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 ...

The wet spring of 2016 has helped keep many lawns across the Antioch-Lake Villa-Gurnee-Waukegan area well watered, growing and green.  However, water can also bring some unwanted issues along with the hydrogen to the lawns across Northern Illinois.   Excessively wet leaf tissue can be a welcome mat for unwanted disease issues as temperature ranges fluctuate.  Lawn diseases need three parts to develop in the lawn.  A susceptible host plant (grass in your lawn), pathogens (spores in the air) and favorable conditions (wet and ideal temperature ranges).  Just like weeds popping up after a favorable rain or temperature change, diseases also pop up quickly in the lawn.  Cool and wet generally lead to the development of dollar spot and red thread while summer patch and pythium prefer the higher temperaures and moisture. This early summer has brought on cooler and wet conditions leading to the development of red thread on many lawns across the Lake County, IL a...