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Find a Business or PersonLawn Destroying Pests
ArmywormsDescription: Cutworms and armyworms are the caterpillars of several species of night-flying moths. Cut-worms are plump, smooth and often, greasy-looking. Typically, cutworms curl up tightly when disturbed. They have greenish, brownish, grayish, or striped bodies, up to 1 3/4 inches long. Although about the same size, the armyworms differ in appearance. True armyworms are plump, sparsely-haired, generally green to brown larvae, with dark stripes running down the sides and back. These caterpillars feed on the aboveground plant parts of many grasses and is a pest of many garden and field crops. |
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BillbugsBillbugs are weevils that have the snout, head and thorax about as long as the wing covers. Though there are about a half dozen species that may be found in turfgrasses, only a few cause damage in any given region. The most common pest in Ohio is the bluegrass billbug, Sphenophorus parvulus Gyllenhal, though the lesser billbug, S. minimus Hart, is somewhat common. The adults are only 1/4- to 3/8-inch long and dark grey to black. They may be covered with a tan or brown coating of soil. The larvae are white with a brown head and look like legless white grubs. |
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ChiggersProbably no creature on earth can cause as much torment for its size than the tiny chigger. Tiny six-legged chigger larvae attack campers, picnickers, hikers, bird watchers, berry pickers, fishermen, soldiers, and homeowners in low, damp areas where vegetation is rank such as woodlands, berry patches, orchards, along lakes and streams, and even in drier places where vegetation is low such as lawns, golf courses, and parks. They are most numerous in early summer when grass, weeds and other vegetation are heaviest. Chiggers do not burrow into the skin, but insert their mouthparts in a skin pore or hair follicle. Their bites produce small, reddish welts on the skin accompanied by intense itching as irritating as acute cases of poison ivory or poison sumac. These symptoms often are the only way of learning that an outdoor area is infested since chiggers are so small that most cannot be seen without a magnifying glass. Chiggers feed on a wide variety of snakes, turtles, birds, and small mammals as well as humans. |
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Chinch BugsThere are several chinch bugs that attack turfgrasses in North America. The hairy chinch bug, Blissus leucopterus hirtus Montandon, is the most commonly encountered pest of northern turfgrasses though the common chinch bug, Blissus leucopterus leucopterus Say, is occasionally found. These closely related pests are very difficult to separate in the field and most people identify them by locality and type of food plants. |
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Clover MitesClover mites sometimes invade homes in enormous numbers, in early spring and late autumn, overrunning floors, walls, drapes, window sills and furniture, even occasionally getting into beds and clothing. They may become troublesome in hospitals, nursing homes, apartments, food processing facilities, etc. If crushed, they leave a reddish stain quite noticeable on linens, curtains, walls and woodwork. They are a nuisance by their presence but do not bite humans or animals, transmit disease nor feed on household furnishings or pantry supplies. Skin irritation may be caused in sensitive persons. They live outdoors feeding on various plants. |
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CutwormsMany species. Cutworms are dull gray, brown, or black, and may be striped or spotted. They are stout, soft-bodied and smooth, and up to 1 and 1/4 inches long. They curl up tightly when disturbed. |
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European Crane Fly LarvaeThe European crane fly, Tipula paludosa, is a pest which has become established in the Pacific Northwest including British Columbia. There are reports of it estsblishing in parts of Northern California as well. Although largely a turf and pasture pest, it has been found feeding on such hosts as annual and perennial flowers and several types of vegetables and small fruits. |
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Flea BeetlesMany varieties of sweet corn, especially early maturing, yellow kerneled varieties, are susceptible to a bacterial disease called Stewart's wilt. The disease causes reduced yields, and an entire planting can be stunted or killed (see HYG fact sheet 3095-83, Stewart's Bacterial Wilt & Leaf Blight of Corn, for more information on this disease). This disease was discovered in 1895 but it was not until 1923 that an insect was determined to be the vector of the disease. The disease is transmitted primarily by the corn flea beetle. |
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