. When the soil becomes compacted, aerate and add soil amendments such as compost or sand to relieve compaction

I. Use an environmentally safe method to control white grub. Put nematodes back into your lawn. Nematodes seek out white grubs, citrus root weevils, the Japanese beetles, the May/June pupa of the beetles, the European/Masked chafer, the black vine weevil, and the sod webworm.

Taking care of the environment begins in our own back yard. We now know how insecticides and herbicides are having huge detrimental effects on both humans and the environment, so why not work with nature to create a healthier, greener environment for ourselves and our children -- the sooner the better. Switching to an environmentally friendly lawn care system is one of the many ways we can all help clean up and save our environment.
About Author Marcie Snyder :

A gardener for years, Marcie has learned that working with the natural laws of nature is by far the best way to do any type of gardening -- even lawns can benefit from it. Get more indepth details re steps to an environmentally friendly lawn care system at http://plantsandgardeningtips.com

Article Source: http://www.BharatBhasha.com
Article Url: http://www.bharatbhasha.com/gardening.php/150801

Thatch Problems

Thatch can be a problem in your lawn.

We inspected a lawn this week that was just not responding the way is should. On inspection we found that the lawn had a very heavy layer of thatch.

Now by thatch we mean that layer between the soil and the green part of a lawn. Some people refer to dead or yellow grass blades as thatch. As in, "My lawn has a lot of brown in it. It has a lot of thatch." Well, that is just dead grass blades. Thatch is normally not visible until you start scratching the surface.

Thatch can consist of roots, stems and other organic matter. Some thatch is a good thing. A little bit will help prevent moisture from escaping too readily on a warm day. Somte thatch acts a cushion to prevent the soil from getting too compacted from foot traffic and mower wheels- anything that will push the soil down and drive the air (really we mean oxygen) out of the soil pores.

However, too much thatch can be detrimental to the health of the lawn. Too much thatch acts like a thatch roof and prevents water from penetrating into the soil. The rain and irrigation instead are carried off the lawn and into the storm sewers. Too much thatch prevents fertilizers from reaching the root zone. Too much thatch also increases the likelihood of disease problems. Chinch bug like to hide in the thatch. White grubs feed on grass roots as well as thatch. Anecdotal evidence would suggest that European chafer adults seem to know if a lawn has a lot of thatch and may be more likely to lay their eggs in lawns with excessive thatch.

So, how do you get rid of thatch and keep it away? First off, thatch is not caused by leaving the clippings on the lawn. Secondly, we don't normally recommend usin a dethatcher to remove thatch. While a dethatcher will indeed remove the thatch, this is really only a temporary solution. The thatch may be gone, for now, but without tackling the root causes of thatch, it will be back.

Our recommendation is to core aerate the lawn. Aerate it heavily, i.e. aerate it twice all at once. This will put that many more holes in the lawn. It will remove that many more cores. Each hole will allow oxygen back into the soil. This will encourage the bacteria and other soil fauna to grow and multiply so that they can decompose the excess thatch. Each core that lands on the surface will now "topdress" a small section of the lawn. The soil there will also encourage soil organisms to do their work. Grass roots will quickly grow into the core holes where there will be a better mix of moisture and air. As the grass roots flourish, so the lawn will become healthier.

If you want to speed up the process, the addition of more soil to the lawn surface will mean that the whole lawn will be topdressed instead of just the areas that have the cores. At the same time, sprinkle some grass seed over the lawn. Grass seed that fall into those aeration holes always has a better chance of growing. They are less likely to dry out, less likely to be snatched away by a hungry bird, and more likely to continue growing once they sprout.

In a few weeks, the lawn will start to turn around. This is not an instant cure, but it is the first step to a green, healthy lawn.

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Turf King Home

Click here to Request a Quote Online -

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

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Grubs have hatched!

Grubs have hatched- at least in Dunnville, Ontario. Todd found this grub in the lawn. Look out there will be more white grub problems down the road.
These are the larvae that have just hatched from eggs. Could be from Japanese beetle or European chafer. Either way, the grubs can damage a lawn in a hurry. Here in Ontario, the only solution is to apply nematodes, a biological control.

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Turf King Home

Click here to Request a Quote Online -

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

If you would like more information, please Contact us

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Copyright 2009 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.

White Grub that had stumped me.

A couple of years ago we found a huge white grub in the rotting stump of a tree. Looked just like a white grub we find on lawns, only bigger.

Today read a post Morgan County Herald about stag beetles whose larvae are found in stumps.


My guess is that we were looking at a stag beetle larva.

