Retirement is a time for taking it easy and enjoying your golden years without the stress of worrying about lawn maintenance and pest control. At ADVANTAGE GREEN we make things easier by taking those concerns away and giving you an amazing-looking lawn. However, you can still do your part by being able to spot and identify certain lawn problems in your area.
The Villages, Florida
Lawn Diseases Found In Our Area
Florida may have beautiful weather and perfect temperatures, but we are not without our share of lawn diseases. These are the most common lawn diseases found in our area.
Dollar Spot
Dollar spot gets its name from the way it first appears as a small circular spot that kills the grass right to the root. It begins by causing tan-colored lesions on the leaf blades. As the disease grows, it creates round, yellow patches in the grass and can spread up to six inches or more in diameter.
Brown Patch
Brown patch fungus typically begins as a small brown or yellow circular patch in your grass. Affected blades are easily pulled up because the fungus destroys the tissue at the leaf base. Brown patch does best in warm, humid conditions. A good way to prevent brown patch is to make sure your grass is dried out properly before the end of the day.
Grey Leaf Spot
Gray leaf spot affects St. Augustine grass primarily during our hot and humid summers. Caused by a fungus, it appears as an oblong tan spot on the individual blades of grass. Grey spot can weaken lawns, slow down growth, and kill large swaths of grass, creating opportunities for weeds and more diseases to move in. Signs usually appear in shaded areas along the northern areas of your property.
Rust Fungus
Rust is a name given to several fungal diseases that affect zoysia and St. Augustine grass. The first sign of rust is small white, yellow, or orange spots that appear on the leaves during the cooler months. As the disease progresses, the leaves may develop wounds that turn yellow, brown, or even black, and eventually die.
Lawn diseases can be tricky to prevent and even trickier to get rid of. At ADVANTAGE GREEN we have the means to treat a variety of lawn diseases by using targeted fungicides in the right proportions.
Common Lawn Pests Found In Our Area
Mole Crickets
An adult mole cricket is about an inch and a half long, light brown with large front claws used for digging, which is how these disturbing-looking creatures get their name. Mole crickets look like something straight out of a nightmare but are actually not as ferocious as they appear. In fact, seeing a mole cricket is pretty rare since they tend to feed only at night and underground. Mole crickets become a problem when there are too many of them in one area. Their tunneling can disturb the fragile roots of your grass and plants, causing them to wither and die.
Fire Ants
Like most of the residents in The Villages, fire ants are not native to the state of Florida. They were brought here in the 1930s from South America. With great weather and no predators to stop them, fire ants were left to invade the entire southern U.S. Like most ant species, fire ants are small and live underground. Usually, the first time you might notice them is when their mounds appear above the ground. The excavated dirt creates these mounds from their network of underground tunnels. By this time, the colony has already been breeding and growing for several months. Colonies can reach populations of 500,000 to millions in just one acre. Fire ants behave with a hive mentality when disturbed. They will attack fast and aggressively anything that gets too close, including pets and children.
Chinch Bugs
Chinch bugs prefer to feed on St. Augustine grass but can also feed on other turfgrasses and weeds. Adults are about 3/16 inch long and are black with white spots on their wings. Nymphs are reddish-orange with a white stripe across their back. They live in the thatch layer of your turf and suck fluids from blades of grass with their needle-like mouthparts. When infestations are present grass turns yellow, then a burnt-reddish color, and eventually dies. Chinch bugs tend to feed in groups working outward, so dead patches of grass appear to grow like a fungus that spreads across the lawn. Most damage occurs from March through November in Southern Florida and from April through October in Northern Florida.
Call The Experts
At ADVANTAGE GREEN we have twenty years of experience dealing with all sorts of pests and diseases and we know how to treat them. Call today to set up an appointment.
Special Offers
- $50 bonus when someone you refer signs up for our lawn care service.
- Discount percentage for Annual Prepay.
- *Some restrictions may apply
Some of the Services We Provide in The Villages
Specialty Services
One downside to having great weather year-round has to deal with pests year-round. With pest control from Advantage Green, we can protect your home and business from invasive pests like ants, spiders, and cockroaches by applying or special perimeter pest control to the outside of your home.
Termite Control
One downside to having great weather year-round has to deal with pests year-round. With pest control from Advantage Green, we can protect your home and business from invasive pests like ants, spiders, and cockroaches by applying or special perimeter pest control to the outside of your home.
Lawn & Shrub
One downside to having great weather year-round has to deal with pests year-round. With pest control from Advantage Green, we can protect your home and business from invasive pests like ants, spiders, and cockroaches by applying or special perimeter pest control to the outside of your home.
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