With all the Large Patch / Brown Patch in yards right now, I thought for sure I was going to be looking at more fungus. I have talked to a few people that thought they had chinch bugs and it turned out to be Large Patch / Brown Patch.

The recent cloudy, rainy weather must have been perfect for the sod webworm to hatch and the larva begin to munch.

Moths in your lawn indicate sod webworm.  The moths are the adult form of the sod webworm and they lay eggs in your grass. When these eggs hatch the worm like larva stage of the sod webworm begins. The worm like larva is the part of the life cycle that damages the turf.  The sod webworm is a voracious eater that can damage large sections of your lawn very quickly. They feed on cloudy days and at night, so while you sleep, they eat.

One good thing is that they are very easy to eradicate, since their entire body is in contact with the ground.  The right control product will eliminate them very easily.  If worms of any type (sod webworm, army or cut worms) are attacking your grass it will appear that you have mowed your grass with a very dull mower blade at a slow speed and a low cutting height. You can see the worm if you get into the border between the good grass and the munched on grass and spread the grass blades apart. The blades of the grass are tattered and have been chewed, so they are missing parts of the leaf blade.  

Scout in the evening and look for moths. If you see a grayish/brown moth that gets up and flies for 6-8 feet then lands again in your turf, there is a good chance that you have sod webworm. The way they fly reminds me of a bobwhite quail, except the sod webworm zigzags more. Most people will apply a control product when they see the moths to avoid major damage by the larva.   

If you see damage, be ready to apply control product, or they will do a lot of damage very quickly to your turf.  With mole crickets making their fall flights and rain forcing fire ants to the surface, it would be a good time to apply Tirade to keep these insects and the voracious chow-hound out of your yard before he does damage. Bt and Spinosad are organic controls that are very effective against young sod webworms.

The fall is always a great time to be outdoors in the Lowcountry. Parks, plantations, and just walking through certain areas can give you horticultural ideas that you can implement in your yard or just enjoy in their setting.

The sunsets have been spectacular as well!

(Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply, 481 Long Point Rd in Mt. Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (760-2600), or 606 Dupont Rd, in Charleston (766-1511).  Fax your questions to 406-2700 or e-mail them to your newspaper’s editors.)