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Turf King Home

Click here to Request a Quote Online -

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

If you would like more information, please Contact us

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Summer lawn problems noted

REEVES: Summer lawn problems noted

By Randy Reeves

Sunday, July 19, 2009

It's that time of year again — time for another season of hot summer lawn problems. As if being able to put out enough water wasn't hard enough, now we add being able to afford to have a high water bill!

Through the first part of September, we will probably start seeing more damage from chinch bugs and grub worms.

Chinch bugs thrive in hot, dry weather and feed primarily on St. Augustine grass, but can also damage centipede, Bermuda and zoysia grass. They prefer areas of the lawn that absorb heat, like areas near driveways, sidewalks or a foundation of the house.

Chinch bugs are thought to insert a toxin that kills the grass while they are feeding. They feed on stems and nodes near the base of the plant, leaving brown patches of dead grass that will continue to grow if left untreated.

Chinch bugs are small. Adults are black with white wings that will show a triangular spot on the back. If you suspect chinch bugs, look at the outer edge of the infected areas and part the grass with you hands. You will have to look quickly, though, because they move fast. Yes, you will have to get down on your hands and knees to achieve this feat!

Some folks claim that they can use a coffee can. With both ends cut out, slip the can on the ground and fill it with water. The insects will float to the top. Well, when I do this, everything floats to the top — soil, small sticks, dead grass and everything but the chinch bug!

Your next question is what to treat with if you have chinch bugs.

There are several products on the market that do a good job — Carbayl (Sevin), Acephate (Orthene) and Bifenthrin (Talstar) to name a few. The first two should be readily available at local farm supply stores in the area. As always, be sure to read and follow the label instructions on mixing and applying these products.

White grub damage can also be one of the causes. Damage from grub feeding is easy to diagnose. They feed on the roots, and the grass will easily pull up like a carpet due to the lack of a root system.

For chemical control for grubs, you can use the products listed above. Products that contain "Merit," which is one of the newer target-specific products, will also work well on grub worms.

If you select and use a granular product, you will need to be sure and water the lawn well to move the product into the root zone where the grubs are feeding. This is another reason the read and follow label directions.

Another problem we are seeing in the area — and I have been to a few home lawns to see this — is our old friend the "Take-All Patch." This lawn disease or fungus infects the roots on the stolons of lawn grass. St. Augustine and centipede grass are the main targets here.

The disease will attack the roots and weaken the turf. When we have a dramatic change in the weather, like 102-degree days and lack of rainfall, the grass is stressed and will show signs of damage.

One method of controlling this disease is to lower the soil pH to a level that the disease finds hard to survive.

One way to do this is to make an application of peat moss at a rate of one 3-cubic-foot bale per 1,000 square-foot area now, then make two to three applications of an appropriate fungicide 14 days apart in the fall.

Fungicides that will or should do a good job are Myclobutanil (Immunox), Fenarimol (Rubigan), Azoxystrobin (Heritage) or Propiconazole (Banner Maxx). Some of these fungicides listed are really expensive and you may get a case of sticker shock. Immunox is readily available, works well and is one of the less expensive ones to use.

For further information on Extension programs, call us at 903-935-8413 or visit us on the web at http://harrison-tx.tamu.edu.

IIf you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Turf King Home

Click here to Request a Quote Online -

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

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Physical Ways to Avoid White Grub Infestation

Physical Ways to Avoid White Grub Infestation
By Jackie Tyler Platinum Quality Author


A healthy lawn can endure grubs feeding on it. The damage will not be as apparent as on a lawn that is weak or stressed. Such lawns can prepare themselves. Try to provide the best environment possible for your lawn, such as proper drainage. When moisture levels in the ground are elevated, more damage will result. Proper drainage for your lawn includes removing thatch, which can't be done manually with a rake or with a dethatching machine. This will help to aerating compacted soil, aiding in proper drainage.

The eggs that the beetles lay, generally in late July or early August, are done so in a short lawn. Therefore, it is advisable to raise your lawn mower in order to lengthen the grass and discourage egg laying on your property. The optimum height for grass should be between 21/2 -- 3 inches. Other benefits that come with longer grass shards are less watering, because the soil maintains hydration longer, reducing water consumption, hence, reducing costs.

With that said, water your lawn deeply once per week only. What you are trying to achieve is water going beneath the roots to encourage deep grass roots. If you are unsure as to how much water is enough, this tip will help: place a container near your sprinkler to collect water; once the container fills with about one inch of water, that's enough.

Clean your lawn in the fall, thoroughly. Don't allow it to winterize with dead leaves or weeds. Use a rake to remove the thatch as this can expose the grubs to animals that want to feed on them.

You can physically pick beetles by hand as well, although most of us don't have the time or the desire to do so. If you notice grubs, you must understand that they will and are feeding on the roots of your grass, therefore, apply fertilizer with high potassium and seed in those areas in order to keep grass healthy.

