Organic Insect Control Tips

To effectively manage insects naturally, it's important to focus on creating an environment that encourages healthy turfgrass growth. This will make your lawn capable of tolerating minor insect feeding.

READ > Management Techniques for Controlling Insects

When extra help is required to control damaging lawn insects, we use naturally occurring predatory insects called beneficial nematodes as a preventative application to help reduce pest populations. At Nutri-Lawn, our Organic Insect Control implements all the features of Integrated Pest Management with the exception that no synthetic pesticides are used. Our in-depth knowledge of insect lifecycles allow us to dramatically reduce pest populations in home lawns.

Beneficial nematodes are microscopic round worms that attack insect larvae in the soil. The nematodes are naturally occurring in our soils and are harmless to mammals like humans, dogs, cats and birds, but to lawn insects, they are deadly.

We apply nematodes via water to the surface of lawns, and then ask the homeowner to water them into the soil, or time the application with a period of rain. Beneficial nematodes are best used in a preventative manner, and should be applied soon after the larvae (grubs) have hatched, in their 1st or 2nd instar. This means that insect damage will not be evident when the nematodes are first applied. Research has shown that using nematodes to control fully grown grubs that have entered their 3rd instar is poor and not recommended.