lawn damage Archives - East Coast Sprayers

Posted on September 27, 2021July 16, 2023 by East Coast Sprayers

Slugs are a significant problem in non-arid climates, as they thrive in hot and humid environments. Many people underestimate the damage that these slimy nuisances can cause. If a growing number of slugs raise concerns, contact East Coast Sprayers for lawn pest services in Palm Beach.

Why Slugs Are a Lawn Pest

You’ll most likely find them in areas covered in greenery. Bushes, shrubs, and flowers are all food sources for hungry slugs. No matter the plant they choose to eat, they can severely damage it in the process. If you don’t treat your slugs quickly, you may need lawn care services as well.

Distinguishing slug damage from other critters can prove to be a difficult assignment for those untrained. Here are a few common signs that your garden or landscaping is under the affliction of slugs or snails:

Large, ragged holes in leaves or flowers
Springtime damage
Slime trails in grass or mulch
Plants with only the stems remaining
Holes chewed into vegetables

When they aren’t consuming your vegetation, you may find slime trails across your tiles or carpeting. If this happens, you’re likely to ask how they came into your Palm Beach home and will they affect your health?

How and Why Slugs Enter Homes

Slugs are looking for the same things spiders, cockroaches, and other infestations look for food, water, and a break from the elements. Common household attractants include pet food and pantries.

Slugs can enter your household in a variety of ways, such as:

Entering through gaps, tiny holes, pipes, or vents
Squeezed through a crack in one of your doors or windows
You or a pet could trap them in

Professional Slug Removal Services

Before we take action, we will thoroughly inspect your property. We’ll begin where you’ve already seen them and then check potential hiding places. After seeing the scope of the problem, we’ll start to treat your infestation.

If slugs are hanging out in your garden or flowerbeds, we’ll spray for them. Our professional-grade sprays will quickly and effectively end your troublesome slug invasion. Along with slugs, we offer a solution for many lawn invaders.

For indoor slugs, the tactics are very different. Since slugs are nocturnal, you’ll only notice their presence from hardened slime trails in the morning after they’ve retreated. For this reason, you may not be able to find them unless you really look.

If it’s possible to plug their entry, that will help tremendously. After, the careful placement of traps in the seemingly high-traffic areas should take care of them. Once the slimy critter crawls inside, it has no chance of escape.

Are You Looking for Lawn Pest Services in Palm Beach?

Since slugs are a major problem, you must act quickly. We can put an end to the infestation before it swells into a larger problem. Contact us today for all you’re your lawn care and pest removal needs!

Posted on July 5, 2021July 16, 2023 by East Coast Sprayers

Have you been struggling to grow a lush garden or a modest tree or two? If your plants don’t take root in a healthy environment, their chances of survival are very slim. So, if you’re looking for tips on tree and shrub care in Boca Raton, FL, we at East Coast Sprayers have you covered.

What Inhibits Tree and Shrub Growth?

Living in Delray or Boca Raton, FL, can be a nightmare for even the most experienced green thumbs. Many folks who are new to Florida lack the knowledge to compensate for the lower mineral and nutrient levels in sand-based soils.

While some plants growsgrow abundantly in nature without intervention, homeowners can have a slightly more challenging time. Home foundations typically rest on fill sand that is compacted to the density of cement. Without proper fertilization efforts, the time and energy spent planting can be overrun by this unideal environment.

What is Professional Tree and Shrub Care?

Professional tree and shrub services require an expert understanding of Terra Firma. Here are several common problems we see with South Floridian yards:

Limestone in soil raises the Alkalinity levels (Miami over 7.5 on a 0-14 scale)
High amounts of “sugar sand”
Low retention of water and nutrients

Despite these common issues, no two yards are the same. With the knowledge of East Coast Sprayers, let’s take a look at how we can partner to flourish your greenery.

Tree and Shrub Spray

Fertilizers provide the soil with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium–these elements are crucial for healthy, thriving plant life.

Nitrogen

Added nitrogen stimulates the growth of stems, flowers, and fruit faster than a plant normally would in the wild. Because of the growth explosion caused by proper nitrogen levels, your plants will be fuller and lusher, the envy of your neighbors.

Phosphorus

Phosphorus helps plants to take root more securely. This nutrient promotes the production of oils and starches, which directly affects the growth of their roots, making them healthier than ever.

Potassium

Lastly, potassium serves three crucial roles in development:

Builds protein
Fights disease
Promotes chlorophyll production.

Lacking potassium can lower the effects of photosynthesis, draining your plant life of energy.

Any imbalance of these critical nutrients will result in some very sad shrubs. While they all have their unique tolerances, our team can better position your soil to accommodate any plant or tree you wish to grow.

Are You in Need of Tree and Shrub Care in Boca Raton, FL?

If you’re dealing with nutrient-deficient soil, East Coast Sprayers is here for you. Our team has a combined 30 years of experience breathing life into South Florida’s wilting gardens. Reach out today and have our team take a look at your property.

