Expert Lawn Treatment Services

Grub Preventive

Annual grub preventive is necessary for nearly every lawn in Michigan. Without preventives applied annually, most lawns have close to a 50% chance each year of getting an infestation that causes damage. Lawns with surrounding wood lines, flowering landscapes, and trees (especially birch or any tree that flowers) are even more likely to be damaged. Once infestation has begun, other predators like skunks, moles, and crows also cause massive destruction while digging for them. Our Grub Preventive Program is far less expensive, more effective, is fully guaranteed, and less chemically invasive than indiscriminate contact controls and damage repairs needed after infestation has occurred. This program stops damage before it can start, only has to be applied once per year, is non-carcinogenic, and does not affect any other type of insect. If you already have an existing problem, contact killers are necessary to halt damage until preventives can be applied at the end of spring. If you believe you have grubs, please contact us immediately for a free analysis and estimate.

Crane Fly Preventive and Crane Fly Control

Crane flies (specifically European Crane Fly larvae) are an extremely damaging invasive lawn feeding insect that now causes damage each year to over 70% of lawns in the Oakland and Macomb County regions. Treatment for crane flies has become just as important as grub preventive over the past 10 years, and the population and area they affect is growing rapidly. Because they feed for an entire year and eat the root system as well as the rest of the grass plant, damage mimics several other types of damage, like rust disease, over-watering, and even drought stress. Most people (even most companies) don’t even realize they have crane fly problems until it’s too late. Like grubs, crane fly larvae attract predators such as skunks, moles, and crows who aggressively tear up the grass searching for them. Unlike grubs, however, crane fly adults emerge, mate, and lay eggs in late summer to fall, so preventives must be applied in early fall instead of late spring. Also, crane fly egg sites are very easy to see in fall as they turn the lawn a rusty-yellow or red color, and the tiny eggs can be seen on the grass blades. Preventives are far less expensive and more effective than treatments and damage repairs necessary after the fact. If you already have an existing problem, contact killers are necessary to halt damage until preventives can be applied at the end of summer. If you believe you have crane flies, please contact us immediately for a free analysis and estimate.

Lawn Surface Feeding Insects

Lawn Diseases

There are many types of lawn diseases that affect Michigan grass types. Most of them are topical/weather related and usually do not require fungicides. The most common of these are Leaf Spot, Red Thread, and Dollar Spot. Proper watering, proper mowing, and applying slow release, high nitrogen and potassium fertilizer throughout the growing season will almost always keep these diseases at bay without resorting to unnecessary and expensive fungicides.

Unfortunately, there are several types of soil borne diseases that affect sod (usually less than 10 years old) and hydro-seeded lawns. The most common are Necrotic Ring Syndrome, Brown Patch/other Patch diseases, and rarely also, the topical diseases listed above if they came from the sod farm already in the soil. All soil borne diseases require bi-annual aerations (spring and fall). Patch diseases and most others also require fungicides 2x per year for 3-4 years until the symptoms dissipate and then 1x per year for 2 years to be sure the disease is gone. In most cases fungicides still must be applied as needed because the grass type installed is already susceptible. Over-seeding with resistant grass strains is extraordinarily helpful in all cases. Necrotic Ring Syndrome and Fusarium Blight should be treated with organic fertilizer and bi-annual aerations NOT fungicides. Organic fertilizer is less expensive, more effective, and naturally changes the soil condition over time so that the disease cannot thrive. Our Organic Soil Conditioner Program is designed specifically to treat lawns with these diseases. If you believe your lawn has disease issues, please contact us immediately for a free analysis and estimate. We save many of our clients thousands of dollars by fully analyzing lawns before treatment begins and only recommending services that are needed.

Aerating and Over-Seeding

Done annually, fall aerations are helpful or even necessary to maintain a healthy lawn. This process helps break down thatch which will reduce damaging disease and insect activity, and to break up soil compaction so the root system can breathe and branch out easier. This allows for proper root development and therefore, thicker, healthier grass. Aerating also helps increase water retention in dry areas and provides for better drainage in heavy clay soils, ultimately cutting down on your watering bill and damage from pooling water. Over-seeding and/or re-seeding is highly recommended at this time for the best results possible. Lawns that are maintained by heavy mowers or where new sod has been installed over heavy clay (this is extremely common now) should also be aerated each spring. Please keep in mind that many lawns do not require aerations due to soil type and in some cases can actually harm grass. For this reason, it is essential that you contact us for a free lawn analysis to determine exactly what your lawn needs.