They aren’t really worms at all

Army worms start out as night flying moths that arrive in swarms after a cool, wet spring. You might notice them flying around porch lights at night. The gray moths arrive en masse and cover your lawn. 

While you are sleeping, they can lay up to 300 eggs per night for 3 nights. Do the math…each moth can lay up to almost 1,000 eggs (see how they got the name “Army” worms?) Seven days later, they hatch as “very hungry caterpillars” and start feasting.

“He ate and he ate and he ate.”

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Army worms (aka caterpillars) will spend the next 20-25 days eating everything green, yellow or red. They can destroy lawns or crops almost overnight. Their only objective is to eat as much as possible. 

After the feast ends, they rest for about 2 weeks before emerging as a moth. The cycle continues….with the possibility of three generations of Army worms in just one summer through fall. 

Check out this newscast from 2018 which shows how crops in Texas were devastated by an invasion of Army worms.

Signs of Army worms:

• Little bits of chewed up leaves
• “Skeletonized” leaves 
• The presence of birds (who like to feast on Army worms)
• Moths swarming around your outside lights at night

Can you stop the invasion?

Because they arrive at night and hide themselves so well, you may not even know you have been invaded until the damage is done. 

There’s not much you can do to prepare. However, if you THINK you have them, act immediately. 

Remember this: after the eggs have been laid, you have 7 days before the feasting on your lawn begins. 

If you see any signs of an Armyworm attack on your lawn, please give us a call as soon as possible. Let our licensed lawn and pest technicians evaluate what is happening and plan an attack on these pests. 

Our Lawn and Pest Solutions crew will help you recover your lawn and protect it from future invasions. We send our trucks all over the Memphis and Oxford areas as well as all of North Mississippi.

Weed pulling is oddly satisfying…at first.

What is more rewarding than extricating a weed spotted in your lawn? Lifting the roots and all from the moist soil with one gentle pull. 

Now, repeat that motion 10,000 times. Pulling a lawn full of never ending weeds is a chore. 

Weed or plant?

In a newly landscaped lawn, every homeowner has played the game of “weed or plant?” It is easy to think of weeds as ugly sprouts in our lawn, though some aren’t ugly at all! 

No matter what weeds look like, they are robbing your lawn of nutrients and moisture. Weeds compete with your lawn for all of the “good stuff.”

Don’t pull weeds

Weed pulling doesn’t seem daunting when you just spot one. The first satisfying pull leaves you with a big chunk of weeds, roots, soil. 

Then what? This is usually when you notice that there are approximately one zillion more weeds!

Weeds are like glitter…

When you pull weeds, you usually end up spreading the seeds, creating more weeds.The slightest disturbance of a weed can cause thousands of seeds to fly all over your lawn. 

Dormant weed seeds can even be awakened by digging in the ground while adding or removing new plant material. 

Treating versus pulling

Treat weeds BEFORE they grow and spread. Realistically, you are always going to be dealing with weeds. It’s just a matter of controlling and  reducing their growth. 

Using a lawn service like Lawn and Pest Solutions can end your weed control issues. A year-round program like Lawn360 will take care of existing weeds as well as those lurking just beneath the ground. 

Our lawn technicians apply pre-emergent and post-emergent to take care of weeds at every stage of development. 

Lawn and Pest Solutions is based in New Albany, MS. We serve neighborhoods and businesses in the Memphis,Tennessee area and all over North Mississippi. Google our reviews!

Is lawn aeration just an “extra” step like a wash, rinse, repeat? What is the purpose of aerating if you are already watering, mowing, and “feeding” your lawn?

Improve the health of your lawn 

If you are wondering, aeration is when holes are poked in your lawn to allow for “the good stuff” like water, nutrients and fertilizer to get down into the roots. 

Why it is needed:

• To break through thatch.
• Thatch is the layer of dead grass that compacts on your lawn over time. 
• Thatch robs your grass of necessary rain and nutrients. 
• Thatch is a thick covering that prevents the “good stuff” from getting through to the roots. 

What are your options?

