Pests and Diseases
Keeping lawns healthy and green requires a sound pest and disease management plan. In this section, discover how to diagnose and manage turfgrass diseases, pests, and weeds. Learn more about beetles, grubs, webworms, billbugs, chinch bugs, and spotted lanternflies. Tips on organic care and using pesticides can be accessed as well.
Lawn Diseases
Turfgrasses and lawns can be attacked by various fungal diseases, including brown patch and silvery thread moss. Most lawn fungus issues, however, can be prevented and resolved with proper maintenance and care practices.
Brown patch is a turfgrass disease characterized by yellow rings or patches of sunken grass up to 3 feet in diameter. This grass fungus usually occurs under humid conditions and affects the crowns, stems, and leaves of plants. In Pennsylvania, brown ring patch is most common on close-cut annual bluegrass and appears in May or June.
Silvery thread moss is another increasingly prevalent lawn problem. Its onset can go unnoticed and, once established, it becomes extremely difficult to control and eradicate. Chemical control of moss in putting greens includes herbicides, metals, soaps, and salts.
Other widespread lawn diseases include dollar spot, gray snow mold, fairy ring (mushroom fungi), gray leaf spot, and powdery mildew.
Discover management practices and strategies with Penn State Extension’s guide to managing turfgrass diseases. Topics discussed include identifying lawn problems, as well as information on turfgrass fungicides.
Turf Pest Management
Identifying pest species correctly, understanding their life cycles, and treating them promptly is key for maintaining a healthy lawn. Some of the more common lawn pests are white grubs. The first step to managing such infestations is following sound cultural practices, such as avoiding over-fertilization and mowing at the proper height. Biological controls that can be used to manage white grubs include milky spore and beneficial nematodes.
Turfgrass can also be attacked by several types of chinch bugs. In Pennsylvania, hairy chinch bugs can be frequent pests of home lawns. Damage usually appears from July through August and affected areas coalesce into large patches of dead, brown grass.
Penn State Extension provides further information on managing home lawn pests such as sod webworms, different billbugs, and various ant species. Additionally, find resources on how to develop an Integrated Pest Management program for turfgrass.
Lawn and Turf Pesticide Application
When maintaining a lawn, you may encounter problems that require pesticide application. Before you apply any insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, or other materials, it is important to familiarize yourself with pesticide basics and safe practices. It is also sensible to research local regulations and, if required, obtain a pesticide license.
In this section, lawn and turfgrass industry professionals can access Penn State Extension’s wide array of resources. Private pesticide applicator training is available in both Spanish and English. Recertification credits can be obtained through workshops and webinars, such as the Green Industry Pesticide Update and Professional Pest Managers School.
- Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Brown Patch (Causal Fungus: Rhizoctonia solani)
Brown patch is a major summer foliar disease of golf courses, athletic fields, home lawns, parks, and institutional grounds, caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani. - Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Pink Patch (Causal Fungus: Limonomyces Roseipellis)
Pink patch is a foliar disease of lawns, parks, and low-maintenance sports fields. - Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Leaf Spot and Melting-Out Diseases (Causal Fungi: Bipolaris and Drechslera spp.)
Leaf spot and melting-out (crown and root rot) diseases of cool-season turfgrasses are commonly found in lawns, parks, institutional grounds, sports turf, and in some cases, on golf courses. - Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Powdery Mildew (Causal Fungus: Blumeria Graminis - Formerly Erysiphe Graminis)
This disease is almost always associated with turf in shaded areas and is most common on Kentucky bluegrass. - Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Rust Diseases (Causal fungi: Puccinia spp.)
Rust is the name given to a group of foliar diseases of turfgrasses that can occur on golf courses, athletic fields, home lawns, parks, and institutional grounds. - Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Damping-Off Diseases (Causal Fungi: Pythium, Rhizoctonia, and Fusarium spp.)
