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What Causes Lawn Grubs And How To Treat Them?

Lawn grubs are primarily living beneath the soil surface causing destruction and damage on your lawn. If not treated properly, they will make your lawn unpleasing, unhealthy, and very dry. Grubs are lawn pests sourcing their food from the grass roots. The most harmful among them are the Japanese beetles and European chafers.

Grubs are C-shaped pests with 6 tiny legs. They are from the beetle larvae. There are several factors that encourage grubs growth. Let’s dissect some of them.

1. Heavy thatch accumulation causes grub growth in your lawn. When the thatch layer exceeds ½ inch, there must be grubs deep down because what gives partial protection to them are the thatch layers.

2. Excessive application of pesticides and chemicals can cause indiscriminate death on the beneficial insects living in the ground, and when this happen notorious pests like white grub multiply faster.

3. Stressed, dehydrated, dried up, and taken for granted lawn grounds are very much susceptible to pest infestations.

There are indications that will tell you there are pests in your lawn. The usual manifestations of lawn grubs can either be yellowish grass or slowly dying lawn grass. In some severe cases, the grass growth is totally hindered. Any of these scenarios will eventually attract birds, raccoons, moles and other similar organisms to feast on the ground seeking for grubs. The ultimate effect is serious lawn injury.

White grubs can be treated utilizing natural remedies like the use of the tiny and soil-inhabiting worms called nematodes. These nematodes can provide and release bacteria that are capable of killing the grubs. To be more manageable, you mix the nematodes with water and spray it thoroughly all over the ground. This kind of lawn treatment is eco friendly. Another approach to kill grubs is to make your lawn healthier thru aeration and dethatching.

Winter Lawn Care

A green and healthy lawn requires regular care and maintenance. Most of the people take care of their lawn only during the summer months. They feel that the grass during winter is covered with snow and has less growth. So they believe that there is no need to give special care during winter. However, your grass is still there living below the snow and elements, so you need to take the necessary steps to get them ready for the season. By following a few maintenance tips you will be able to make the lawn look very healthy and well maintained.

Prepare the lawn for the cold season. You have to aerate your lawn to reduce the buildup of thatch. The best way is to cut the grass to minimal height so that it is less exposed to winter winds and mold growth. Mow the lawn frequently and maintain the low height. To provide enough nutrients for the winter you can supply it with a good fertilizer or a winter weed and feed. This will help the lawn to remain healthy with the required nutrients all through the winter. Do not over use fertilizer because it can harm the garden, try and follow a specific lawn feeding schedule.

Always ensure that you do not step on the snow or frost covered grass. It could cause damage to the grass (black foot prints) and reduce the effects of aeration. If possible try not to walk on the grass during the winter season. After the snow disappears you have to clear any kind of debris on the lawn. A good idea to know the condition of the soil is to get it tested. Poor soil results in poorly growing grass. After examining the result you have to take the necessary measures to improve the condition of your soil. You can refer to some lawn care advice and find out the different methods to take care of it properly. So whatever be the season ensure that you take appropriate measure to have a healthy and green lawn.

Plastic Netting For Your Garden

A plastic garden net can meet a various range of needs. It can be used for almost anything in the garden. They are a hassle-free garden item compared to those wire nets which can be frustrating just to put them up. It is strong enough to be used as a support for vine type of flowering plants like morning glories and also for vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers and pole beans. Sturdier and more rigid plastic garden netting are ideal to be used as fencing or protective barriers around your trees and vegetables to defend them from different pest attacks.

The most common use of garden netting is for protecting plants from pest’s hungry attacks on your plants, vegetables, and fruits. Gardener’s know how much damage even a single insect can do to their plants and vegetable gardens. Just one egg can cause major destruction to your garden. Insect netting’s mesh is will still allow enough air and moisture to keep your plants growing healthy and also allows those essential insects that aids with pollination through.

Bird nets for gardens are also available to defend your garden produce from birds that cannot resist them and will end up damaging your crops. They are great for protecting your garden fruits especially strawberries, raspberries, grapes, and blueberries from all kinds of birds. Netting can also be used as a barrier for your plants from attacks from ground animals such as a deer, squirrels, rabbits, and badgers.

There are plants that are better when grown vertically. People who have concerns regarding garden space can create a vertical garden. For this, trellis netting is recommended. A garden grown vertically adds drama and excitement to a garden. This gardening method also prevents your plants from acquiring ground diseases. Plastic trellis nettings are lightweight which makes them easy to install but are strong enough to be used as a support for climbing plants and their fruits.

