The Key to a Weed-Free Lawn: Early Spring Pre-Emergent Weed Control As the first signs of spring begin to appear, homeowners across the country start dreaming of lush, green lawns. However, achieving that picture-perfect yard requires more than just hope and sunshine. At Lawn Doctor, we know that the secret to a beautiful lawn lies in proactive care, and one of the most crucial steps is early spring pre-emergent weed control. Let's explore why this treatment is so important and how it sets the stage for a successful lawn care season. What is Pre-Emergent Weed Control? Pre-emergent weed control is a preventative measure that targets weed seeds before they have a chance to germinate and grow. Unlike post-emergent treatments that kill existing weeds, pre-emergent herbicides create a barrier in the soil that stops weed seeds from developing into mature plants. The Importance of Timing When it comes to pre-emergent weed control, timing is everything. Early spring application is crucial ...

Do I have Grub Damage in my Lawn this summer? We receive many calls this time of year (mid-summer) for curing brown spots in the lawn.  Many homeowners assume that the brown spots are a result of grub damage.  However, this  is not the case as grub damage will not show up for another several weeks after the eggs hatch and begin feeding on grass roots in August and September.  The brown spots are more commonly a result of heat stress on the lawn which often results in additional damage form diseases and insects in the lawn as the grass slows down growth due to the higher soil temperatures and less frequent heavy rainfall.   Most lawns across the Northern Illinois area are suffering from heat related stresses this summer.  With more sunny days above 80 degrees in June and early July, soil temperatures jumped quickly resulting in stressed out lawns by mid-July.  Once a lawn begins to weaken or go dormant the disease and insects can ...

The summer of 2018 has had many differences than last year however many of the issues of summer remained the same for this season.  Every summer brings challenges to the lawn care industry mostly due to extended sunny days bringing high soil temperatures, high evapo-transpiration rates and limited soil moisture.  Heat and drought stress cause the lawn to brown, expose minor issues and bring many curve balls to those trying to keep a green lawn all summer long.  August has brought some much needed rain however more is needed for most lawn to make a full recovery.  A late summer fertilizer is needed at this time so when rains do come, the lawn has adequate nutrients available for a quick                                                                                  ...

Spring 2018 has had it ups and downs this season for the lawn care service industry.  However it has mostly produced many "ups" or positive results across the Antioch- Gurnee area.   A very slow to warm up spring kept lawns brown and with no growth through early April followed by a nearly two week cold and snow on the ground period of early to mid-April.  Although the cooler temps and snow cover  were a little abnormal, the moisture left behind allowed for good green up and new leaf tissue growth in the warmer weeks that followed.    Late April 2018 Snow cover on April 15, 2018 May brought many additional challenges as it was warm but very wet.  This caused some delays again including many spring seeding services.  Seeding in spring is a great opportunity to thicken up some shady areas however the moisture and temperature swings can create a lot of difficulties in scheduling and perfo...

April showers have produced an amazing amount of precipitation across the Antioch- Gurnee -Waukegan area this spring.  Antioch received over 6" of rain throughout the month of April, well over the historical average of 3.5" for the month.  Although temperatures were slightly above normal in the early part of the month the last weeks of the month were mostly cloudy, cool and slightly below normal or at normal.  The result was a cool, wet month leaving many lawns soggy, saturated but green and growing.  Wet springs encourage growth of all plants including grasses, perennials and even weeds.  As we dry out and warm up a lot of weeds will begin to pop up as temperatures raise.  Late spring should bring a lot of leaf tissue growth from all plants and flowers should produce full vibrant blooms in May just as the old saying goes. Wet springs are great for turning grass green and germinating new seed. A wet and cool spring has brought many delays to ...

Early spring brings excitement and joy to many homeowners in the Antioch-Gurnee-Waukegan area as humid warm air and extended sunlight hours bring the lawns and plants out of their winter slumber.  The thoughts of enjoying the outdoors once again brings a lot of anticipation along with a list of things to do.  There are many projects and plans racing through our minds as the warmer days allow for open windows and sunroofs throughout the neighborhoods.  One way to eliminate the uncertainty of lawn tasks and projects is to get develop a plan to have in place once the warmer weather is here to stay. A spring lawn plan should include the following lawn care activities to either "enjoy" doing yourself or make sure you have hired to get done for the season.  A lawn fertilizer application consisting of spring fertilizer with a pre-emergent weed control for annual grassy weeds, mainly crabgrass.  A soil enrichment product such as a soil conditioner or pellet co...

