Pests in lawns: The 7 points you should know

I want to share with you an interesting statistic I heard from an expert at the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture. He pointed out to me that his department offers emergency field visits to farmers complaining of some pest or disease which they are unable to identify, eating up their crops. 50% of the "pests" turn out to be non biotic in origin, such as fertilizer or pesticide build-up in the soil. Indeed I have a little story of my own. Once a former customer phoned me in a panic, telling me that his lawn was being eaten-up by "something" and that the neighbour's gardener had already told them what pesticide to use. When I examined the grass, which was indeed browning–off, I discovered that all that had happened was that the automatic irrigation system had been accidentally turned off! This during the summer in Israel where there's no rain between April and October

So before rushing in with the poisons, remember that the management of pests and diseases is basically an integral part of the overall horticultural practice adopted in any given garden. Good sound practice leads in most cases to pest and disease levels low enough to exclude the need for pesticides. The basics of pest control in lawns are as follows:

1. Longer intervals between each watering helps to encourage a grass hardy to pest and disease attack.
2. Time your sprinkling when the humidity is naturally high, such as at daybreak. As fungi thrive on a mixture of warm and moist conditions, the worst possible time to water is usually in the early evening.
3. Over feeding with chemical fertilizer, particularly in the middle of summer, encourages various grass pathogens. Manure which has not thoroughly broken down to a humic state, can encourage the growth of pests like dung beetles.
4. If a hired gardener tends your garden, ask him/her to wipe the mower blades with some household sterilizing agent, before mowing your lawn.
5. The clearest sign of pest attack, is when turf easily comes away when pulled at.
6. Most pest damage comes from caterpillars of insects such as moths and beetles.
7. Pesticides should only be used when absolutely necessary.
· Before applying pesticides, the pathogen should be clearly identified, and the necessary course of action decided upon, preferably after consulting with a local expert.

Jonathan@dryclimategardening.com