Stop Weeds in Their Tracks

Annual Weeds:
Annual weeds live for one season and flood the soil with seeds before dying. Common annual weeds are crabgrass, dandelions, black medic, plantain, purslane, spurge, and oxalis. The best way to fight these weeds is to prevent them from growing in the first place with proper lawn management. One trick is to have lush and healthy lawn and to make sure you aren't mowing too short.

Billbug Lawn Damage:
Most bugs in your lawn are actually beneficial. However, some can cause damage to the grass. Billbugs lay their eggs inside the grass plant. Those eggs turn into larvae which tunnels down through the grass eating it along the way. This will cause the grass blade to turn brown. A timed application is critical in controlling damage.

Clover:
Clover used to be included in grass seed mixes because it grows well with grasses. It fertilizes lawns naturally and can protect lawns from disease. Although it is beneficial, many people don't like the look of it or the flowers in their lawn. It is normal for clover to grow in lawns. If you have a lot, it could be due to lack of fertilizing.

Compaction:
Your lawn needs air and water to survive. When the soil is compacted, it makes it much harder for plant roots to get air and water. Aerating your lawn loosens up the soil making it easier for air and water to get to plant roots.

Cut Too Short:
If you mow your lawn a little higher it will stay greener and result in fewer weeds. A lawn that is mowed too short can turn the lawn brown and encourages the growth of many weeds.

Fairy Ring:
Fairy rings appear in a circle in your lawn and likely is a darker green than the rest of your lawn. Sometimes mushrooms will be growing in it. Timely fungicide and fertilizer will help mask the fairy ring.

Heavy Thatch:
Thatch is a layer of dead and living shoots, stems, and roots that collect above the soil surface. A little thatch is a good thing since it acts as an insulator that cools the ground when the weather is too hot. However, when it gets too thick (over half an inch) your lawn is more likely to get insect infestations, diseases, and weeds. It can also keep water and nutrients from reaching the root system.

If you have a thatch problem, you should begin a program to lessen thatch buildup and begin its decomposition.

Mushrooms:
Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi in the soil. They are usually caused by decomposing wood in the soil, such as old tree roots. There's not much to do besides pulling the mushrooms out or knocking them over as they pop up.

Powdery Mildew Treatment:
Powdery mildew fungi are found on native plants, cultivated crops, ornamentals, and turfgrass species. Severe outbreaks tend to occur on turf that grows in shaded areas during late spring or mid-fall when moderate temperatures and relative humidity is high. You can prevent your lawn from Powdery Mildew by not overwatering your lawn (no more than every 3 to 4 days) and reducing the amount of shade in your lawn by trimming trees. Core aeration and liquid aerations are ways to help water reach the roots in your lawn.

Red Thread Grass Disease:
Red Thread is a fungal organism that causes patches of turf to turn brown and produce strands of red thread-like material. Often, the grass will recover on its own when the temperature cools in the fall. Red Thread occurs with improper watering, poor grass, and poor soil.

The fungus grows best when the soils surface is wet and the roots are dry. This usually occurs if you water too frequently for a short amount of time. Water less frequently and more deeply.

Snow Mold Fungus:
Snow Mold is caused by a fungus that's active during the winter under the snow. Although it looks bad, snow mold typically won't kill your grass. Snow mold can be a result of getting a lot of snow over the winter, not mowing your lawn short enough during the fall, wet soil that is holding in moisture, soil lacking good biology to combat the fungi, and having a lot of problem grasses (like bentgrass or rough bluegrass). The lawn will recover on its own. You can rake the lawn to speed up this process, but doing it too harshly can damage the grass. You can prevent Snow Mold by mowing your lawn late fall so that the grass does not lay over itself when it snows. Aerating your lawn in the fall will also help open up the soil and encourages beneficial soil biology.