How to Prevent the Top 10 Lawn Pests and Diseases

Learn how to identify and prevent the top pests and diseases that may be harming your lawn.

Filed under: Lawn Care, Garden Pest

4. Snow Mold (Fusarium patch)

Most commonly seen in the fall or after snow, this fungal disease appears as yellow or brownish patches on the lawn, occasionally with a layer of white or sometimes pink mold that looks similar to cobwebs. Patches can spread rapidly and destroy a lawn. Scarification can help reduce the risk, as can avoiding high nitrogen feeds in the fall.

Snow Mold Disease Can Attack Healthy Lawn

5. Ant Nests

Ant hills look ugly on a lawn, and if they cannot be tolerated, consider using the nematode Steinernema feltiae as a biological control, which is available from mail order companies. The commercial ant powders and sprays available for controlling ants are usually for use in buildings and not effective outdoors where ant nests can be deep in the soil.

6. Chafer Grubs

These unattractive grubs are the larvae of the chafer beetle and cause problems not only because they feed on grass roots but also because creatures such as badgers and birds often tear the lawn up in order to eat them. Biological control involves watering in nematodes, which are available by mail order, although chemical controls are also available.