People have been known to use anything from pitchforks to baseball cleats to aerate their lawns. However, those DIY techniques require a LOT of time on energy and they aren’t very effective.

Lawn aeration is an option you can add to your Lawn360 program at Lawn and Pest Solutions. You will see a noticeable improvement in your lawn over time if you add this annual service to our Lawn 360 program. 

Lawn fertilization, weed control, and aeration will make your lawn the best on the block! Contact us here to get a quote on our lawn services. We can make the Lawn and Pest Difference in your lawn today! Our trained lawn techs serve the North Mississippi and the Memphis, Tennessee areas. Look for their official Lawn and Pest vehicles and uniforms all over neighborhoods in this region.

“One Thing Leads to Another”

Cleaning gutters prevents many other issues. In 1983 an English new wave band hit the charts with “One Thing Leads to Another”. As in many other aspects of life, this is true!

But I don’t WANT to…

What if I don’t clean my gutters? This goes back to that “one thing leads to another” motto…

• If you don’t clean your gutters, they become clogged with leaves and debris.
• Clogged gutters don’t drain and they collect water.
• Collected water causes wood to decay and rot

Guess who loves rotting and decaying wood? Termites! Termites feast on rotting wood.

That’s not all.

Another catchy phrase that applies to more than the “sham wow”…

As a result of clogged gutters, washed areas form. These areas can hold water close to your foundation. This causes the soil to become saturated and water can seep under your foundation. Joining the group of water loving pests are…mosquitoes!   

It’s not a fun job, but someone’s got to do it.

Overflowing gutters can wash out mulch and flower beds near your home. These washed areas can thin out your lawn. Thin lawns give weed seeds an open area to grow and germinate. 

Termites, mosquitoes and now thin and weedy lawns, all because no one likes to clean out their gutters!

Make it a priority to clean out your gutters this summer. While we don’t offer gutter cleaning services, Lawn and Pest Services can assist you with termites, mosquitoes and weed control. 

Contact us here and we will send a licensed pest technician to give you a quote. We serve the North Mississippi and Memphis area neighborhoods of Tennessee.

Whether it’s a late spring freeze or a late summer drought, there is always something “out to get” our landscape! Being proactive in the treatment of shrubs and all of our plants is important. 

Proactively treating your shrubs will help them to get strong and stay healthy. This is important with the adverse weather conditions of our Memphis, TN/North Mississippi region.

Protecting your investment

By proactively treating your shrubs with our Plant Health Care program, you will protect your investment. Watch a few #askpaul videos to clear up most of your questions and concerns.  What to expect to get from our Plant Health Care program:

• 6 visits per year from a licensed lawn technician with advanced knowledge of plant health care. 
• At each visit your plants will be fertilized.
• At each visit your plants will be monitored for insects, diseases and will be treated for what is found.
• At each visit you will receive a feedback form from the technician which tells you what he observed, what he did and what you need to know to keep up the treatment process.

This program allows a professional to examine your plants and determine what is best for them. You also get a pro who is treating and nurturing your plants to get the most out of your investment.

Are you replacing shrubs from year to year?

The money you spend on a plant health care program will eventually save you from replacing diseased or dying/dead shrubbery. An expert eye can detect a problem in your plants before it spreads to others. 

A healthy lawn and plant landscape will be strong enough to endure April freezes and August droughts. 

Let Lawn and Pest Solutions proactively treat your shrubs and lawn. Contact our office to learn more about our plant health care program. We serve the North Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee areas. 

Use this checklist to prepare your mower for summer:

• Lubricate all moving parts!
• How is the fuel filter? Fuel filters can’t be cleaned because they can easily be damaged, so just buy a new one.
• Get a new spark plug! These are inexpensive, no need to clean or reuse old ones.
• Replace the belt or battery if needed.
• Check your fuel! If you have left fuel in your mower for more than 30 days, go ahead and drain it and fill it with fresh fuel. 

#AskPaul 

While Lawn and Pest Solutions is not in the business of mowing lawns, we want to help you have the healthiest lawn. Having the proper equipment is very important to achieving a beautiful lawn. Getting your lawn mower ready for summer is an important step you can take at home. 

