Brown spots are one of the most common lawn concerns we hear from homeowners. The difficult part is that brown grass does not automatically tell us what caused the problem. It could be drought stress, uneven sprinkler coverage, mowing too short, a fungal disease , grub damage, or a combination of several issues. That is why we do not like diagnosing a lawn based only on the color of the grass. We look at the location, pattern, soil moisture, roots, mowing height, weather, and time of year before making a recommendation. Start With Where the Browning Is Located When someone tells us their grass is turning brown, two of our first questions are: What is your watering schedule? Where are the brown areas located? The location can reveal a lot. Browning along sidewalks, driveways, curbs, and other exposed edges often points toward heat and moisture stress. These areas can dry out faster than the middle of the lawn. Brown areas in the sunniest portions of the yard may also be related to ...

When it comes to achieving a lush and vibrant lawn in Northern, IL and Southeastern, WI, having the right tools can make all the difference. At Lawn Doctor, we're proud to introduce the Patented Turf Tamer Power Seeder – a cutting-edge solution that can transform your lawn into a green oasis. In this blog post, we'll explore the remarkable benefits of this innovative technology. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaN7UxqhCoE The Power of the Turf Tamer Power Seeder The Turf Tamer Power Seeder is a game-changer in the world of lawn care. It's a patented piece of equipment designed to address common lawn issues and promote healthier grass growth. Here's why it's making waves in Antioch: 1. Precision Seeding: Unlike traditional seeding methods, which can be hit-or-miss, the Turf Tamer Power Seeder delivers precision seeding. It places seeds at the optimal depth and spacing for maximum germination, resulting in a denser, more even lawn. 2. Improved Soil Contact: ...

When it comes to achieving a lush and vibrant lawn, regular maintenance is key. One often overlooked but highly beneficial practice for lawn care is aeration. If you're aiming to transform your lawn, into a thriving oasis, keep reading to discover why lawn aeration should be a part of your lawn care routine. Understanding Lawn Aeration Before we delve into the advantages of lawn aeration, let's clarify what it entails. Lawn aeration is the process of perforating the soil with small holes to allow air, water, and nutrients to penetrate deeply into the root zone. This practice helps address common lawn issues and encourages healthier grass growth. The Benefits of Lawn Aeration Improved Airflow: Over time, soil can become compacted, restricting the flow of air to the grassroots. Aeration breaks up the compacted soil, ensuring that oxygen reaches the roots, promoting robust growth. Enhanced Nutrient Absorption: Nutrients are essential for health...

Lawn diseases have been very active this summer  Lawn diseases are an annual threat and a frustrating problem to many lawns across the Northern Illinois area during the summer months.  With over twenty years of experience in analyzing lawns in the local area, we have seen the most widespread disease damage to leaf tissue in lawns this summer compared to past seasons.  Record-setting May rains have led to significantly large amounts of summer lawn disease development.  While a lot of lawns go dormant during the months of July and August as the leaf tissue shuts down to protect the grass roots, a dormant lawn does generally not show the damaging effects of lawn disease as the turf is already brown so the damage is disguised as simply a brown lawn.     Lawn in summer beginning to show some disease areas (circles) We get a lot of questions regarding brown spots in the lawn every season, most of which is heat and moisture related, however this season diseas...

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 ...

Summer Heat Stress is hitting lawns across the Northern Illinois hard this week.  Summer months bring warm temperatures and sometimes periods of dry weather to the lawns of Northern Illinois.  Grass lawns across Antioch-Gurnee-Waukegan and Lake Forest enter survival mode to withstand the stress associated with this time of year.  Even after a great spring of cool temperatures and excess rain made lawns green and grow fast, they are quickly turning to mid-summer appearance of splotchy brown and dormant patches in just a few short hot days this summer.  Proper mowing height and watering practices are two of the most important things to do properly as summer begins. With the forecast of multiple 90 degree days ahead and no significant rain in well over a week, begin watering now to prevent or assist with heat stress on the lawn.   A bluegrass-based lawn needs about 1-2 inches of irrigation per week to keep adequate moisture levels and to prevent the full on...

The summer lawn season of 2018 has literally left many tracks across the lawns in Northern Lake County.    As we had numerous rain days and service delays in June, July started off with a bang.  We then witnessed and are still investigating a heat tracking event that occurred July 13.   Beautiful Lake Villa lawn watered in summer   The difference between watering regularly adn not watering- notice the heat stress on right Warmer temperatures hit around the holiday week and have continued along with minimal rain for the rest of the month.  This has left a lot of lawns turning brown form heat and moisture (lack of) stress.  Once again this year the heat tracking phenomenon has hit the area hard.  On Friday July 13 many instances of heat tracking occurred across the area.  As I have posted heat tracking in previous year’s blogs, this year the damage was even worse.  Since the event took place on Friday July 13, most of the...

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...

Beautiful summer lawn in July 2017 This summer has been a roller coaster ride of weather and growing conditions for lawns across Northern Illinois.  From a wet spring we jumped right into heat and drought stress in early June resulting in some heat tracking and stressed out lawns.  July followed with cool temperatures and weekly rains followed by record breaking flooding.  As a result lawns have performed well with the exception of those close to waterways that were covered in water for several days after the flood.  Lawns that were flooded will need some extra care and attention in the coming weeks. Heat stressed lawn early June Lawns that are covered with flood water generally suffer from several different types of damage.  Most turf grass species are able to withstand a few days of flooding.  However after a few days of being submersed under water, grasses can begin to die from a lack of oxygen and or light.  Other factors that ca...

                                   Many homeowners ask throughout the season each year, "what is the best thing I can do for my lawn?"  My answer is always "to aerate and over seed in the fall with desirable grass types- bluegrass, ryegrass and turf-type tall fescue.  In addition to regular fertilization and weed control".  However, this question is rarely asked now in the fall, which is the perfect time to implement the answer.  Now is the time to repair the lawn from any and all thins spots or damaged areas form the stresses of summer heat, insects, grubs, diseases or general compaction from heavy traffic. Lawn suffering from summer stress Same lawn several weeks after early fall aeration and over-seeding Lawns across the Gurnee, Antioch, Lake Villa and Waukegan area are enjoying the cool temperatures and sunny days of mid-fall.   Lawns love this type...

Late August generally brings cooler temperatures and much needed rain to help green the lawn backup from summer heat and drought stress.  However, sometimes the lawn doesn't green backup and that can be the first indication of grub damage in the lawn.  The second indication is that the turf will pull up when you grab the leaf tissue or crown of the plants.  This is because the hatching grub larvae are eating the base of the turf roots just below the surface of the soil and underneath the crown.  This basically separates the turf very easily from the soil where the roots are embedded. This summer brought on a lot of insect damage with the dry and hot conditions.  This is often easily overlooked during the high temperature conditions because it looks like the lawn is just going dormant.  Many instances of billbugs, chinch bugs and sod webworms have been found across our service area.  These insects usually only damage the leaf tissue on top porti...