Moles
Not very common in towns or housing estates but as soon as you get close to the country then a mole can be a lawns worst enemy.
If moles are a threat in your neighborhood controlling the amount of mole food in your lawn, namely worms, may go a long way to preventing one coming into your garden in the first place.
Unfortunately the mole is only guilty of doing what he/she does best; digging in search of food. They are notoriously tricky to kill and seem to take little notice of pulsating, beeping and buzzing deterrents. I’ve seen ‘mole smokes’ and biofume canisters that supposedly make the moles run inhospitable but apart from making the mole dig a new run (in the lawn once again!) I can’t see much benefit. Scissor traps are cheap, hard to set and have them work reliably and humanely - and whilst your trying all of these your lawn is being dug up!
To be 100% sure of getting your man (or mole) without causing suffering, use either a professional service or get a tunnel trap here. The trap is supported by video tutorials and if set correctly (take your time) will catch the culprit in hours. It worked for me anyway.
Mole Hill Repair Tip:
Once you are rid of the mole repair the lawn. The mole hill soil has come from below ground and flattening it above ground just makes a bump and a mess. Get the hose pipe and gently flush the soil back down the hole from whence it came. Next tread or roll the tunnels that lie just below the surface of the lawn to help the grass re-root. By the time you’ve finished you’ll hardly notice any damage at all – perfect!
A Healthy Lawn is the Best defence
More Pests & Diseases
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Pests & Diseases of Lawns
Ants and bees are common in the lawn. The ant can be a major problem cutting away grass roots and building ant hills so use ant killer poison and bait traps
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Pests & Diseases of Lawns
The grubs live in lawns eating the grass roots. If the infestation is bad enough damage can be caused by birds and animals eating the grubs
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Pests & Diseases of Lawns
The Crane Fly or Daddy Long-legs is the adult and the Leather Jacket is the larvae or grub. Only the leather jacket grubs cause damage to your lawn
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Pests & Diseases of Lawns
A patchy network of drying brown grass can be resolved by spiking, hollow tine aeration and wetting agents to bring the lawn back to life
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Pests & Diseases of Lawns
Fairy rings appear in lawns in several ways: as rings of toadstools or mushrooms, as a ring of dead grass often covered in moss or rings of lush green grass
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Pests & Diseases of Lawns
Fusarium disease is quite a common lawn problem. Treatment and prevention can involve good lawn care practices, fungicides or use of ferrous sulphate
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Pests & Diseases of Lawns
If you find Lichens in your lawn it may be time to consider a new lawn or at least a major renovation. Liverworts grow in the shadiest wettest parts of your lawn
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Pests & Diseases of Lawns
Of all grass diseases red thread lawn fungus is the most common causing brown patches or a blotchy appearance. The blotches will have a pink colouration
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Pests & Diseases of Lawns
Rust is a fungal disease noticed as a yellowing of the grass leaves. Mildew often looks like someone has painted the grass leaves white
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Pests & Diseases of Lawns
These are usually a sign of a healthy soil though on occasions a crop of toadstools will grow due to an excessive thatch layer or form a fairy ring
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Pests & Diseases of Lawns
Worms benefit the lawn by increasing organic breakdown and improving aeration and fertility however they do cause problems with their spiral casts