Posted on May 15, 2021July 16, 2023 by East Coast Sprayers

Chinch bugs may be tiny, but they’re responsible for millions of dollars in lawn damage annually. If these grass-killing insects are threatening to take over your commercial property, you should reach out to the team of experts at East Coast Sprayers. With their personalized lawn spraying treatments in West Palm Beach, FL, you can finally say goodbye to all of your turf troubles.

What Is a Southern Chinch Bug?

Unlike other insects, the Southern Chinch Bug (Blissus insularis Barber) undergoes incomplete metamorphosis. This means that it goes through gradual changes throughout its three life stages – egg, nymph, and adult.

What Does It Look Like?

Depending on its host plant and environmental conditions, a female chinch bug can produce up to 300 eggs within the course of its life with an average of four eggs per day. Its oval-shaped eggs measure about 1 mm in length and are usually deposited in the thatch layer, on the surfaces of leaves, and within the leaf sheath.

These eggs hatch into yellow larvae before they morph as nymphs. Although nymphs look a lot like adults, they’re smaller, they have bright red or orange bodies with white bands on their abdomens, and they don’t have wings.

On the other hand, adult southern chinch bugs are flying insects with white patches on their wings and measure about 0.2 inches (4.7 mm) long. While those that have long and full-length wings are called macropterous, those that have short and reduced wings are called brachypterous. Depending on the temperature and food supply, adult chinch bug lifespans can range between ten to as many as 70 days.

Are They Hardy Species?

If you think that southern chinch bug colonies die off with seasonal changes, think again. These are hardy creatures that can manage to survive cool weather. Since South Florida’s winter weather is extremely milk, these bugs won’t stop populating and recolonizing as they spread across your entire lawn.

What Does It Feed On?

Although these insects love to feast on St. Augustine grass, they also feed on other turfgrasses including the following:

Bahiagrass
Bermudagrass
Kentucky bluegrass
Fescues
Perennial ryegrass
Crabgrass
Zoysiagrass
Centipedegrass.

Both juvenile and mature southern chinch bugs live in the thatch and feed on grass stems, stolons, and crowns by piercing these parts with their needle-like mouthparts and sucking the plant juices. To facilitate easy feeding, their bodies automatically release enzymes that continue to cause damage to the grass even after feeding.

Furthermore, these insects tend to feed in clusters or groups. Once they exhaust a food supply in one area, they move in a mass migration to another spot within the lawn area.

What Are the Signs of a Southern Chinch Bug Lawn Infestation?

You may be dealing with a southern chinch bug infestation if your lawn displays circular, sunken patches of yellowish-brown grass. In most cases, these infected areas occur first along the water-stressed edges of the lawn or areas where the grass is growing in full sunlight.

When the infestation is at its worst, you’ll see these insects running over the grass blades. In South Florida, severe lawn damage typically becomes more evident in the months of March through November.

Are You In Need of Pest Control Lawn Spraying Treatment in West Palm Beach, FL?

If left unchecked, southern chinch bug colonies will continue to multiply until they kill your once-healthy lawn. Luckily, the lawn care professionals at East Coast Sprayers can help you eliminate these pests and bring your dying lawn back to life. Contact us today to schedule an inspection.

Posted on January 12, 2019 by East Coast Sprayers

Is your lawn looking brown, patchy and dead? While you may think drought is destroying your grass, it could actually be chinch bugs. Chinch bugs are a common pest insect found throughout the United States. These bugs feed on the grass’s fluid and in return, injects a toxin that causes the grass to die. As they continue to reproduce and feed, those brown patches can quickly consume your entire lawn.

How Do Chinch Bugs Thrive?

Chinch bugs prefer sunlight and warmth; which makes Florida their ideal environment. They thrive in the sunniest parts of your lawn where it is hot and dry. South Florida grasses, such as St. Augustine and zoysia grass, are a favorite of these little bugs providing them with thick, lush thatch to feed and lay their eggs.

How Do You Identify a Chinch Bug?

If your lawn has dry brown spots, that should be your first indication that chinch bugs have possibly invaded. Unfortunately, these bugs are hard to see in the grass due to their small size. Adult chinch bugs grow to only 1/5 of an in long and are black bodied with white and black wings that overlap. If you want to identify them yourself, you may need to use a magnifying glass to see these tiny pests!

Chinch Bug Treatment

The best way to treat your lawn for chinch bugs is to contact your lawn care professional to do an inspection and provide a insect control treatment plan. They may recommend liquid or pelletized lawn chemicals to kill off the infestation, stop their breeding cycle, and drive them away from your yard. This type of treatment should always be performed by a professional. Over treatment can damage the lawn and under treatment could leave the bugs more resistant to the chemicals.

Contact a Professional

The first step to bringing your lawn back to life after a chinch bug infestation is to contact your lawn care professional. East Coast Sprayers will inspect your Palm Beach County lawn for free and provide you with an estimate to control your chinch bug outbreak!

Tag: lawn damage