Damping-off is a term that refers to diseases of seedlings. These diseases can occur on grasses that have been recently planted and emerged as seedlings or prior to emergence while still in the soil. - Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Anthracnose (Causal fungus: Colletotrichum cereale)
Anthracnose is one the most common and damaging diseases of annual bluegrass putting greens in Pennsylvania and often challenging to manage with cultural practices and fungicides. - Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Red Thread (Causal Fungus: Laetisaria fuciformis)
Red thread is a foliar disease of lawns, parks, institutional grounds, low maintenance athletic fields, and golf course roughs. - Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Microdochium patch (Causal Fungus: Microdochium nivale)
Microdochium patch, sometimes referred to as Fusarium patch or Gerlachia patch, is caused by the fungus Microdochium nivale, and results in patches of blighted turf on golf course putting greens and tees - Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Pink Snow Mold (Causal fungus: Microdochium nivale)
Pink snow mold is one of a group of diseases that occurs under snow cover during winter. - Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Gray Snow Mold (Causal fungus: Typhula incarnata)
Gray snow mold, sometimes referred to as Typhula blight, occurs during late winter and early spring under snow cover. - Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Cool-Season Brown Patch or Yellow Patch (Causal Fungus: Rhizoctonia cerealis)
Cool-season brown patch, also called yellow patch and low-temperature brown patch, differs from other brown patch diseases of turfgrasses in that it occurs during cool or cold weather, often under snow cover in winter. - Articles
¿Qué licencia de pesticida necesita su empresa?
En Pensilvania, los profesionales relacionados con la industria agrÃcola, forestal y de jardinerÃa que utilizan pesticidas deben conocer las leyes que regulan el uso de pesticidas en Pensilvania y saber cómo aplicarlas y cumplirlas. Esto incluye reconocer si se requiere una Certificación de Aplicador de Pesticidas (comúnmente conocida como Licencia de Pesticidas) y qué tipo y categorÃa de certificación deberá tener según el trabajo que realice. - Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Dollar Spot (Causal fungus: Clarireedia jacksonii)
Dollar spot is a foliar disease of golf courses, athletic fields, home lawns, parks, and institutional grounds, caused by the fungus Clarireedia jacksonii. - Articles
Ants in Home Lawns
Several species of ants commonly inhabit home lawns and ornamental plantings of trees and shrubs. - Articles
Green June Beetle
Home lawns in select areas of Pennsylvania often are subject to severe and extensive injury from green June beetle grubs. - Articles
Sod Webworms in Home Lawns
Several species of sod webworms or "lawn moths" commonly infest home lawns. The larvae can cause major damage to residential turfgrass, especially during drought. - Articles
Chinch Bugs in Home Lawns
Hairy chinch bugs can be frequent pests of home lawns in Pennsylvania. - Articles
Billbugs in Home Lawns
Several billbug species occur on turf, but the bluegrass billbug is the most common in our state. - Articles
White Grubs in Home Lawns
Home lawns in Pennsylvania can be damaged by the larval stages of various species of scarab beetles, including Japanese beetles and northern masked chafer grubs. - Articles
Understanding the Phosphonate Products
Sorting through the different phosphonate products (potassium phosphite, phosphorous acid, fosetyl-Al, etc.) can be difficult. - Articles
Earthworms In Golf and Athletic Field Turf: Making A Mess In Fall
Earthworms play an important role in turfgrass ecosystems through their burrowing activities and by breaking down thatch and organic matter. - Articles
White Grubs—Underground Marauders in Turf
White grubs are probably one of the most common turfgrass insect pests encountered in Pennsylvania lawns. - Articles
SDHI Fungicides for Turfgrass Diseases
Turfgrass disease prevention and control programs on golf courses often include fungicide applications. - Articles
Turfgrass Diseases: Slime Molds
Slime molds (causal organisms: Mucilago, Physarum, and Fuligo spp.) are different from most turfgrass pathogens in that they do not directly infect the plant.