sb in south carolina – posted 29 September 2003 13:31
I planted St. Augustine sod in my backyard in late April/early May. In the beginning, the sod seemed to be doing fine. By mid June, the sod began to die. All of it eventually died. The sod farm that I bought the sod from suggested I try a fungicide, because we had an abundance of rain immediately after we planted. When that didn’t work, I tried Triazicide. But, by that time, the grass was almost completely gone. In late August, I discovered an infestation of mole crickets. I have applied Triazicide numerous times and the grass is beginning to grow back in some areas. Should I keep treating with Triazicide through the winter? Will the grass come back in the spring, or should I plan on replanting the entire lawn again?
Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 01 October 2003 11:35
Oh my! I’ll try to remain calm, but to say the least, I disagree with using nonselective chemical insecticides – period. Continued use will ensure you have repeated problems for seasons to come. Here’s why.
Insect pests have short life cycles. Natural insect pest predators are extremely good at cleaning up the pests, but unfortunately, the beneficial predators have a much longer life cycle. So, for example, aphids can be born 100% female and 100% pregnant to recycle young every 10 days while ladybugs must go through a more seasonal life cycle. If you killed off all the insects with a nonselective killer, the aphids could fly back in 10 days while the ladybugs can’t be back for weeks or months.
Here’s what I would do starting from where you are now.
1. Get rid of the Triazicide so you’re not tempted to use it again.
2. Apply a thin layer of compost to your yard. Even though I’m organic, I hardly ever suggest using compost UNLESS there has been a chemical spill of some kind or a flood. You have an ongoing chemical spill situation. Apply 1 cubic yard per 1,000 square feet of turf. Compost will replenish the soil microbes you have killed with the insecticide and start to rebuild a healthy environment for all the beneficial insects to return.
3. Apply an organic fertilizer. This will feed the microbes provided by the compost. Compost is not a fertilizer. Corn meal is. Also, just in case you have a fungus, corn meal will kill the fungus, too. Apply at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can get corn meal at a feed store in 50-pound bags for around $6.50.
4. Water once a week and no more frequently. If your grass starts to look wilty, then water it sooner, but you don’t have any grass to worry about right now. When you water, water for an hour all at once. Then don’t water again until the grass looks wilty.
5. If you get another cricket infestation, try using beneficial nematodes on them. BN carry a disease to their host insects. The disease kills the insect in 24-48 hours and does absolutely no harm to non-hosts, including beneficial insects, people, pets, fish, birds, and lizards.
sb in south carolina – posted 02 October 2003 09:14
quote:Originally posted by Dchall_San_Antonio:Oh my! I’ll try to remain calm, but to say the least, I disagree with using nonselective chemical insecticides – period. Continued use will ensure you have repeated problems for seasons to come. Here’s why.
Insect pests have short life cycles. Natural insect pest predators are extremely good at cleaning up the pests, but unfortunately, the beneficial predators have a much longer life cycle. So, for example, aphids can be born 100% female and 100% pregnant to recycle young every 10 days while ladybugs must go through a more seasonal life cycle. If you killed off all the insects with a nonselective killer, the aphids could fly back in 10 days while the ladybugs can’t be back for weeks or months.
Here’s what I would do starting from where you are now.
1. Get rid of the Triazicide so you’re not tempted to use it again.
2. Apply a thin layer of compost to your yard. Even though I’m organic, I hardly ever suggest using compost UNLESS there has been a chemical spill of some kind or a flood. You have an ongoing chemical spill situation. Apply 1 cubic yard per 1,000 square feet of turf. Compost will replenish the soil microbes you have killed with the insecticide and start to rebuild a healthy environment for all the beneficial insects to return.
3. Apply an organic fertilizer. This will feed the microbes provided by the compost. Compost is not a fertilizer. Corn meal is. Also, just in case you have a fungus, corn meal will kill the fungus, too. Apply at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can get corn meal at a feed store in 50-pound bags for around $6.50.
4. Water once a week and no more frequently. If your grass starts to look wilty, then water it sooner, but you don’t have any grass to worry about right now. When you water, water for an hour all at once. Then don’t water again until the grass looks wilty.
5. If you get another cricket infestation, try using beneficial nematodes on them. BN carry a disease to their host insects. The disease kills the insect in 24-48 hours and does absolutely no harm to non-hosts, including beneficial insects, people, pets, fish, birds, and lizards.
sb in south carolina – posted 02 October 2003 09:17
Thanks for your help. I will definitely try your suggestions. One more question. Does the grass usually come back in the spring after such an infestation, or should I plan to resod. Sodding is expensive, and I want to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
What do you suggest for killing crabgrass and getting rid of bermuda grass growing in with the st. augustine.
quote:Originally posted by Dchall_San_Antonio:Oh my! I’ll try to remain calm, but to say the least, I disagree with using nonselective chemical insecticides – period. Continued use will ensure you have repeated problems for seasons to come. Here’s why.
Insect pests have short life cycles. Natural insect pest predators are extremely good at cleaning up the pests, but unfortunately, the beneficial predators have a much longer life cycle. So, for example, aphids can be born 100% female and 100% pregnant to recycle young every 10 days while ladybugs must go through a more seasonal life cycle. If you killed off all the insects with a nonselective killer, the aphids could fly back in 10 days while the ladybugs can’t be back for weeks or months.
Here’s what I would do starting from where you are now.
1. Get rid of the Triazicide so you’re not tempted to use it again.
2. Apply a thin layer of compost to your yard. Even though I’m organic, I hardly ever suggest using compost UNLESS there has been a chemical spill of some kind or a flood. You have an ongoing chemical spill situation. Apply 1 cubic yard per 1,000 square feet of turf. Compost will replenish the soil microbes you have killed with the insecticide and start to rebuild a healthy environment for all the beneficial insects to return.
3. Apply an organic fertilizer. This will feed the microbes provided by the compost. Compost is not a fertilizer. Corn meal is. Also, just in case you have a fungus, corn meal will kill the fungus, too. Apply at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can get corn meal at a feed store in 50-pound bags for around $6.50.
4. Water once a week and no more frequently. If your grass starts to look wilty, then water it sooner, but you don’t have any grass to worry about right now. When you water, water for an hour all at once. Then don’t water again until the grass looks wilty.
5. If you get another cricket infestation, try using beneficial nematodes on them. BN carry a disease to their host insects. The disease kills the insect in 24-48 hours and does absolutely no harm to non-hosts, including beneficial insects, people, pets, fish, birds, and lizards.