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Summer brings a desire to spend time outside and enjoy your yard. And, maintaining a lawn is not just about a beautifully landscaped yard, it is about keeping it pest-free. That way you can be proud to invite people over for summer bar-b-ques and enjoy entertaining more often. Remember too, that having a healthy lawn to enjoy is also meant to be pleasing to the homeowner. Read further for our tips on how to keep a pest-free and green lawn. Common Pests to Look Out For A Japanese beetle is a common and very destructive pest. They have been known to infest the leaves of plants, so if you have a garden be on the lookout. After they infest the leaves of plants they usually become quite unhealthy and die. Then there is the black African beetle. They feed on the roots of your lawn, and they can be found in summer and spring. They can leave massive damage that could cost a lot of money to fix. Mole crickets dig through the soil of your lawn and then proceed to eat the roots. Armyworms, sod webworms, and cutworms actually do cut the grass off near the soil. Wireworms are creatures that eat the embryos of the plants, and this prevents germination. Insects, especially ticks and fire ants, like to hide in tall grass. This can be especially dangerous to dogs who may pick up a tick while running around the yard. Mow your grass regularly and keep it short to keep ticks away. Also be aware of fire ants, mammals like deer, birds, and rabbits who like to eat plants, and birds. How to Avoid Pests in Your LawnFollow these tips on how to maintain a healthy and green yard. First, make sure your yard is clean. If you have trash laying around your lawn, it can attract pests and critters. Get rid of dead and decomposing plants, they invite flies, ants, and rodents. Clean up after your dog if you have one. Also, consider having any dead tree stumps removed. You will also need to rake your mulch frequently because ants like to use it to build their nests. If you have firewood in the backyard that is stacked against your home consider moving it. Rodents might use it to make their nests. Instead, stack the wood off the ground and away from your house. Avoid standing water from storms. Or from birdbaths and pools. Standing water attracts insects like mosquitoes. Mow Your LawnYou will need to mow your lawn to the appropriate length to keep your lawn green and healthy. If the grass is too long it could be damaged by pests feeding on it. And you should water the lawn, but avoid overwatering.
A lawn that has been overwatered can prevent the roots of your lawn from growing. It will stress the turf and become vulnerable to diseases. Make sure your sprinklers or hoses are applying water evenly. As homeowners move into the warmer months, it is important to focus on your lawn and getting it ready for spring and summer. After the long winter, your lawn is probably looking quite brown and patchy.
This is because during the winter months little pieces of grass die. These bits of dead grass bunch and gather above the surface of the lawn, creating what is called thatch. Thatch can be a good thing in small doses, but if it builds up to be more than a half inch, it can start to weaken your lawn. When thatch gets too thick, your lawn could fail to thrive. So, to fix the problem you need to de-thatch and aerate your lawn. It is possible to aerate your lawn yourself, but it may be smarter to let a professional handle the job. Read further for reasons why professional sprinkler aeration is important for a healthy lawn. Why Do We Need to Aerate? Sprinkler aeration is a way to give your yard a healthy lawn for the warmer months. When your lawn becomes compacted, water and air cannot reach the roots of the grass. This leaves your lawn without the nutrients it needs to grow and thrive. Before you aerate, you should map your sprinkler system and make sure there are no pipes close to the surface of the ground. An aerator can destroy your sprinkler heads. Damaged sprinkler heads can be costly to replace so you really need to know what you are doing with this task. This is why it is better to choose a professional to do the job. Read further for more reasons what it’s a wise choice to hire a professional. Why You Should Hire a Professional It may seem like a simple task, but unless you know exactly how to aerate your lawn, this is a job best left for the professionals. First, you have to know when to aerate. Without a professional consultation confirming that aeration is necessary, it is not smart to start the task. The problems in your lawn may not be caused by compacted soil. If that is the case, you could be wasting time and money doing a job that doesn't need to be done. Then, you need to have the right equipment for the job. That means you will have to purchase or rent an aerator and other supplies to complete the task. This could cost as much as hiring a knowledgeable professional to do it. You have to know how to operate said equipment, and if you do this incorrectly you could harm your lawn instead of fix it. ...And any mistake you make could be costly to correct. Finally, you have to devote your own personal time to this job, and it could take all weekend long to do so. Why would you sacrifice a whole weekend to do a job that a professional can do better? Wouldn't you rather spend time with family and friends? Perhaps you are new to irrigation systems and keep hearing about “spring start up” but have no clue what it means.
Basically, as the weather gets warmer, and spring is in the air, it is time to start up your irrigation system, or get your irrigation system prepared for spring and summer. However, it is not as simple as some people like to think it is, and if you don’t know what you are doing, you could end up damaging your irrigation system. This could lead to expensive repairs or replacement of your irrigation system. It may end up saving you money in the long run to hire a professional to start up your irrigation system.  Late Fall is the best time to get your sprinkler system winterized. If you think about it, irrigation and sprinkler systems help maintain your overall property value. When summer starts to come to an end and you have done the Fall lawn aeration, it is crucial to winterize or blow out your sprinkler system. That means you need to drain the water from your sprinkler system or you will likely experience costly freeze damage. By having your sprinkler system properly treated for winter, you decrease the chance of problems occurring in the spring. By not getting your systems treated you could face broken irrigation pipes which cause damage to your lawn due to flooding. To avoid such disasters, we highly recommend you hire professionals experienced and trained in sprinkler system blowouts.
 To have a lawn that thrives it needs water, nutrients (fertilizer), and oxygen to be able to penetrate down to the roots. However, lawns can get too compacted for this to happen, especially if the lawn has a thick thatch layer which can prevent anything beneficial from moving down to its roots. To help combat thatch buildup, homeowners should consider lawn aeration, a process that breaks up the surface of a lawn to allow air and water to reach the roots.
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