Many Insects Good, Many Are Bad

The following common lawn and landscape pests cause specific types of damage to residential properties:

Surface Feeders & Foliage Destroyers

• Chinch bugs: Suck sap from grass blades and inject toxins, causing large, yellow-to-brown dead patches.
• Armyworms: Defoliate entire lawns rapidly, leaving grass ragged or completely sheared to the ground.
• Sod webworms: Larvae chew grass blades at the base, resulting in thin, brown, notched patches.
• Cutworms: Mow down young grass seedlings and stems at the soil line overnight.
• Lawn caterpillars: General term for various larvae that consume leaf tissue, thinning the turf.
• Black grass bugs: Puncture plant cells to feed, causing "stippling" (white/yellow spots) and withered grass.
• Red spider mite: Sucks chlorophyll from blades, leading to a bleached, bronzed, or scorched appearance.

Subsurface & Root Feeders

• White grubs / Grubs: Eat grass roots; turf becomes spongy and can be rolled up like a carpet.
• Mole crickets: Tunnel through soil and eat roots, destroying the lawn's root system and surface smoothness.
• Bluegrass billbug: Larvae hollow out the stems of grass plants, killing them from the inside out.
• Leatherjackets: Larvae of the crane fly that feast on roots and stems, primarily in wet soil.
• Sphenophorus (Billbugs): Similar to Bluegrass billbugs; cause structural death to grass crowns and stems.
• Black beetle: Larvae and adults damage roots and stems, often leading to large dead patches in summer.

Burrowing & Nuisance Pests

• Fire Ants: Build unsightly, hardened mounds and pose a stinging hazard to residents and pets.
• Ants: Create mounds that smother grass and cause uneven "lumpy" turf surfaces.
• Moles: Create extensive tunnel networks and surface ridges, uprooting grass and destroying landscaping.
• Crane fly: The adult is harmless, but high populations indicate larvae (leatherjackets) are destroying roots.

Ornamentals & Health Risks

• Aphids: Cluster on garden plants to suck sap, causing leaf curl and secreting "honeydew" that grows black mold.
• Japanese beetle: Skeletonize the leaves of ornamental trees, roses, and shrubs, leaving only veins.
• Ticks: Carry Lyme disease and other pathogens; hide in tall grass and perimeter brush.
• Fleas: Infest lawns and quickly move onto pets and into the home, causing bites and irritation.
• Mosquitoes: Breed in standing water; primary vectors for various viruses and a major outdoor nuisance.