Lawn spots, tree holes, slow-moving equipment

By John Fulton

[September 15, 2010]  There are many dead spots in lawns, and there will be more in a short time. Many spots have been present since midsummer and were due to fungi killing the grass. As a simple review, it is not recommended to treat a fungus in home lawns due to the cost, frequency and potential allergic reaction of people and pets. In some cases, the extremely wet weather followed by hot, dry conditions actually killed portions of lawns. The third possible problem is grub damage. There have been reports of high numbers of grubs in spots within a yard and along edges of driveways and sidewalks.

As for what to do, the grub problem would need to be treated. Japanese beetle grubs should have all hatched out by now, so controls would be effective. Traditional grub treatments and carbaryl (Sevin) are effective on Japanese beetle grubs. The carbaryl is not effective on other types of grubs. After grub treatment, and to deal with the other causes of dead grass spots, get new seed down quickly. We are actually beyond the suggested dates to put down new seed, but the odds for seeding success are generally better in the fall.

Holes in trees

Many people are reporting holes in trees. These holes are round and in a pattern either around or up and down on tree trunks. They are also usually found in a tree that has high sap flows, such as maples, gums or evergreens. These holes are caused by yellow-bellied sapsuckers. The holes can cause injury to trees by allowing a place for insects and disease to get in and can kill a tree if the holes completely girdle it.

About the time we notice the holes, the birds are gone. They migrate and only bless us with their presence about two months in the spring (around May) and again in the fall (around September). Sapsuckers are migrating through the area now and will remain with us until their instincts tell them to head farther south.

Control is very difficult and consists of trying to scare the birds with pie pans, whirlybirds, rubber snakes or other items that make sound or sight.

If damage in an area of the tree trunk is severe, you can wrap burlap around that portion to protect it. The sticky-type products, such as Tanglefoot, would also have some effect but might cause problems for some of the non-sapsuckers in the area.

Several others causes for holes do exist. Other than sapsuckers, the main causes lately have been borers and carpenter ants.

Carpenter ants are the large, black ants that are very noticeable. They get their name from where they lay their eggs -- meaning that the female chews holes in wood to make a nesting galley. The damage from the carpenter ant is not of the same degree as termites. Termites digest the wood fiber and structurally weaken it, while the carpenter ants make holes in the wood and don't weaken it. The bad news is that carpenter ants like to nest in dead wood. If you have ant activity in a tree, odds are that there is some dead wood in the tree.

You can help the situation with secondary insects such as carpenter ants by painting exposed wood with exterior latex paint or spraying with an insecticide that has some residual. Current choices would be bifenthrin or permethrin.

Harvest season

The fall harvest and farming season has begun in earnest. Remember to use caution around the slow-moving equipment. A speed of 20 mph will be about the highest you will see on roadways from tractors. Farm equipment is also large and heavy. Be patient and exercise caution when farm equipment is on the road. We all need to share the roadway, so let's do it safely.

[By JOHN FULTON, University of Illinois Extension, Logan County]