Has your beautiful lawn been overcome by those ugly brown spots?
Brown or dead spots in your lawn can be a huge source of frustration. They can make you feel as though you are losing control of your yard, and ruin the look of a perfectly healthy lawn before you know it.
What actually Causes Brown spots and brown patches on your lawn and is there anything you can do about it?
Unfortunately, there could be many causes of brown patches in your lawn. If you can figure out the reason for the brown spots, it’s easier to get them under control. Below are listed several reasons why your lawn might have brown spots.
- Frequently mowing. When the weather is hot and humid mow less often. Cutting your grass short can damage the health of your lawn.
- Too much Shade. Brown patches can thrive in areas of your lawn that don’t get a lot of sunlight. Prune overhanging trees and shrubs to allow more light and air to these areas.
- Over Watering. Don’t overwater your lawn. A good rule of thumb is one inch of water a week. If we’re experiencing really hot, dry conditions then two inches a week will help your lawn stay healthy. Be wary of areas where the water isn’t soaking into the soil, and try to drain these locations to prevent brown patch.
- Dull Blades on Your Lawn Mower. Dull mower blades tend to rip grass blades instead of cutting them, allowing the tips to dry out. Sharpen your blades at least every 25 hours of use. After mowing, examine your grass to see if the mower is cutting cleanly.
- Scalping. Cutting too low or scalping allows the grass to crown and soil below to dry too quickly. To avoid this problem, raise your mower blades, and smooth out high spots by digging up the sod, removing some of the soil underneath, and replacing the sod.
- Animal Urine. Dogs are the most common culprit, but large birds and other animals can cause urine spots, too. Urine usually causes your lawn to turn yellow in spots, sometimes with a bright green ring around the edges where the diluted nitrogen in the urine acts as a fertilizer. Try to have your pets go to the bathroom in different areas of your lawn, so one section isn’t getting more urine than others. You can also try and train your pets to urinate in a specific part of your yard that you don’t care about. If you can, water the area where your pet went to the bathroom to clear the nitrogen from the grass.
- Grubs. Grubs damage grass by eating the roots, leading to small brown patches that eventually widen in a relatively uniform way. They like to eat at the roots and make tunnels through the root area. As the grass sustains this damage to the root, it becomes difficult to absorb the necessary water and nutrients for optimum health causing brown patches. Different types of grub control applications help with different stages of grub worm growth. An early fall treatment usually is meant to kills the live grubs, where an early summer treatment is meant to kill pests before they lay eggs and kill hatchlings if they do hatch.
- Drought. Lawns need one inch of water per week, either from rainfall or irrigation. Dry, compacted spots are more easily drought-damaged.
- Chemicals. Gasoline, herbicides, and pesticides can cause dead spots if spilled. Some fertilizers can actually harm your grass, and if it is applied unevenly or incorrectly, it can even burn the grass.
- Poor Soil. Soil quality can vary in your lawn, and poor soil can occur in patches, causing brown, bare areas or moss. Aeration will loosen up your soil and help water, oxygen, and nutrients get to the roots of your lawn. This will encourage growth and promote healthy grass.
Why not let the Professionals take care of it?
A+ Lawn Care & Landscaping, Inc. is a total landscape and maintenance company. Contact us today and Let our trained professional staff maintain your landscape and help keep your lawn looking healthy and beautiful for many years to come!