Most Common Pests In St. Augustine, FL
Everyone wants to have a healthy, picturesque lawn in their backyard. However, it doesn’t matter how much you water, fertilize, or rake your grass if you have a pest infestation. Bugs such as mole crickets, white grubs, and ground pearls can easily invade and damage grass. Once these pests start chewing on your grass blades and destroying your yard’s root system, they will multiply and spread quickly. To prevent dead grass and reduce pest populations, call our professional pest control and extermination company.
Champion Termite & Pest Control has over 30 years of experience in protecting Florida homes. Our technicians are trained to identify and exterminate St. Augustine pests cost-effectively. We only use top-shelf pesticides and insecticides in our treatments. This ensures that your pests are completely eradicated. For a free inspection and pest control estimate, contact us today.
Mole Crickets
Mole crickets look similar to the rodents they are named after. These Florida pests are recognizable by their small eyes, burrowing habit, and shovel-like limbs. Mole crickets kill grass by consuming it, separating each blade from its roots. This process can create brown, spongy patches in your lawn. Wipe out pesky mole crickets with insecticides and regular dethatching.
Armyworms & Cutworms
Armyworms and cutworms do not require an army to defeat them. Instead, regular irrigation practices can greatly reduce your backyard’s armyworms, as these worms thrive in wet areas. If you keep your grass drained, you will make your lawn unappealing to these dark brown pests. Likewise, it is wise to quickly remove accumulations of thatch, grass clippings, and mulch in the summertime, as Armyworms and cutworms love to hide and burrow in these dark, isolated piles.
White Grubs
White grubs are the larvae of scarab beetles. These squirmy young larvae are dirty white and gray in appearance. If you spot six or more larvae in one spot, you may have a white grub issue on your hands. Due to their cyclical life cycle, these beetles are young and most vulnerable in the early fall. As such, contact our pest control company around September or October so we can help prevent these pests from infesting your lawn!
Ground Pearls
Unlike their name, ground pearls do not originate from oysters. These small, spherical pests typically appear in the spring and summer months. You can identify them by their hard, yellow and purple-colored shells. These pests extract juice from your grass, leaving yellow patches scattered around your yard. To avoid further ground pearl destruction, employ proper mowing, irrigation, and fertilization techniques to keep ground pearl populations under control.
Billbugs
Billbugs are voracious eaters, which can cause great damage to your backyard. These pests are a kind of weevil with long, narrow snouts. The damage caused by these pests often resembles drought stress. Billbugs will attack your grass stems all the way down to the root system. If you notice lawn thinning, St. Augustine billbugs may be to blame. To effectively treat billbugs, contact our Florida pest control company today to see how we can help you!
Chinch Bugs
Chinch bugs are black bugs with white wings. These pests inject toxins into grass blades that hinder water movement, leaving behind dead, brown grass patches. Due to this, chinch bug infestations are often confused with grass diseases. Prevent chinch bugs by aerating your lawn to improve its air, water, and nutrient circulation. You can also spread a thin layer of sand on your grass. This sand will increase microbial activity and growth – which can help break down organic materials that chinch bugs may want to hide in.
