The key to common lawn pest control is identification. Once you have properly identified the pest you can choose the best method or appropriate measure of control.

Garden Pest Control

A spring rose insect watch

Rose midge is an insect that can injure roses as new growth occurs. The larvae of this insect are maggots, and its feeding can affect both flower buds and foliage. Affected flower buds darken in color, shrivel and droop. Leaf damage appears as incomplete expansion, dark discoloration, wilting and even death. However, severe bud damage can occur with little or no leaf damage. One way to manage this insect is to remove affected buds since they can harbor midge maggots. Gardeners can also treat with a labeled insecticide as soon as affected buds are noticed. Several generations of this insect can occur in a season, so continue to watch for signs of their damage and prune out affected buds and/or reapply insecticide as needed.

Ohio State University Horticulture & Crop Science

All across the United States the increasing deer population causes more problems for the gardener than difficulties like drought, insects, poor soil or diseases. They are burdensome for many reasons. They eat all kinds of plants and they have insatiable appetites. Most garden problems are seasonal but deer stick around twenty-four seven all year long.

The most effective way to keep the deer away is by fencing. A good fence will be tall and perhaps even electrified. If this is too costly, there is plastic mesh fencing that is widely available to be used as an alternative, but much less effective.

Less attractive than plastic meshing would be to surround your plants with chicken wire.

Another deterrent would be to use motion detector sensors that trigger spotlights at night and sprinklers during the day. This "scarecrow" sprinkler from Landscape USA works very effectively.

A medium to large breed dog running free or confined with an invisible fence can frighten deer but may not even be enough. But let's look at some repellents.

Results from repellents that are offensively smelling or tasting to deer vary regionally. But just like you and I might become accustomed to the noise of a nearby train track the deer become adjusted the same way. If they are hungry enough they will still eat. Another downside to this type of repellent is the repetition required. New growth from plants that need to be sprayed and the washing away of the repellent from rain or other precipitation makes it a continuous battle. ***See update below .

Human hair has worked very well for some. Ask your local barber or beautician for a bag of hair. They may want you to sweep the floor for it but it's a cheap and effective deterrent.

Blood meal has been an effective repellent for some and The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension recommends Milorganite ® fertilizer, derived from Milwaukee Organic Nitrogen. This product is often used for soil amendment purposes rather than as a fertilizer because of the low Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium (N-P-K) values of 6-2-0. The cost 40-pound bag usually runs from $7.00 to $10.00. Milorganite® is commercially sold by fertilizer dealers throughout the United States. The effectiveness of a repellent is highly dependent on climatic conditions, deer density, and resource availability.

You can plant defensively so to speak. There are many plants that deer will not touch. You may have noticed some that go unharmed. Some gardeners have bordered their yards will these types that seem to steer the deer in other directions. Some are listed here:

Deer resistant plants

TREES: Japanese Maples, Birches, Evergreens like Spruce or Pine, Holly (American), Ash, Magnolias, and Hawthorns

BUSHES or SHRUBBERY: Andromedas, Bayberry, Boxwoods, Dogwood shrubs, Daphnes, Forsythias, Lilacs, Myrtle, Nandinas, Oleanders and Roses Sharon.

PERENNIALS & GROUNDCOVER: Astilbes, Bee balms, Blazing stars, Crocuses, Coreopsis, Daffodils, Forget-me-nots, Foxgloves, Geraniums, Hyacinths, Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Poppies, Peonies, Sage, Salvias, Veronica and Violets.

From what others as well as myself have experienced, commercial deer repellent from local garden supply stores have proven to be the most effective way to ward off the deer.

We have found a product called Liquid Fence™ to be outstanding for repelling deer. One application can last up to 3 to 4 weeks unless of course it rains. Re-application would then be required. This has had amazing results. One resident witnessed 12 eaten hostas return to full foliage. This stuff works like nobody's business, probably because it smells like everybody's business! But seriously, we did have great success.

Common Arborvitae Pests

A friend was complaining that her arborvitae's have brown tips and many have fallen off, what should she do?  Well, if this isn’t a drought issue there could be a number of things going on.
Arborvitae's, like all evergreens, will loose some of their foliage just naturally every year, usually in the fall.  If you see this happening on the inside near the trunk don’t worry.
If this is occurring with brown spots or you notice the foliage turns yellow first and then brown you probably have aphids.  Aphids are tiny little bugs with pear shaped-bodies a little smaller than a pencil tip.

