Maintaining your home’s exterior appearance isn’t just some exercise in ego. That exterior appearance directly contributes to the home’s curb appeal and, therefore, its overall value. Things like the paint job and roof are important elements, but your lawn is the first thing people see.
If your lawn look looks bad, it casts a negative shadow on everything else. Bad weather like a drought or heavy rainy season can damage your lawn. Unfortunately, lawn pests can also leave your yard looking sickly and unsightly.
Not sure if pests are the culprit? Here are five signs you need lawn pest control.
Brown Patches
Let’s say you get your hire professional landscapers, such as Whenappearancematters.com, to give your yard a makeover. You would typically expect that lawn to look great for a while.
If you see brown patches, though, that’s a reliable sign that you’ve got some lawn pests. For example, some kinds of beetle larvae consume plant roots as they grow. You’d need yard pest control to deal with those larvae.
Stunted Growth
While less obvious than brown patches, stunted growth in parts of your lawn is a sign of pests. Some common lawn pests that can stunt growth include:
- Ants
- Spiders
- Chinch bugs
- Grasshoppers
These pests will often eat grass, grass seed, or cause soil damage that resembles problems like drought conditions.
Wood Damage
Some lawn pests will cause damage to the trees on your lawn. Rodents, in particular, will eat the bark on your trees. This leaves your trees vulnerable to insects, disease, and exposes the inner wood to weather damage.
You can often spot rodent burrows on your lawn, as the grass directly above the burrow will often die in strips in your lawn. Rodent removal is a job best handled by a pest removal professional.
Signs of Nests
Aside from the strips of brown grass over rodent burrows, there are other signs of nesting that can alert you about pests. You may notice droppings in a particular part of your yard.
Ants will often build mounds that tell you where they are nesting. You can also check near your home or in bushes, as those areas can provide some protection for a nest.
You see the Pests
The most obvious indicator is when you physically see pests in your yard. For example, you might spot insects attacking plants. You might see rodents eating vegetables in your garden or fruit on trees.
Lawn Pest Control and you
As a general rule, lawn pest control isn’t a DIY project. There are simply too many kinds of pests that might cause problems in your yard. Even if you successfully deal with one, another pest may move right in or already be on your property.
Beyond that, pest control often calls for applying chemicals you cannot buy as a regular consumer. Pest control companies can get them because they’re licensed.