---
title: Many Insects Good, Many Are Bad
description: Discover common lawn and landscape pests that threaten your property. Learn how to identify and manage these harmful insects effectively.
---

[Wake Forest Lawn Care and Clean Yard Info](https://cleanyard.care/info)

# [Many Insects Good, Many Are Bad](https://cleanyard.care/info/many-insects-good-many-are-bad)

 Written by [Doug](https://cleanyard.care/info/author/cleanyardcare-team) | 3/31/26 4:19 AM

 

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.

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