Monday to Friday I'm leaving home in the dark and returning in the dark, so not ideal for being able to respond to any challenges in a timely manner. So it's more important to know and recognise any differences, however subtle.
Woke yesterday and went for a quick "inspection" around the yard and I was very concerned when I got kerbside. The sight of white tips on the turf made me jump to 3 possible conclusions. A dog had walked over a neighbour's poisoned area (highly unlikely), not enough water and a warm Friday the day before (unlikely), or the dreaded black beetle had moved in!
My experience told me to water the lawn and set out a grub treatment so I went for the fast acting Bifenthrin with a weak addition of soil wetter to got it down into the soil column. This action alone crosses two of the possible options off the list in one go.
Upon inspection this morning I was very pleased to see about 30 new black dots across the treated area! It worked and I feel that because the lawn is healthy overall, there were early signs of repair.
This is a warning that they've been present for a little while and I should add a preventative step with the active ingredient of "imidacloprid" and add it to the diary. In years gone by I've used Confidor (after they took Carbaryl off the market) and Baythroid which have worked well.
I treated mine about 7 weeks ago and within 30 minutes I had a kaleidoscope looking lawn with black spots everywhere. I treated it because I was starting to see the odd beetle now and then and as such I saw a few sections that had the same similar patches like your photo is showing us.
I'm thinking of doing a follow up treatment again shortly to see what's happening down there.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
What product are you using? I know Bifenthrin etc are 'knockdown' agents which kill the adults, therefore very effective at certain times throughout the year. The Imidacloprid is a 'preventative' that kills the larvae so I'm guessing a combination of the 2 may be best staged throughout the year? I guess that stands to reason why Baythroid has been so successful for a long time.
