Summer Pests Flare Up

The finish line is in sight as far as brutal summer weather and intense turf stress is concerned.  However, we are experiencing a rash of pest problems recently as the summer winds down.  Insects, summer turf stress, and late summer weed outbreaks are making life challenging for us.  

Annual Bluegrass Weevils (ABW) are a big deal now after decades of watching them move south.  They arrived a few years ago and have kept us on our toes ever since.  Non stop scouting with traps, soap flushes, and careful inspection(on hands and knees) help us know what steps to take.  We also follow a great site called WeevilTrak to help us keep up with things.  There are multiple generations throughout the season and each stage of the ABWs life cycle causes trouble.  Treatment methods are specific to certain stages of the insects life cycle which makes scouting critical.  Knowing what product to use, when to use it, and how to use it is key to having any chance of success.  By late summer we are dealing with multiple generations and it is very tricky to know what approach to take.  They eat our putting green collars, sometimes the outer edges of the greens, and our tees.  The prefer Poa Annua (annual bluegrass), but will settle for bentgrass if it's near.  We were on a good track this season until recently when we noticed a lot of damage.  We've treated, but haven't seen the results we'd like.  They are winding down for the season, but will overwinter in nearby wood lines and show back up next spring to do it all over again.  

ABW larvae 

I normally have to dig a little to find them, but this one is above ground

Fall army worms are not usually a big deal for us, but they are a mess this year.  You see them more as moths, but I see them in their infant state as worms that eats grass.  It's possible you're having trouble with them in your lawns so keep an eye out.  They lay their eggs on flags, flagsticks, ob stakes, tee markers, etc... and a few weeks ago we noticed them all over those things.  The entire east coast seems to be having a battle with them now.  Thankfully they are generally more of a bermuda grass pest, but they have enjoyed some fescue recently.  We've treated where needed and will hopefully see the grass bounce back soon.

Dave spraying rough damaged from fall army worms

There are several in this picture if you look closely

We've been cleaning flagsticks daily for the past two weeks.  
Those are fall army worm eggs

Preventive weed control applications made in the spring are basically done working now.  Goosegrass is a popular problem that we can and do treat for as needed.  You may notice some of this now that it's white in color due to the application.  We also have a problem with bull paspalum in some places.  That's a perennial and it seems impossible for us to kill.  We can hurt it real bad, but it powers through.  If it were in bermuda we'd have other treatment options, but since it's in bentgrass and fescue we have fewer options.  Nutsedge and kyllinga are everyone's nightmare.  When we get late in the season and have some wet weather, they flourish.  All these weeds have been treated and will gradually fade away  soon.  

Summer bentgrass decline is the name we use for a complex of issues that lead to weak turf.  It's a mix of weather, mechanical stress (mowing, rolling, traffic, aeration), turf diseases, soil moisture issues, etc.. and generally flares up this time of year.  It's never one issue, but rather a combination of multiple factors that lead to struggling turf.  Last week's excessively wet weather followed by this week's extreme heat and humidity have put us in a weakened state.  It's likely that our efforts to aerate earlier this week created some degree of self inflicted damage on top of that.  We did opt to go a less disruptive and aggressive route (solid tines), but the topdressing step caused some bruising.  We will bounce back as soon as the low temperatures start to get below 70 consistently.  77 degrees this morning at 6AM was not a pleasant feeling for me or the turf.  

We have another tropical storm to contend with next week, but hopefully cooler temperatures will come along with it.  

The zoysia couldn't be happier and football season is near so we are staying positive.  Bentgrass and fescue will be in a better mood soon.