Common Lawn Problems in Virginia

Taking proper care of your lawn can be tricky, especially with factors like climate, animals, and weeds that are out of your control but can have a significant impact on the health of your grass. Even when you maintain your lawn by mowing and watering when necessary, these external factors can cause the effort, time, and money you’ve invested to be wasted if left untreated. Luckily, ALM has the experience and skills necessary to help you prevent damage to your lawn. Check out these handy tips and tricks for common issues and feel free to contact our highly trained team if you have any questions or concerns.

How To Prevent Weeds

When left to grow freely, weeds can become unsightly, ruining the picturesque look of your lush, green lawn. The best form of weed control is to have a thick, healthy turf. If you’re having trouble with weeds popping up after they’ve been sprayed, it’s most likely because the turf is too thin, leaving room for weeds to grow.

Problems with crabgrass or dallis grass?

We can guarantee that our pre-emergent treatment works when applied to your lawn on time, but if it seems to not be working, there’s a good chance that what you’re seeing in your yard is actually dallis grass, not crabgrass. Dallis grass is unaffected by the pre-emergent and instead must be sprayed or sponged with Roundup in August. Until that time, plucking seed heads before you mow can help prevent seeds from spreading.

Pesky moles or voles ruining your lawn?

Moles and voles are known for digging tunnels in your yard, destroying your grass in the pursuit of food. Moles eat more earthworms than they do grubs, so grub applications are unlikely to get rid of them. Voles are vegetarians and are found in ornamental beds, rather than in turf and are interested in ornamental shrubs such as hostas and nandinas.

The best solution for getting rid of them is to place a trap or poisonous worm bait (peanut bait for voles) in a straight tunnel that extends at least five feet. These long, straight tunnels are the ones they use most frequently. You can test a tunnel by stepping on it and seeing if it’s repaired within a 24 hour period.

Grubs In Yard 

While grubs may seem like a significant threat to the health of your lawn, most of the time an application is unnecessary. According to Virginia Tech, you can have up to 10 grubs per square foot before visible damage occurs.

Why Do I Have Moss On My Yard?

There are several factors that can contribute to the growth of moss:

• Poor air circulation
• Poor drainage
• Heavy shade
• Low pH

If your pH is tested and found to be acceptable, you may need to consider thinning out your shrubs or having your trees limbed to reduce the amount of shade your lawn experiences.

Lawn Care Expertise You Can Trust

Worried about problems with your lawn? At ALM, our highly trained team has the experience necessary to notice any issues that you may have overlooked. Whether you need to change the way you mow or water your lawn or you need services like fungicides or sedge control, our team will be sure to offer you the best potential solutions possible.