OT: Eternal Lawn Care Thread
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I've got a lawn care question for the group. I've got a serious mole problem in Monmouth County... sometimes when walking on my lawn it feels like i'm walking on sponges because the tunnels below the surface and the mole hills that pop up.
What's the best treatment for moles? Would something like GrubEx work to get rid of their food source?
I've tried the transmitter devices you stick in the ground but that hasn't seemed to work.
The moles rip apart the grass roots leaving mounds of dirt and bare spots
What's the best treatment for moles? Would something like GrubEx work to get rid of their food source?
I've tried the transmitter devices you stick in the ground but that hasn't seemed to work.
The moles rip apart the grass roots leaving mounds of dirt and bare spots
I used to live in the town due east of you. We did not have moles, we had voles.
We determined that they were voles when a few were caught in our pool filter. They look like field mice. Never figured out a way to keep them at bay. Our next door neighbor let her yard go au naturale, and it was a haven for all sorts of critters.
Damn, that sux...our problem was always cicada killers. Where our house was built used to be a sand quarry and these damn things love it. We have had mid July’s with up to 600 mounds created by them. And people say leave them be but we would have a 3-4 week period in the middle of summer with swarms of them all over and our lawn being destroyed...I used to live in the town due east of you. We did not have moles, we had voles.
We determined that they were voles when a few were caught in our pool filter. They look like field mice. Never figured out a way to keep them at bay. Our next door neighbor let her yard go au naturale, and it was a haven for all sorts of critters.
Not my problem this year but now stuck with the worst lawn in the neighborhood instead
I used to live in the town due east of you. We did not have moles, we had voles.
We determined that they were voles when a few were caught in our pool filter. They look like field mice. Never figured out a way to keep them at bay. Our next door neighbor let her yard go au naturale, and it was a haven for all sorts of critters.
You can put mouse traps in their paths and you will catch them. I used to have a problem but its pretty much gone now.
The problem eventually mostly went away. And then we sold the place. Never saw anything like that anywhere else we have lived.
Neighbors cat loved eating them. I used to leave the dead ones that i caught out in the yard, once he discovered they were there he took out the rest.
Today I was going to put down some Scotts Triple Action product that I picked up last year but upon reading the instructions on the bag it needs to warm up further before it should be applied. Discusses an average daytime temp of about 60 degree and having cut the grass 2-3x before applying.
I put some new sod down in the back yard about 18 months ago and had a bad crabgrass outbreak late last summer. Too much time on my knees last year manually removing clumps of crabgrass. This triple action product is supposed to prevent crab grass similar to the crabgrass preventer with halts product for X number of months but the key seems to be a second application after about 3-4 months. I don't think I want to apply both so I guess I will wait a bit.
I put some new sod down in the back yard about 18 months ago and had a bad crabgrass outbreak late last summer. Too much time on my knees last year manually removing clumps of crabgrass. This triple action product is supposed to prevent crab grass similar to the crabgrass preventer with halts product for X number of months but the key seems to be a second application after about 3-4 months. I don't think I want to apply both so I guess I will wait a bit.
I have pigs for rent.:) They'll eat it and no need for nasty chemicals which if you have kids you don't want them playing in it. Of course they'll eat everything in your yard if it's edible as well. Hey you have to take the good with the bad if you want to live chemical free.
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I have two Great Pyrenees for rent as well.:) They'll find them for you. But once they're done you will have to do some maintenance as there will be holes in about 100 spots throughout your yard.
Anyone have a grub problem? Got chickens for rent for that. But you'll probably have to reseed your whole lawn by time they're done ripping it apart. Better living without chemicals, but your back will take a beating from everything you have to fix once they fvck it up.
Those Great Pyrenees greeted me when I stopped at your mailbox last week. Nice looking dogs.
Kids are 14 and 17: the only yard they're playing in is something virtual in some video game.
Yea they greet everyone like that. Even the invisible man who likes to visit my property every 15 fvcking minutes. O and thanks for selling the tickets to psu fans, douche.:)
I'm only kidding, they were really nice guys and had a fun time with them not your typical d*ck psu fans. More fans of the sport of wrestling than just psu and took a keen interest in RU guys since they knew I was rooting for them.
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Those guys paid a pretty penny for those tickets. They sold on stub hub in like 20 minutes. I owe you a lunch or something. And tonight, I have to deal with 300 pound Drew who left me hanging on those tickets, but because he is a brother FF, and I am a nice guy, I feel compelled to buy him a lunch. Made the mistake of taking Route 9 from your place all the way to the Parkway. That was torture.
Can I recommend something with Dimension? Works a whole hell of a lot better than halts
Agreed. Dithiopyr, mentioned above, is the active ingredient in Dimension. I spray it and do split applications but you can also get it in granular.
I believe Dithiopyr (Dimension) will kill any crabgrass that has germinated up to the first tiller, so you get some post killing effect. Also, I believe frost will kill crabgrass. I found that by using Dimension, you have the benefit of applying it later than Barricade or other pre emergent products. I mow three or four times and then apply the Dimension. Only disadvantage is it does not last as long as Barricade.
Soapy water, which is actually not a bad thing for your soil....