If you need more help with getting a beautiful lawn, we have a staff of professional lawn technicians. Lawn and Pest Solutions can help you, just contact us today. We serve the Memphis, Tennessee, and North Mississippi regions.

Reseeding Bermuda grass in your lawn is something to consider. Do you need it? Is it time? 

When is the best time to reseed Bermuda grass?

The best time to reseed Bermuda grass is in the spring, but established Bermuda grass lawns rarely need to be reseeded. 

Bermuda grass is the most popular choice for lawns in our Southern region. It loves full sun, thrives in our heat and is very tolerant to drought and traffic. However, Bermuda grass does have nutritional requirements and some might say “high maintenance”. If your Bermuda grass looking a little thin, reseeding might be an option.

Thin Bermuda grass?

Bermuda grass goes dormant over the winter, and as always dormant doesn’t mean dead. Dormant Bermuda grass may be brown, but it is just resting. As the temperature warms, Bermuda grass breaks dormancy and it starts producing a lot of new growth. 

How can I keep my Bermuda grass strong?

There are several things you can do as a homeowner to help your Bermuda grass get strong. 

• Aeration early in the growing season relieves the stress of compacted soil.
• Warm temperatures and a good fertility program make all the difference for Bermuda grass.

What makes a Bermuda lawn healthy?

A healthy lawn can fight off weeds, drought and disease better than a weak lawn. Here are some suggestions:

• Mow at a lower height 
• Water after mowing
• Fertilize
• Aerate
• Get rid of weeds

Get rid of weeds

Comparing a healthy lawn to a healthy body makes this easy to understand. A healthy lawn is strong, free of weeds, and gets plenty of air and water and nutrients. 

When that healthy lawn is attacked by disease, weeds, drought or insects it has a much better chance of surviving and thriving. Just like healthy bodies! 

Our Lawn 360 program puts a plan into place for your lawn to receive the proper nutrients at the correct time.

We can help.

We can help you determine if reseeding your Bermuda lawn is necessary. We provide services to fertilize, aerate, and treatments to keep weeds from emerging or returning. We can help you get your lawn into the best shape ever! 

Our Lawn and Pest Solutions Technicians serve the Memphis, Tennessee and North Mississippi areas. You can message our office 24 hours a day just by visiting our website. 

Our techs are friendly, trustworthy and dependable. Read our Google reviews to see how pleased our customers are with our services.

What is a plant health care program? A plant health care program puts an expert in your yard who can detect problems before they spread. 

A professional will examine your plants and determine what is best for them. A plant health care program will then treat and nurture your plants to get the most out of your investment.

Protecting your landscape is protecting your investment

Having a beautiful lawn requires an investment, of time, work, and money. The money you spend on a plant health care program will eventually save you from replacing diseased or dying/dead plants. 

Why spend so much on shrubs, flowering trees, and plants for your yard, and then drop the ball? That is like building a pool and never putting in chemicals or cleaning it out!

What to expect:

• At Lawn and Pest Solutions, our plant health care program includes six visits per year. 
• A licensed lawn technician with advanced knowledge of plant health care will plan and oversee your program.
• At each visit your plants will be fertilized.
• At each visit, your plants will be monitored for insects, and diseases and will be treated for what is found.
• At each visit, you will receive a written report from the technician. This report tells you what he observed, what he did to treat your plants, and what you need to know to keep up the treatment process.
• Based on your report, your plants will get a fertilizer with micro nutrients and soil beneficial, insect and disease control targeted specifically to your plants and their health at that specific time. 

How is this program different from others? 

Most programs include a pre-mixed spray that is applied to all of the plants, no matter what they need at that time. 

Why replace plants from year to year because they are unhealthy?

 A healthy lawn and plant landscape will be strong enough to endure April freezes and August droughts. Let Lawn and Pest Solutions take care of your plants and lawn.

Contact our office to learn more about our plant health care program. We serve the North Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee areas.