You’ll have to use a magnifying glass to see them.
Or it could be leaf miners.  Leaf miners are tiny little bugs, red with black heads

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They eat and set up camp to hibernate through the winter and in spring they will morph into gray moths.  These two pests are common.  You can spray in either case with an insecticidal soap. Only once every 5-7 days.  Too much soap can cause burning so use with prudence.
Often times the home remedies work just as well as the chemicals you’d buy in the store and often they’re made with things you have in the cupboard so they’re relatively safe.
A simple insecticidal soap recipe:
Mix
3 level tsp soap powder
1 Gallon warm water
Pour into a spray bottle and LABEL IT! And keep out of reach of children.

Rose Bush with Yellowed Leaves

I had a problem with aphids in my previous home on my Rose bushes. Rose aphids were destroying my beautiful long stemmed rose bushes. If you grow roses you know how disappointing that can be. I would get a beautiful early season blossom but the fall blossoms which had become standard no longer came to bare. The rose aphids came along in June and destroyed the foliage cutting off the supply line of the sunlight. The leaves turned yellow and eventually fell. These were green, pear-shaped and only visible through a magnifying glass. I discovered them on the underside of the leaves. I unfortunately found them too late. But the following season, I watched with vigilance and sure enough, they came back. The soap insecticide formula was enough to kill the infestation. I had a powder formula I had purchased from a gardening center, but there were too many small children and pets near by that may have been at harm with exposure to the chemicals.Here's what I used from previous post: A simple insecticidal soap recipe:
Mix
3 level tsp soap powder
1 Gallon warm water
Pour into a spray bottle and LABEL IT! And keep out of reach of children.

Yellow patches in my lawn

You do everything right. You water, fertilize and mow with a methodical approach yet you find these circular yellow spots on you lawn. More than likely you have chinch bugs. Here is an adult chinch bug: a.k.a. cinch bug. It's commonly mispelled, and arguably just as annoying as the bugs themselves.

chinch or cinch bug

These nasty things will eat away at your grass sucking the juice right out of it then they leave behind a poison that kills it. They are most common in the South, East and Midwest. They love St. Augustine grass, Kentucky Bluegrass and Bent grass. They also like highly fertilized grass, and this is another reason I say too much fertilizing can be harmful.

Well, here's a way you can test and verify if these pests have invaded. Take a teaspoon of liquid detergent, dish or laundry, and mix it with a quart of water. Then remove both ends of a tin can to give you a tin tube. Push one end of the tin tube into the ground, about 2-3 inches. Then pour about 1 cup of the solution into the can. Wait about 5-10 minutes and watch for anything climbing or floating to the surface. You may be surprised at what you see coming up.

They tend to infest when there is a thick thatch(see mowing techniques), poor nitrogen content and lack of water. They usually appear during dry spells. They'll colonize in the hottest and dryest parts of your lawn. It may be difficult to distinguish drought damage from chinch bugs, but the "can" test will tell the tale.

make your own insecticidal soap/cinch bug removal procedure

Here's a simple, cheap and very effective home remedy for chinch bugs. Drop 2 TSP of dishwashing liquid into 1 gallon of water preferably in a watering can with a sprinkler head, for even distribution. Pour the soapy insecticide over the suspected or rather infected area. Then place a white cloth, something close to flannel or terri, over the area you just saturated. Wait about 15 minutes. The chinch bugs will come to surface and cling to the cloth. Grab the cloth and dump it into a bucket of soapy water. Then hose down the area with water to dilute the soapy insecticide.

Another option would be to make the insecticidal soap I mentioned above and add 4 teaspoons of isopropyl rubbing alcohol. (This step helps in penetration.) Pour it into a spray bottle that you have labeled explicitly and spray the infected areas every 3 days for 2 weeks. This should take care of the little pests.

Commercial insecticidal soaps are much safer to use than the homemade recipes. The commercial products are made to kill certain and specific insects while not harming beneficial insects. They are biodegradable and they break down within a week or two so as not to harm plants or the environment. Scott's Ortho makes a Bug-B-Gone insect killer for lawns that will work great; just follow the instructions.

