There are quite a few bugs in Texas that can take over your lawn and turn it into their personal home. When this happens, you will need to tackle surface-level insect control as soon as you can so that your lawn doesn’t become so damaged that there is no way to save it.
The best thing you can do is know which bugs are in your area and what to look for. Additionally, if you know how they are damaging your lawn, you can know how to treat them as well.
Lawn Bugs To Be On The Lookout For
Chinch Bugs 
These little bugs are hard to see and are skilled in hiding – which makes them potentially more dangerous since you might not know you have a problem before it is too late. The larger chinch bugs, the adults, are 1/6 of an inch in length, so pretty small to notice. Their color is a gray/black color and what really identifies them is their long legs.
When these bugs, we call their young “nymphs” and they are basically impossible to see because of their small size, however, their color makes them slightly more noticeable as they are a bright red color but will turn to look more adult as they mature.
Both the young and old like to hide in dead things – like leaves, yard clippings, thatch that has been developing on your lawn, and anywhere else there might be a dead plant lying around. The one and the only way to prevent chinch bugs such as these are to aerate your lawn in the spring. It is best to start in the spring because it is really the only way to prevent the damage that will happen in the late summer from these pests. As the months get hotter, the damage will get worse, and you will start to see your grass brown.
Watch Out For Billbugs
If you’re in the lawn care realm, everyone knows about grubs – but not everyone knows about their friends, the billbug. This particular bug causes damage and you will start to see almost random dead patches on your turf in the late summer months of July and August.
While billbugs are similar to grubs in both how they look and how they affect your lawn, billbugs don’t tend to cover your entire lawn and make cause for an entirely new replacement, as grubs normally would. The adult billbugs are a faded grey color that eventually can turn into a black beetle. They are small, but not quite as small as the chinch bug, about one-fourth of an inch to one-half inch long. However, their young are called larvae and they are white, lacking legs, and only 5/8ths of an inch long.
Sod Webworms
This is a pretty common issue when it comes to surface-level insect control. Sod webworms, which are commonly referred to as “lawn moths” are small, light brown moths that everyone is used to seeing. They are only about one-half inch to three-fourths of an inch long. Similar to the chinch bug we previously mentioned, the young Sod Webworms are what causes the real damage to your lawn.
When the young arrive to attack your lawn, they look like brown or grey bugs that are similar to caterpillars. The larvae are tough to see because they tend to only come out at night. The largest indicator of a sob webworm infestation is if your turf looks like it has been cut too short. Taking care of them before they reproduce is the key to getting rid of these bugs before the next season rolls around.
Organic Matter Can Tackle Your Surface-Level Insect Control!
Our team is experts at taking care of any lawn issue you might have, including surface-level insect control! Organic Matter Lawn Care has been in business for over 16 years and more, providing excellent lawn care to our neighbors in the Grape Vine and South Lake area.
Our customers can check out our surface-level insect control to take care of what their lawn needs. Some other incredible lawn and tree care services that we offer include:
- Aeration
- Tree and shrub care
- Grub control
We don’t just stop at lawn care – Organic Matter also takes care of all of your tree and shrub needs. We will treat them with nutrients, fertilizer, and more. Check out our tree and shrub care program.
Are you ready to book a lawn care service with us? Give our team at all at 817-888-8961.
Do you want to keep our communications online? You can leave us a message here.
