How Nature Can Help With Common Lawn Problems

There are many lawn problems that cause headaches to homeowners, and sometimes finding a solution can seem like an impossible task. Thankfully it doesn’t have to be, and sometimes the remedy is provided by nature itself. All nutrient treatments that are sold in stores are designed to mimic naturally occurring materials, here are some of the ways that nature can combat some of the most common lawn problems:

A natural source of nutrients

Many homeowners spend hundreds of dollars each year on artificial nutrients and irrigation systems. If you live in an area where nutrients and rainfall are abundant, your lawn will be much easier to care for. In areas with regular rainfall grass thrives without any additional irrigation, in fact continuing to irrigate on top of rainfall could cause your lawn to fail.

Unless you live in an area that experiences year-round drought, you have to pay very close attention to the rainfall data in your town. Identify the proper amount of water for the type of grass in your lawn, then subtract the weekly rainfall total from this amount. The solution to this equation will be the amount of water that you should manually add for the week.

Harsh weather kill grass…and lawn problems

Summer and winter can be very hard on your lawn, as grass does not thrive in extreme temperatures. Luckily the same can be said for many varieties of weeds and pests, so a harsh season can be a great way to ‘reset’ your lawn problems. Most lawns go dormant during the winter, and due to the lack of nutrients available there is very little reason for weeds or pests to continue to plague your lawn during this time. By the time your lawn exits its winter dormancy, the slate has been cleared of weeds and bugs.

Not at all bugs are bad

Many homeowners panic when they see bugs in their yard, assuming that all insects are pests. While this is certainly the case within your home, in your yard some bugs can be very helpful. Certain types of insects keep the damage-causing varieties of bugs at bay, and others will feed on weeds that grow in your yard. Here are a few bugs that you want to see in your lawn:

• Ladybugs were intentionally brought onto American soil because of the many benefits that are associated with them. These colorful beetles feed on all sorts of unwanted pests, including mealybugs and aphids.
• Bumblebees are not a bug that you want to come in close contact with, but their presence in your yard should be welcome. They spread pollen to flowers and other ornamentals that help make your lawn stand out. As long as you keep your distance, you should be glad to see a bee in your yard.
• Lacewings provide a host of benefits to your lawn, including minimizing the population of pests that feed on grass like aphids, moths and caterpillars. If lacewings find their way into your lawn you are in luck, and thankfully these bugs can produce as many as four generations each year, ensuring that pests stay at bay.
• Tachinid flies may not seem like a bug that you would want to attract to your lawn, but doing so can put an end to caterpillars. Caterpillars have to eat a lot to enter the next stage of their life, and they can do a lot of damage during this time. To attract tachinid flies to your lawn, try planting herbs like dill and parsley.

Before you shell out a large sum of money on chemical treatments for your lawn, take a look around and see what natural resources you can make use of. Pest control products can be especially expensive, and they remove all bugs – not just the problem causing ones. Making use of natural resources is the cheapest and most effective way to keep your lawn problems from advancing.