If you see a pest, find out what it is before reaching for that scary-sounding spray can.
People are buying sprays without even knowing what the problem is in the first place, say the experts at Maryland’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Local cooperative extension offices can help identify the problem and suggest a remedy.
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Some bugs can be taken care of by just hand-picking them off. Like the big green tomato (worm) bug. It’s easy to see and harmless to pick up in your hand. Then throw it away from the plants.
It’s July, time to give your grass its second fertilizing. The first should have been in May.
When mowing, put your mower on mulching mode. Grass clippings provide nutrients to your lawn. They don’t create thatch. Thatch is a layer of decomposing grass roots, not grass clippings.
Sharpen your mower blades at least once a year, more often if you have acreage to mow or there are rocks or roots in the lawn that nick the blades. Dull blades rip the grass apart instead of cutting it. It’s very bad for the grass.