Plastic garden nettings are maintenance free. They are flexible and strong enough to use in many types of gardening needs. These types of netting are non-corrosive and are weather and chemical resistant. Plastic garden nettings are designed to work in all seasons but are also easy to fold and stored away when not in use.

The Perfect Time To Aerate Is Now

Wondering what is the best way to get lush, green grass for your lawn? The answer is aeration. The entire aeration process will surely make your lawn a lot healthier. The method involves creating holes in your lawn which can be done through the process of coring or by removing the plugs of earth. You can opt to push rod into your lawn also. To aerate lawn is like giving an air to your lawn so it may thrive through time.

But when should you aerate? It depends on you. There is no such thing as “the best season to aerate” because the soil in your lawn needs air all the time. Just like humans, one important factor in our continued existence is having enough supply of air for breathing. Some would claim though that aerating has its right timing both during the spring season and fall.

To convince you more about the power of aerating your lawn, let us enumerate and discuss the advantages of aeration.

  • Aeration enables oxygen to go through the roots allowing the soil to breathe some air.
  • Necessarily, aeration loosens up the compactness of the lawn soil.
  • The accumulated layer of thatch will break down and eventually removed from your space.
  • Because the organic fertilizers, water and other important nutrients are able to penetrate deep down to the roots portion, you can expect excellent grass growth.
  • Add all the above-enumerated benefits the end result is healthier, greener and beautifully looking lawn.

You can choose which will suit you best, either spike aeration or plug aeration. The two mechanisms are equally good in terms of providing sufficient oxygen to the soil. Both are also capable in loosening up the soil. The only difference is that in plug aeration, when the soil is mixed up again into the lawn, the microbial activity in the entire area is greatly enhanced. As a result, any dead mass on the turf will decay naturally.

3 Different Kinds Of Aerators For Your Lawn

Everyone wants to keep the lawn free from yellow or patchy areas. This can be done by aerating the lawn. Lawn aeration is helpful in bringing back the health of the lawn, and replacing the patchy areas with green and thick grass. It breaks the solid soil and makes space in the soil such that the roots of the grass are able to get the necessary elements like water, air, and nutrients, and hence can grow stronger and deeper. In general, there are three types of aerators, which are discussing as:

Soil Aerators: Soil aerator relates with all those things, which is helpful to aerate the soil, but now a day it describes the soil conditioners. The basic purpose of these aerators is to make the space between the soil particles; this can be done by penetrating the aerators deep into the soil. One can use these aerators every other month in the growing season, also in conjunction with any other method of aeration, which done at least once in the year. The minimum price for purchasing the soil aerator is $5 for each container, but it varies according the aerator that one is buying.

Manual Aerators: This aerator contains hand-held tools that consist a handle, a long pole, and 2 or 3 prong attached to the bottom with a crossbar. This can be use by placing the prongs on the ground and pushing it into the ground with a foot-stepping on the crossbar. These prongs can be solid or hollow, but the solid prongs are easy to use in harder areas. On the other side, holes make easy the task and faster such that roots have less time to improve space, so aeration lasts for a longer time. The disadvantage of manual aerators is that they are harder to use, and make the task more difficult with an increased number of prongs. They take more time to aerate, but they are remarkably cheap.

Mechanical Aerators: These types of aerators are similar to manual aerators. In this aerator, rolling ones that can be hollow or solid attached to a barrel, which makes holes in the ground, and pull by a tractor. The price of mechanical aerator ranges from $100 to $1000 or more, due to that reason most of people like to use it on rent whenever the aeration requires.

Year Round Lawn Care

Maintaining your lawn and ensuring that your grass is healthy and attractive is much harder work than most people might think. Looking after your lawn is actually a job that should be done throughout the year and keeping a lawn calendar is a good idea, although you should be sure to stick to the schedule and not skip a month or two.

During the first three months of the year, there is not usually anything that you need to do to look after your lawn and this is a good time to enjoy a break. However, if you live somewhere where your lawn can become frozen or waterlogged, try to make sure that nobody walks on it; this will help to keep it looking its best.

When April arrives, you should make a start on mowing your lawn regularly and increase the cutting height gradually, over time. During the spring months, you should have more daylight, making it the ideal time to use a nitrogen fertilizer on your lawn. During this time, you can also start to use weed killer if you feel it necessary.

Spring is the time of year when you generally work the hardest at lawn care and once the summer arrives, you can reduce the mowing frequency to once a week. If you have dry summers, you may need to water your lawn regularly. And once September arrives, it is already time to start thinking ahead to next year – it is a good time to re-seed your lawn for the following year. The last few months of the year are generally busy with clearing leaves and other debris from your lawn.