Triclopyr, which is the active ingredient in Orthos CCO (chickweed, clover, oxalis) with the purple label will kill ground ivy. You’ll likely need 2 or three applications a few week apart. Be sure to read the label. You can get it at Home Depot or Lowe’s.
Do you have any recommendations to control annual bluegrass. I’ve used Roundup in late summer, then over seeded, followed by an application of Prograss Oct 1st and then Dimension around Nov 1st. I find it very difficult to control!
Annual bluegrass (Poa annua) is a tough one for sure. The best control I’ve achieved is using Tenacity (Mesotrione) in early fall, doing multiple applications a few days apart but Make sure you follow the label and stay under the 16oz annual total limit (so for example several three oz applications a few days apart.) then I reseed later and then use Dimension annually as a PM, but not when you plan to seed. Good luck!
A Highway Authority Commish wanted to beautify the Parkway.
Her idea, buy hundreds to thousands of mature planting. (I heard $ 300,000). Only one problem, the nursery delivered them all at the same time and dumped them on top of asphalt parking lots. Nobody thought too water them.....
See below
Put crabgrass preventer down when soil temps at 1-2 inches (5-10 cm) reach 50 degrees. Right now soil temps are in 40's throughout NJ.
https://www.njweather.org/maps/nj-statewide-soil-temperatures-5cm
Also you can enter your zip code here and check:
http://www.greencastonline.com/tools/soil-temperature
Also, do you spring cleanup of your yard first before putting down pre-emergents. If you put it down first and then rake or aerate you disturb the barrier created.
I hit the first link, and it appears the soil temp is too low.
I hit the second link and put in zip code for my area, and it says 52 degrees.
I had decided to turn this over to a service, and they said that they will not be doing pre-emergent until last week of March, first week of April. Kind of late?
In my opinion the last week of March or first week of April would be late for me here in my lawn in Piscataway (probably late for you too). One of the problems with a service if that they have peak periods where it is not possible to do an application for every customer at the ideal time. I would not be comfortable waiting until the first week of April THIS year, although some years that is fine. It depends on how much you care (or how crazy you are?)
As mentioned previously, Dithiopyr (Dimension) has some post emergent effect too so you can be a bit late. I do a split or sequential application with one this week and another in late spring, then fall. The problem with zip code trackers is that a zip code covers a relatively large area, at least in terms of soil temperature. In my yard, depending on sun/shade and exposure, the temperature ranges now from 49 to 53.
I'm in Wall southern Monmouth County.
The services will only sell an all or none package. Six applications. Reading the RU Ag Experiment Flier, that seems like overkill/overfertilization.
https://njaes.rutgers.edu/FS633/
I think I am just going to put this stuff down myself this coming weekend.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/LESCO-50-lb-19-0-7-Dimension-Crabgrass-Preventer-080311/100185665
Then follow up by June 15?
And then do a fall fertilization. I am in Year 2 of a relatively new lawn established by seed. It is Tall Fescue from Hogan Seed. First year (2018), it looked great all winter because I put down fertilizer in November. Did not do that this past November, and it is not very green.
Any other advice/thoughts?
+1 Soil thermometers are cheap. Zip code trackers are good for getting within range.
Ordered 2 from Amazon. Thanks for breaking my paralysis through internet analysis.
Sat next to a guy at a Motley Crue concert, and man was that the worst weed i've ever encountered.
I have no idea what six applications mean. What are they putting down, when, what active ingredients, NPK levels, fast or slow release, synthetic or organic, is one a grub product and if so what active ingredient, did they or you do a soil test, etc.
The Lesco product with Dimension is fine. I’d follow the label for split applications and do one now, one in June, one in the fall. These will be at reduced rates.
Late fall nitrogen is the most important fertilizing application. If you only do one, do that one. If you care a lot about your lawn I’d get some organic Oceangro that is mentioned above or miloganite and use that but then use a fast release (like urea) for the last late fall application.
Like anything else, you can learn and do a lot if you are so inclined or not. I make no value judgments with respect to how people treat a lawn/property as long as it is relatively maintained (not 12” high full of weeds).
Sometime between 3/15 and 3/31 should be in the sweet spot.
http://www.gddtracker.net/?model=7&offset=0&zip=07726
6 applications are a typical fert program. 2 Pre-emergent, post-emergent, insect, grub, fall fert/lime
I usually recommend people only do one application of pre-emergent, then get a fert that has dimension, lock-up, and a nice fertilizer in it. ProScape makes one that’s a 19-0-6.
Lots of ways of treating a lawn. If you look at university extension advice, and elsewhere, you’ll see lots of different programs, as I’m sure you know. I wouldn’t do lime unless my soil test indicated the need for it. I wouldn’t necessarily use imidicloprod or another insect app unless I needed it. When do you do your one pre-emergent, at what rate, for coverage of what length (rhetorical question,) My fertilization program would be dictated by my soil tests and conditions rather than a one size fits all. Different stokes for different strokes.
Proud owner of two new soil thermometers. Soil temperatures in Southern Monmouth at 46-48 degrees. Since there is nothing else to do with no sports on TV, check the temperature a few times a day.
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