Another method to control grubs in your lawn is by applying milky spore. This literally kills them and it is an environmentally safe product which is a bacteria.

Does your lawn look like a tank drove through it or some people played golf on it while you were sleeping? If so, your lawn is probably infested by white grubs. You must act quickly, before they take control of the turf. Don't miss the optimum time to get a hold of the situation. Get all the information you need about treating white grubs at Milky-Spore, it has the solution.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jackie_Tyler

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Turf King Home

Click here to Request a Quote Online -

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

If you would like more information, please Contact us

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Copyright 2009 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.

Japanese beetles have become an annual nuisance

Japanese beetles have become an annual nuisance in yards and gardens throughout the area. They are appearing on a variety of host plants and are likely to be around for the next four to six weeks.

Japanese beetles have several characteristics that make them significant plant pests. First, they are most active in mid-day in bright sunlight, usually in large numbers. Second, they have a very wide host range because more than 200 species of trees, shrubs and flowers have been documented as feeding targets. Favorites on the list seem to be linden, maples, crabapple, elm, grape and roses.

The other characteristic that makes them significant is their feeding habit. Adult beetles congregate on the outermost foliage in bright sun and consume tissue between the veins of the leaf. This damage is called skeltonizing. Leaves will turn a very visible brown and may drop.

Finally, these pests lay eggs in the soil that hatch into white grubs, potentially creating a concern for turfgrass damage later in August and September. Seeing beetles swarming now does not necessarily mean lots of grub damage later. There is still plenty of time before they turn their attention to lawns, so watch for details on white grub management next week.

In the meantime, what can one do to stop the beetles? Foliage damage can be lessened, but not eliminated, using insecticides such as carbaryl (Sevin), or products containing cyfluthrin (Tempo, Bayer Advanced Multiinsect Killer) or labeled insecticides containing pyrethroid. Read product labels carefully before purchasing or applying them. Treatment is most often suggested for smaller plants or new transplants, rather than large established trees. The earlier the better, so act as soon as beetles start feeding.

Research has shown Japanese beetle traps may draw more beetles into the area and not into the traps, so potentially, plant damage could increase. Another option on smaller plants is to hand pick the beetles off. Drop or sweep them into a container of soapy water.

• Send questions to Bruce Spangenberg, c/o the Features Department, Northwest Herald, P.O. Box 250, Crystal Lake, IL 60039-0250.
http://www.nwherald.com/columnists/columns/2009/07/17/r_qbxatmvvqq2fm6inkc2kzq/index.xml

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Turf King Home

Click here to Request a Quote Online -

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

If you would like more information, please Contact us

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Copyright 2009 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.

Grub protection time is coming soon

Grub protection time is coming soon. Order Now.

Grubs will be hatching soon. When they do, they have a tendency to do a lot of damage to lawns. Here in Ontario, Merit is not longer a legal product. (even though the granular Merit that we used to use is less poisonous than table salt.)
Nematodes are now the only choice in Ontario. Nematodes are microscopic worms that find their way into the grubs. Once inside, they multiply and produce a toxin that knocks the grubs off the scene.
Nematodes are living organisms and need special treatment and care. They require lots of moisture to prevent them from drying and dying. Ideally, applications done during a rain are the best. Unfortunately, there aren't enough rainy days during the August-September time period that everyone who is supposed to get a nematode treatment. The folks with sprinklers are lucky- set the sprinkler system to manual ! and give the lawn a watering. This will get the nematodes off the lawn and down into the soil.
Please order your Grub Protection Now. There are indications that Nematodes may be in short supply.

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If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Turf King Home

Click here to Request a Quote Online -

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

If you would like more information, please Contact us

Follow us on Twitter  http://twitter.com/turfkingofgreen

Join our Facebook page  

http://www.bit.ly/FacebookTK

Copyright 2009 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.

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White grub prevention

This link is to an article from Kansas City. We can't use the products she is suggesting here in Ontario, Canada, but the other information is helpful.

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Eat Your Weeds Away: Dandelion Greens

Written by Leslie Quigley
Published on May 29th, 2009
I can remember as a kid blowing the fuzz off of a dandelion weed and making a wish. Little did I know that dandelions were nutritious. Dandelion greens are considered a leafy vegetable that contain more nutrition than broccoli. Having a higher content of vitamins A, and C, and iron. Dandelions also contain lots of magnesium and potassium.

The best time to eat dandelion greens is in the spring and early summer when the leaves are still young. Dandelion greens should be harvested in early spring, before the flowers appear. Th! ey’re a bit bitter but taste fantastic in a salad. You can als! o saute the flowers, roots and leaves with onion and garlic, serve them on a sandwich or salad, boil the leaves and serve like spinach or add them to your green smoothies like I do!