Good lawn care can result in a beautiful and healthy lawn and it need not be difficult if you use the above tips and make sure you follow a calendar.

Using Pole Saws for Tree Pruning

Tree pruning can be far more difficult than pruning hedges simply because trees can get so large. However, pruning should not be neglected if you wish to prolong the life of the tree. Thinning out a tree’s crown helps light to hit the leaves and eliminates unnecessary branches which can hinder structural strength.

To reach the tall branches, special tools are needed. In most cases, tall branches can be reached without ever setting foot onto a ladder. A tool known as a pole saw features a telescoping pole which can be adjusted to reach just about any branch. At the end of the pole is a small chainsaw blade which rotates at high speed. In just a few moments the blade can cut through an entire branch. The maneuverability of such blades allows you to make cuts that will not harm the tree (i.e. cutting into limb flesh). Occasional oiling of the blades is needed, although some saws have automatic oiling reservoir which does this for you.

A pole saw can be powered be either an electric or gasoline motor. Gasoline motors are the most common because they are so powerful. However, many consumers turn to an electric pole saw for their yard care needs. Quiet, efficient, lightweight and low-maintenance, electric pole saws have enough power for small to medium jobs, which is what most consumers have. Saws can either be powered by a battery pack or an extension cord. Battery pack models have a limited working time but are very maneuverable. Wired models do not have as much range but have unlimited run times and are slightly more powerful.

Safety is improved when using a pole saw because you never have to balance on a wall or ladder. Safety is essential when learning how to prune trees. Full stability is ensured when you can have both feet planted firmly on the ground.

All about Finding a Lawn Aerator Rental

If you are looking for an article that will help you in aerating your lawn, then you just have landed in the right page. This article will be guiding you from the beginning until the end where you will have a healthy and green lawn.

You probably should know that aerating your lawn is a compulsory requirement for your lawn if you want to keep it green and healthy. Lawn aeration brings a lot of benefits to your lawn. Here are just some of them;

  • Loosened soil for better water and nutrients penetration. It also prevents highway spills.
  • Creates holes for over seeding, that will fill empty spaces in your lawn.
  • Allows deeper root growth
  • Better decomposition, helps in even distribution of nutrients
  • Prevents thatch development and etc.

With all these benefits, one would never take lawn aeration for granted. Now if you are looking for help in getting your lawn aerated, then keep on reading.

Basically, you will need a lawn aerator for aeration to be done. Lawn aerators are available in gardening stores for a few thousand dollars. Although, a few thousand dollars is not a good investment for something that you will only be using for a few times over the year, it’ll be best to check on other options. Next option is to hire a professional to do the job, this may cost you below a hundred bucks. And the last option, which I think is the best option is to rent an aerator at a lawn aerator rental shop. Here are the benefits of renting      an aerator;

  • You will be able to freely manage your time, and personally do the work yourself.
  • It is a lot cheaper compared to hiring a professional.
  • You get to learn more about your lawn, giving you more knowledge in maintaining it.
  • And lastly, you will be able to work on your desired result at a cheap price.

Last tip that I can give you is that, if you have a friend who wants to get his lawn aerated too. You can split the aerator rental payment among yourselves, because usually you get the job done earlier than the time allocated for your rent.

When is the Absolute Best Time to Aerate Your Lawn?

The best time to aerate your yard or lawn is during April or at the end of September. However, if you are planning to aerate your lawn during Spring,anytime is alright from March up to the end of June, if you will aerate your lawn during Fall, the best time will be from September to October.

To keep your lawn healthy, you should always aerate your lawn and you should do that using a pull behind lawn aerator. A pull behind lawn aerator is a very effective tool that can act as turf builder; also it enhances the softness of the soil making the roots of the grass grow even larger, which is good for you to have a healthy lawn.

There are many reasons why you should aerate your lawn today. Below are the benefits that you will get when you regularly aerate your lawn.

1.      When you aerate your lawn especially with a lawn aerator tools like pull behind lawn aerator, you will get your task accomplished easily and fast!

2.      You will have a greener lawn.

3.      You will save the cost of watering for these reasons:

  • When you aerate your lawn regularly with a pull behind lawn aerator you actually improve your drainage and you reduce run offs.
  • You reduce soil compaction and increase in the root development
  • You reduce drought that might cause further damage
  • You help lessen the probable build up of thatch
  • You allow the air, water and nutrients to directly go to the root system
  • Lastly, you help in the fertilizing and over seeding

You can have all of these benefits if you have a pull behind lawn aerator to aerate your lawn. You can work better and easier if you know the basics and reasons why you should aerate your lawn. So get one now!