It’s summertime and to help make living with your lawn easy, here are a few common issues to keep an eye on so you can stop potential problems before they really take root.
Look for lawn damage
Is the beautiful green grass you seeded in the spring beginning to brown? Notice any holes or mounds of dirt emerging? These can be signs your lawn may be playing host to more than your friends and family. Dead or dying patches of grass, wilted blades despite being well watered and noticeable nibbles on them are all red flags that your lawn may be infected or infested with lawn insect pests. Tiny chinch bugs, cutworms and armyworms (both of which look like caterpillars), grubs (we used to call them rollie-pollies) and even ants are among common types of lawn pests that can wreak havoc on a healthy summer lawn. If you see signs that your lawn is deteriorating despite routine upkeep, dig deeper to try and identify the specific kind of pest(s) that may be causing the damage. Once you know what you’re dealing with, visit your neighborhood nursery or search online for effective damage control solutions to help kick them to the curb and keep them off your grass.
Crabgrass & weeds
Crabgrass and other weeds in your lawn is enough to make any homeowner crabby. There are many chemical herbicides, of course, to use to try and kill it. If you’re looking for some non-chemical treatments, you might want to try these:
- Smother crabgrass to death with a brick or something that prevents it from getting sunlight. Leave it covered for 4-6 weeks. Once it’s dead, remove and rake where the crabgrass was then reseed with quality turf seed.
- Boil it to death. Sounds cruel but you can kill unwanted weeds by pouring boiling water on and around them. Aim for a 3’ radius to get to the root system. Be careful, though. Boiling water will harm and kill healthy grass around the crabgrass, too. 🙁
- Get some gardening vinegar. According to the USDA, you can use regular white vinegar, too (just be sure it’s 5% acidity or higher). Spray weeds with it until drenched and repeat a few times over the next several days or weeks until the crabgrass dies.
Grass allergies
Did you know that summer lawns can trigger allergies? Your lawn may love you for getting rid of pests and weeds, but you may not love your lawn if you’re allergic to it. Grass allergy season (when grass is pollinating) can run from late spring throughout the summer, depending on the type of grasses in your region. To save yourself some suffering and still enjoy your lawn, the Allergy & Asthma Network suggests these tips to reduce or minimize your symptoms:
- Keep lawns and grasses cut short. Use an allergy mask when cutting grass.
- Use an antihistamine or nasal spray two hours before going outside in grassy areas.
- Avoid grass pollen by limiting time outdoors. Pollen is normally worse in the morning and on windy days.
- Take your shoes off at the door and shower and change clothes when you come inside.
- Keep doors and windows closed.
- Wipe pets off after they’ve been outside.
Did you know that summertime is hot home selling season, too? A nice lawn can be a big help if you’re selling your home, and the best way to avoid cutting grass is to sell to Offerpad. We’ll give you a free cash offer on your home within 24 hours. No showings or open houses to worry about with people tracking pollen all over your home. And we’ll even move you locally for free.* Or you can list your home with a backup cash offer and we’ll even do the yardwork for you to get it ready for the open market. What could be easier? Check out offerpad.com to see how we let you do less ‘real-estating’ so you can do more living this summer.