| With the cool weather of the fall season, most lawn | | | | fall lawn and garden pest they do not do as much |
| and garden pests and diseases begin to dwindle | | | | damage as they do in the spring, but they can still be |
| away. Yet, there are a few lawn and garden pests | | | | a concern for some climate zones, especially those |
| that thrive off of the cool temperatures of the fall | | | | that stay above freezing well into November. |
| season. One good point about fall lawn and garden | | | | Keep in mind that grubworms will usually survive over |
| pests is that they will not have the chance to last as | | | | the winter and turn into adult beetles, repeating the |
| long as spring and summer pests because the | | | | entire life cycle in the spring, and this is why |
| freezing temperatures of winter will kill them off long | | | | grubworms can be such a problem for all seasons. |
| before they do a tremendous amount of damage. | | | | Most of the time, they will hatch in the late summer |
| Still, though, if these fall lawn and garden pests have | | | | and begin feeding on lawn and garden roots in the |
| been at it all summer long, they may stick around | | | | fall. This is when gardeners will notice patches of |
| through the fall and wreak havoc on the remaining | | | | dead grass or grass that is squishy or can easily be |
| lawn and garden perennials, bulbs and trees. | | | | pulled up since the roots are missing. |
| Fall Armyworms | | | | If at all possible, apply grubworm control in the mid |
| The most beautiful part about the fall season is the | | | | to late summer, something with the active ingredient |
| different colors of foliage that will begin to appear in | | | | imidacloprid, which is a chloro-nicotinyl compound. This |
| September and October. Unfortunately, Fall | | | | will kill the larvae before they get a chance to hatch |
| Armyworms love to prey on this beautiful foliage | | | | in the late summer and will keep the life cycle from |
| during the fall months, as their name suggests, and | | | | perpetuating. |
| can do damage very rapidly. | | | | Sod Webworms |
| They usually appear in September and will stick | | | | Similar to the grubworms, sod webworms have a |
| around until the first big frost. The major problem | | | | year long life cycle that means they can become fall |
| with this fall lawn and garden pest is that they almost | | | | lawn and garden pests as well as being bothersome |
| always feed at night, making it hard to identify the | | | | during the spring and summer. Instead of arriving in |
| problem until you wake in the morning to leaves that | | | | the form of beetles, the sod webworms come from |
| have been chewed around the edges. | | | | adult moths that usually begin laying eggs in the |
| The upside to Fall Armyworms as a fall lawn and | | | | spring. |
| garden pest is that they are usually easy to spot, as | | | | The difference is that their eggs hatch fairly quickly |
| they are a large tan to dark brown colored worm | | | | but the webworms are so small that their infestation |
| with a large stripe either brown or red in color on | | | | may go undetected until they cocoon and reemerge |
| each side. Fall Armyworms often like to make | | | | as moths in the late summer to produce another |
| themselves present in cornfields in the early fall | | | | generation that is more destructive. This is why you |
| months and can cause major damage to the | | | | may see sod webworm problems in the fall months. |
| remaining corn crops. For those farmers and | | | | While it is helpful to use preventive sod webworm |
| gardeners who are aware of Fall Armyworms, a | | | | control through Microbial pesticides, the problem is |
| pretreatment of pesticides will usually kill the larvae | | | | that many of these pesticides will not only kill the |
| that are preparing to hatch. Unfortunately, the | | | | moths of sod webworms, they may also kill |
| pretreatment needs to be established by late July or | | | | butterflies and even non-pest moths. |
| August to prevent damage in September. | | | | The best method of prevention is to simply clean up |
| Grubworms | | | | leaves, grass clippings, mulch and plant debris in the |
| Grubworms like the cool weather season and feed | | | | fall months to keep the webworms from making |
| more in the spring and fall months. Fortunately as a | | | | webs in these places and producing more larvae. |