Dandelions are a natural diuretic and a spring tonic. Dandelion is used to cleanse the body naturally and is an herbal detoxification saint. It is believed that the herb produces beneficial effects by removing toxic pollutants in the body that have accumulated over time. It has also been known to prevent or cure various forms of Cancer.

Dandelions have many therapeutic benefits they support digestion, prevents anemia reduce swelling and inflammation, helps with hypertension and lowering blood sugar, treat skin problems such as eczema, warts and acne and number of other ailments including gallstones and gout. It is known as one of the most effective and beneficial herbal remedies. The roots, stems, and leaves of the dandelion excrete a white sticky resin, This sticky resin when applied! directly to warts daily, several times a day, will slowly help to dissolve them.

A few other ways to use dandelion are : Make a tea using the flowers by boiling them in water for 15 minutes, roast the roots of dandelion to make a coffee substitute and for you wine connoisseur’s try making dandelion wine.

Dandelion’s are considered weeds and are known to be pesky. Plain and simple dandelions have a bad rap! So, next time you think of a dandelion think of all the great qualities it possesses. Forage your lawn for these nutritious leafy greens rather than spray them down with toxic chemicals. For old time’s sake, you can blow a wish to health. Take advantage of their healing and cleansing benefits. Eat your weeds away!
Article at
http://ecochildsplay.com/

Somethin’ strange…in your neighbourhood?

By Jim Hynes
Raccoons destroying your garden, skunks living in your cabana, bats in your attic, ants in your kitchen, fungus on your tree leaves, weird worms in your lawn? Who you gonna call? Call UNIS!
McGill students Mel Lefebvre and Christie Lovat field hundreds of calls (and emails) like these every summer in a non-descript former classroom in the Raymond Building on Macdonald Campus. The two are officers at the Urban Nature Information Service (UNIS), a not-for-profit organization affiliated with McGill’s Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences providing answers to horticultural, wildlife and green-living inquiries from callers all over Quebec.
The program started as the Horticultural Information Centre back in 1982, a free service offered by the Plant Science Department. In 2001, it merged with a similar service called the Wildlife Information Centre, run by the Department of Natural Resource Sciences, to create UNIS. Today, the program is staffed by students and overseen by two coordinators: Dr. David Bird, professor of Wildlife Biology in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences, and Dr. Danielle Donnelly, a professor in the Plant Science Department.
When they can, Lefebvre and Lovat offer solutions to horticultural and wildlife dilemmas both common and unusual. They will even examine samples, of insects or damaged leaves for example, to get to the bottom of their callers’ problems.
When it comes to situations involving wild animals, however, UNIS acts as more of a referral service.
“If we are unable to help someone, like in the case of caring for an injured bird, which is illegal in Quebec without the proper permit, we can provide the numbers of organizations who can help,” says Lefebvre, who will be completing her studies in biodiversity and conservation at the McGill School of the Environment in the fall.
Every summer, UNIS staff update the list of the services they refer people to, services with names like Eco-Bug Doctor and Squirrel Rehab, to make sure the information they are providing is still accurate.
Some calls though, like the first one they received one morning in early July, can be handled with a little experience and common sense. A man in Dollard-des-Ormeaux has discovered a duck and a nest with four unhatched eggs in it near his backyard swimming pool, so Lefebvre advises him to pit the nest in a box and walk, it, slowly, to a nearby park that has a pond. Mother duck, she explains, will surely waddle behind.
Many calls to UNIS last summer, says Lovat, a Botanical Science student, were about white grubs and the animals that like to eat them ravaging suburban lawns.
“We don’t have as many white grub questions this year. A lot of our calls right now are about tree diseases. The cold spring has resulted in a lot of cold damage to trees. People are concerned that trees that were beautiful and full last year have fewer leaves and dead branches this year,” Lovat says. “In most cases we just reassure them that their tree is not dying and will come back to normal if they cut off the dead branches.”
The past two years have offered a new challenge to the UNIS officers as they got to take their know-how on the road to be shared with local municipalities and their residents. In bi-weekly visits to Terrasse-Vaudreuil, a community on the farthest reaches of the West Island, they give workshops and field questions on subjects like environmentally friendly lawn care, composting methods, white grub control, recycling, and dealing with wild animals in urban settings.
Another challenge, an ongoing one, is funding. UNIS has traditionally been funded through donations from various Quebec municipalities, a grant provided by the Federal Government, and by support from the Natural Resource Science Department. Funding cuts of any kind, UNIS says, could jeopardize the future of the service.
To reach UNIS, call 514-398-7882, email them at unis.macdonald@mcgill.ca, or visit them online at www.unis.mcgill.ca

Article from http://reporter.mcgill.ca/2009/07