Norminn wrote:


Ian Stock (remove the \"antispam\") wrote:

I have developed a large brown patch (aprox 200 sq. ft.) in the middle
of my
otherwise healthy and green lawn. I suspect grubs, but dug up a few
places
and found none. (This might have been because the lawn is already
dead, the
grubs have moved on.)

Before I blast the area with grubicide (or whatever it is) does anyone
have
any advice on a) verifying the problem, and b) treating it, c) getting
back
to "green"?

Thanks,

Ian



Look at a extension service website for your area. The last advice I
read in looking for grubs was to lay back a square foot of sod and count
the grubs that you find. Can recall what number is acceptable per sq ft
- three?

I intended to say "I cannot recall.....". Also forgot what was most
important - take a soil sample and a section of sod from the border of
your problem area to have them determine what the problem is.

Also, have you applied any chemicals recently? Conditions wetter or
drier than normal? How long has the problem existed?

Our condo had large bare areas, but seemed to have no specific problem,
other than poor maintenance. A gopher cricket infestation, here,
could kill a lot of lawn and be long gone if one did not stay on top of
problems. It is also easy to cause damage through improper application
of fertilizer and/or herbicides.


Has this been a gradual or sudden problem? Warm climate? Mole crickets
here in Florida can scalp a lot of lawn. One method for finding them is
to saturate about a sq foot of sod with soapy water - tbsp of
dishwashing detergen per gallon - wait and see what comes up for air.
Interesting experiment, as it causes even earthworms to struggle for air.