To follow up and keep them from returning make sure your thatch layer never gets thicker than 1/4 inch, keep your lawn moist and well watered and try to avoid over fertilizing. I'll say it again among these pages; once a year is really all that's necessary. More on fertilizing here and here .

Fire Ant mounds in my lawn

Southern states have been reporting unusual incidences of fire ant colonies. There are ways to manage their infestation but they cannot be totally eliminated. Their biological make-up makes it impossible. But don't be discouraged The best way to rid yourself of fire ants is the broadcast bait method. In most scenarios the broadcast bait method is the easiest, most effective and least expensive way to deal with fire ants. Broadcast bait means to spread it conservatively over an area, eliminating the need to locate and treat specific areas or mounds.

Amdro or even Over 'N Out made by Garden Tech are a couple of broadcast bait treatments we recommend and you can find in your local garden supply stores. The best time to apply these pest controller's is in the mid to late summer when ants are most active in seeking bait

And if you're ever bitten by them, apply a 50/50 mixture of bleach and water to the area. Keep a solution handy if you work around them often. This will keep the swelling down and ease the pain. If the pain is unbearable and if it spreads beyond the bitten area, get to an emergency room.

White Grubs leave brown dead spots of grass

1.2. 3.

1.grub  2.May or June beetle  3.grub damaged turf

Common here in Ohio is the May/June Beetle, among a few other scarabs. If you see these June Bugs, as they're often referred to, you can bet that there are white grubs or larvae present as well. This is most likely to occur in newly constructed homes where the lawn was previously a field or pasture. Seldom do we see a large infestation of grubs in well-established lawns.

Identification is the key, so you'll know how to combat them. If you were to pull up on the dead grass chances are the roots will come up easily and you'll find the culprits right along with it. They are easy to spot. They have chubby little bodies and tend to curl up into a "U" shape. They start feeding in early spring and the damage they cause can be noticed the entire growing season. A few here and there aren't all that bad but when they are overcrowding your lawn you'll really begin to see some damage.

The "can" test mentioned in the chinch bug article above is a good way to find their population.

" Take a teaspoon of liquid detergent, dish or laundry, and mix it with a quart of water. Then remove both ends of a tin can to give you a tin tube. Push one end of the tin tube into the ground, about 2-3 inches. Then pour about 1 cup of the solution into the can. Wait about 5-10 minutes and watch for anything climbing or floating to the surface. You may be surprised at what you see coming up."

Do this about every 12 square feet apart. If you bring up 6 - 8 grubs per can you shouldn't be worried. The critters and crows can take care of those numbers. Anything more then you need to engage a full assault.

If you see moles, black crows or raccoons nearby, this is another sign you may have grubs. To them these are tasty treats.

The best time to launch an attack is when the grubs are young. When you see June bugs active around your porch lights then you know they're gettin' busy. There will soon be little larvae everywhere.

David J. Shetlar the Extension Landscape Entomologist of Ohio State University says, "By noticing when the first adults arrive on a property, you can pick off and destroy these scouts that attract additional pests. The adults are less active in the early morning or late evening. They can be destroyed by dropping into a container of soapy water.

The adults can be controlled by spraying susceptible plants with insecticides. Over-the-counter pesticides available for this include: acephate (Orthene), carbaryl (Sevin), and several pyrethroids - bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, permethrin, and others. Applications of imidacloprid (=Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub Concentrate) generally need to be made 20 days before anticipated Japanese beetle adult activity. During the heavy adult activity periods, sprays may be needed every 5 to 10 days."

The best times to apply insecticides are in late June, July and August. This is when they are smaller and actively feeding.

An organic method can be applying insect parasitic "nematodes They're available in most garden centers. These microscopic worms burrow into the grubs, reproduce and spread a bacteria that kills the grubs; if you must know the "hows." Results vary and a second application may be necessary. Be sure to water before and after if you use nematodes.

To fight them chemically you can find grub killer in your local garden center. Read the labels and look for things like, imidacloprid and isofenphos in the active ingredients.

To keep them at bay, hand pick the June bugs whenever you see them active. Dump them in a bucket of soapy water. Encourage birds and toads, if you can support these natural predators. If you hang out traps you may just end up essentially inviting all the beetles in the neighborhood over for a feast. Only if your neighbors use the trap method will this be effective. Lawn pest control is an ongoing battle, so be prepared and stay vigilant.