I have noted on my calender the date of August 20 for the last several years for a reason.  This seems to be the day (ok, week) that the first signs of change are going to be happening in the lawn.  This year is proving to be no different.  The days begin to become obviously shorter, the sun becomes significantly less intense and night time air temperatures become noticeably lower.  All of this results in heavy morning dews and lower soil temperatures which leads to a greening up lawn.  If we are lucky enough to get a thunderstorm or two, which happened again this week this year, the lawn greens up even faster and goes right in to growth mode and begins repairing itself from summer heat and drough stress. There are two main reasons why the lawn suffers and turns brown during the month of July and early August.  High soil temperatures from direct radiant heat, higher daytime and nighttime air temperatures, and lower precipitation rates leave ...

We have recently noticed a few instances of a somewhat rare phenomenon in the lawn care industry that we would like to point out in an effort to better communicate to both our customers and those interested in lawn care.  Along with the previously posted summer stress issues for the lawn in this blog, we wanted to bring up a more recent issue which is very rare but is currently a potential for lawns across the Antioch, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst, Gurnee, Lake Forest and Waukegan area.  This recent phenomenon is referred to by some in the industry as heat tracking. Heat tracking occurs when pressure is applied to the lawn from foot traffic, lawn mowers, fertilizer spreaders or anything else that can compress the leaf tissue down to the ground below.  When  this pressure is applied at the exact time frame (usually early afternoon at the peak heat of the day) that the turf is at its wilting point or entering dormancy stage it breaks the leaf tissue at the base o...

Summer stressed lawn Summer weather has definitely arrived for the 2016 lawn season.  The last 4 weeks have brought many sunny 80 degree plus days and little rain to the Antioch-Lake Villa- Lindenhurst-Gurnee-Waukegan area.  Temperatures above the 80 degree mark for an extended amount of time and few summer storms have led to many brown lawns across the area.   Summer stress affects the lawn in several ways.  It leads to cool season grasses goin dormant, summer stress prevents the lawns ability to repair itself, it creates a changing appearance to the lawn and promotes new growth of summer weeds.  I bring up these factors because they seem to bring a lot of questions from customers and are easily explained.   As the soil and air temperatures pass the 80 degree mark, cool season grasses like fine fescues, ryegrass and bluegrass begin going dormant.  This is the natural process of survival for the grass without causing permanent damage to the...

  Tall fescue growing in lawn in spring, it grows upright and is a perennial grass greening up in spring We get many calls this time of year from homeowners complaining of crabgrass in the lawn.  Some of these homeowners are new customers complaining of previous lawn care efforts while some are our current customers.  The complaint usually states that a product didn't work or the application was mis-applied because the result is not what they want, a crabgrass-free lawn.   We spend much effort explaining to the homeowner that they are simply misled by creative national product marketing ads or they simply mis-diagnose crabgrass.  The reason we know this is quote simple.  It is absolutely impossible to have crabgrass in your lawn in Northern Illinois right now.    Crabgrass about 4 weeks after germination, it has to grow from seed annually and isn't mature until mid-summer Crabgrass is an annual grass that begins germinating e...

Early Spring is the time to put down crabgrass preventer and fertilizer, and this is why? Your lawns roots need nitrogen to produce new spring leave tissue and stopping crabgrass now will give you a beautiful lawn.   Click here for a great lawn!

Immature crabgrass growing  in late spring on golf course in Gurnee Late July and August brings hot and dry sunny days which are perfect for the development and growth of ugly crabgrass.  Crabgrass is an annual weed (or undesirable grass) that is native to the Antioch-Gurnee-Waukegan-Lake Forest area and grows every year from seed left behind or blown onto the lawn during the previous summer.  The germination of the seed begins in late spring as soil temperatures reach about 55 degrees.  This is usually around mid-April.  Crabgrass is best controlled through a pre-emergent application of herbicide (dithiopyr or pendimethalin) in early spring before the soil temperatures get to 55.  These products generally stay active in the soil for about 60 days giving the lawn a good defense against annual weeds when applied early in the season.  Unfortunately they also prevent desirable bluegrass and rye grass to germinate so be careful in scheduling seeding ...