How Your Sprinkler Systems In Burlington Can Help With Wireworms
You’ve put a lot of hard work into making your lawn look beautiful this season. You’ve got your mowing down to a T and your sprinkler systems in Burlington have your grass a rich shade of green. And just as you start to rest on your laurels, you notice your beloved grass is starting to wither and die in some areas. Upon further inspection, you noticed these shiny, brownish coloured worms. But what are they?
Wireworms: The Lowdown
Congratulations! You likely have an infestation of wireworms.
Wireworms are technically the larvae of click beetles. They are ½ inch to over 1 inch long and have a tough wire-like appearance (hence the name). Wireworms have six tiny legs close to their head.
What’s worse for your lawn is that wireworms spend a long time in the larvae stage. Their complete life is two to six years, although most of that is spent as a larva. A few months after reaching adulthood, they lay their eggs near a grassy area and the cycle will repeat itself. Eggs are typically laid in May and June so keep an eye out for wireworms in the summer months.
How Wireworms Do Their Damage
Wireworms prefer to do their damage underground, in secret. They like to feast on tubers, roots, seeds, and bulbs. Alternatively, they burrow into shoots, which will give the plant a stunted appearance initially. When they get into your lawn, you’ll find the grass will start to slowly die. Wireworms can commonly be mistaken for drought due to the root damage they cause. However, sending your sprinkler systems in Burlington into overdrive would only make the problem worse, as these little guys love poorly drained soils.
How to Return Your Lawn Back to Its Former Glory
As cliché as it may sound, the best defense against wireworm infestation is a good offense. Doing your best to ensure optimum conditions for grass growth will go a long way in wireworm prevention, as your lawn will be better able to tolerate a few bugs.
In addition to poorly drained soil, wireworms also prefer compacted soil. As such, early in the spring, create conditions in which promote lawn breathability. This includes dethatching, to ensure air and water gets into the soil, and core aeration, which relieves compaction and promotes nutrient absorption, as well as drainage.
After you have set the stage for ideal soil conditions, establish good lawn care habits. This includes proper mowing and having your sprinkler systems in Burlington in working order. By watering your lawn less often, but deeply, you will help establish strong, deep roots for your lawn. A stronger root system has better odds of being able to survive a wireworm invasion than a week, shallow root system.
Once you have discovered the wireworms, your best option to get rid of them is a nematode treatment from Nutri-Lawn. Nematodes do their best work in warm, moist soil conditions, so it’s best to keep up with your irrigation practices. The optimum time for nematodes is late summer or in the fall and sometimes two treatments will be necessary.
Banish pesky wireworms from your lawn with Nutri-Lawn’s beneficial nematodes and our sprinkler systems in Burlington! For more information on bug treatment or to look into our various irrigation systems, visit our website or contact Nutri-Lawn today.