With spring in full swing, there are many things going on outside. Your lawn is awake and hopefully thriving, shrubs are bushy, trees are leafier, and blossoms are bright. But other things are going on in your lawn too. We are talking about pests. Not only are many of these pests making a feast out of your Texas lawn, but a lot of these pests will wander into your home if given the opportunity. Today, we at A Five Star Termite and Pest Control would like to expound on the more common pests that are in your Greater San Antonio, Texas lawn.
Lawn Insect & Pest Identification
1) Ants. In San Antonio, fire ants are the likely species of ant that are infesting your lawn. Now they don’t directly damage the grass, but they do tunnel through lawns foraging and nesting. With soil being cut into, the grass’s roots will not be able to establish a strong and healthy growth system. With fire ants being the likely offender in your lawn, you can expect the mounds to be fairly large. Fire ant mounds can go up to 25 feet down and are supported with a complex network of social ants with multiple queens. To ensure fire ants and other ant species are thoroughly removed, contact a professional.
2) Worms. There are plenty of worms found in the lawns of Texas yards. Common worms include armyworms, cutworms and earthworms. Earthworms are considered a beneficial worm, but the others are in your lawn to fallen leaves, grass seeds as well as your lawn and plants. While just seeing the worms in your soil may not suggest a major infestation, it can quickly turn into one.
3) Mole Crickets & Grasshoppers. Grasshoppers and mole crickets are fairly common to the lawns throughout Texas. Mole crickets especially are known to eat grass and are usually dominant following a rain storm. Crickets and grasshoppers are a challenge but manageable.
4) Chiggers & Mites. Chiggers are adolescent mites. They are tiny, red insects that invade manicured lawns when grassy fields or wooded areas are in close proximity. Chiggers attach themselves onto people and pets to consume blood until they reach adulthood. Being so small, they are often not detected until you notice the skin irritation and extreme itching derived from their bites. Mites, adult chiggers and several species of pests may be attacking your grass. Severe infestations can actually kill plants, and some species are drawn to homes, being an incredible nuisance.
5) Beetles. Billbugs, Japanese beetles and grubs – larvae of Japanese beetle are the more common beetles in Texas grass. Grubs feed on the roots of grass and are the most destructive in late summer. They are quite capable of killing vegetation. After the grub evolves into the adult Japanese beetle, they begin to consume the ornamental leaves of plants and lay more eggs to continue the vicious cycle with a population of infesting quantities.
6) Fleas & Ticks. The deer tick or blacklegged tick is the frequent intruder in lawns, often picked up after a nature walk or hike, especially if your dog was with you. Ticks are known to spread disease and viruses along with tick paralysis, and though they favor animals, they will take on a human host. Fleas are again, most likely introduced to your lawn because of your pet where the fleas laid eggs in your lawn looking for hosts. Fleas can spread parasites and other flea related ailments.
7) Spiders. Generally the spiders found roaming your Texas lawns are considered beneficial, as they devour the insects therein that are causing chaos with the exception of black widows and brown recluses which are more than likely hiding under debris or dark places.
8) Millipedes & Centipedes. These dark brown segmented insects have many legs. These insects damage lawns and are most obvious after rainfall. These insects will intrude into homes and bite people with painful stings.
Lawn Pest Inspections & Control Treatment in Cibolo, Universal City, New Braunfels & Greater San Antonio, Texas
There are obviously way more insects that intrude on Texas lawns along with wildlife that will not only destroy your lawn, shrubs, and trees, but can also invade homes and wreak havoc there as well. If you have a problem with pests, contact A Five Star Termite and Pest Control.
