WELCOME TO HEAT DOME!
It’s been a summer unlike any other. Extreme heat, drought, labor shortages, supply chain interruptions, you name it. The combined effects are noticeable.
- Broadleaf weeds – your lawn might be weedier than normal. Sorry about that. Putting it simply, weeds love heat but herbicides do not. Herbicides cannot be safely or legally applied when temps exceed 85 degrees. Sometimes we have to tolerate a few weeds until conditions are more favorable for spraying. As that happens, we will spray broadleaf weeds for our lawn care clients. Thank you for understanding!
- Grassy weeds – crabgrass & nutsedge are rampant. If you didn’t get crabgrass pre-emergent in the spring, you’re out of luck. If you did, it offers 70%-90% control. Some breakthrough is expected. Nutsedge is popping up a lot, too. It loves heat & waterlogged soil. Nutsedge isn’t technically a grass or a broadleaf, it is its own plant that requires a special herbicide. This isn’t covered in our lawn programs but can be sprayed upon request. Note that two or three treatments might be needed.
- Bugs – billbugs are covered in some program & have not been bad this year. We’re seeing sod webworm & chinch bugs in some cases, neither of which are in our programs. Why? Because they don’t occur as frequently as billbugs & they require different types of insecticides to control. We can treat them upon request.
How do you (our awesome client) & we (the lawn care experts) team up to conquer these issues?
It starts with water. Rule of thumb: soil should be moist 6″-8″ deep but not saturated. The only way to know is to use a core soil probe or shovel. Below is a simple sprinkler programming guide when temperatures are in the 90s or higher.
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- Pop-up sprays on turf: 5-6 nights per week, 2 cycles per night, 10-12 min per cycle (maybe 100-144 min/week)
- Rotors on turf: 5-6 nights per week, 2 cycles per night, 20-23 min per cycle (maybe 200-276 min/week)
NOTE: these are starting points & you should adjust your program based on the coverage, water pressure, soil type, & water restrictions.
Good mowing practices. Lawns should be mowed weekly to approximately 3″-3.5″. Cutting too much off can create openings for weeds, crabgrass, & destructive insects to enter. We recommend mulching, which leaves clippings on the soil to decompose.
Sticking with the lawn care program. While we cannot spray in extreme heat, we can apply fertilizer because of the slow-release products we use. This gives your lawn a boost & helps it stand up better to tough conditions.
Perspective. No one likes weeds or crabgrass or bugs in lawns, especially us! Within the parameters of our lawn programs & as conditions allow, we will do our best to address issues that may have arisen this summer. But if you’re a customer who just isn’t happy with these things, we fully understand. Let us know & we’ll work with you on a solution.
Can’t stay hot forever, right??!