Turf lifts like a rug
Roots have gone. Fold a square foot back and look underneath before assuming anything about what is on top.
Lawn and property care guide · North Alabama
Disease and insects in a North Alabama lawn
What large patch, spring dead spot, grubs and armyworms look like here, how fast each one moves, and why a description is never a diagnosis.
Before anything else
A description is not a diagnosis
Several turf diseases and several kinds of insect damage look alike from a photograph, let alone from a sentence. This page is written so you know what is worth checking, not so you can name what you have.
That distinction matters because the next step after a diagnosis is usually a treatment, and nothing should be applied to a lawn on a guess. Treating for a disease that is actually insect damage costs the treatment and the season.
What you can do reliably from the surface is narrow it down: how fast is it moving, what shape is it, does the turf lift, and what time of year is it. Those four questions are worth more than any color description, and they are what somebody standing on the lawn will ask first.
Speed is the most useful single question. Something that has appeared in two days is not the same class of problem as something that has been getting slowly worse since March.
Disease
The two that turn up most in Marshall County
Large patch and spring dead spot account for a good share of the circular damage seen on warm-season lawns here, and they appear at opposite ends of the year.
Large patch shows as roughly circular patches, often a foot to several feet across, and it appears in the cool damp weather of spring or fall rather than in midsummer. The edge is frequently a slightly orange or bronze ring where the leaf is dying back. It turns up in zoysia, St. Augustine and centipede in particular.
Spring dead spot is a Bermuda problem and it announces itself at green-up: the lawn comes back in spring and circular areas simply do not. The damage was done to the roots over winter and spring is when you find out. It tends to recur in the same places year after year, which is one of the things that distinguishes it, and managing it is a longer job than a single treatment.
What both have in common is that they are helped along by conditions rather than caused out of nowhere. Constant leaf wetness, over-feeding, poor drainage and excessive thatch all make disease more likely, which is why evening watering and heavy nitrogen come up so often in this context.
Insects
Grubs move slowly. Armyworms do not.
The two insect problems most likely to matter here work on completely different time scales, and the fast one is the one to act on.
Grubs feed on roots underground, so the damage builds gradually and the classic sign is turf that lifts away like a loose rug because there is nothing holding it down. Birds or skunks working an area over is often what people notice first. The check is simple: cut a square foot of turf on three sides, fold it back and look. A few grubs is normal in any soil; a heavy count under damaged turf is a different conversation.
Armyworms are the opposite. They can strip an area in a couple of days, and the damaged edge advances across a lawn in a visible front. They are most active in late summer and early fall here. Because they move so fast, this is one where a same-week look at the property genuinely matters - if damage is spreading day to day, call (256) 506-9006 rather than waiting to see what happens.
Damage advancing daily
Something is eating it. Late summer into fall, armyworms are the first thing to check, and speed matters more than certainty.
Circles getting bigger weekly
More typical of disease than of insects, particularly in the cool damp weather of spring and fall.
Not a problem
Mushrooms, and other things that look worse than they are
Some of what gets reported as lawn disease is not damaging anything. It is worth knowing which, so nothing gets treated that did not need treating.
- Mushrooms are the fruiting body of fungi breaking down organic matter in the soil - very often an old tree root or buried construction debris. They are a sign of decomposition, not of a sick lawn, and they usually pass with the wet weather that brought them. Knock them over and remove them if small children or pets are about.
- Slime moulds appear after wet weather as a grey or yellow dusting on the blades. They sit on the leaf rather than infecting it and wash off.
- Algae and moss are site problems rather than lawn diseases. They move into ground where grass has already given up, and the reason is usually shade, drainage or compaction.
- An uneven green-up in spring is normal. Parts of a lawn come out of dormancy at different rates depending on sun and soil.
Prevention
The conditions matter more than the cure
Most of what makes a lawn susceptible is cultural, and all of it is free to change.
Diagnosing what is wrong with a lawn and putting a plan of work to it is what turf management is, and treatment sits under weed control and fertilization. What will not happen is anybody naming a disease from a telephone call. The visit comes first, and it is free.
- Water early in the morning, not in the evening. Leaf that stays wet all night is what most turf diseases want
- Do not over-feed. Soft, fast growth is more attractive to disease and needs mowing more often
- Keep the mowing height right and the blade sharp. A torn wound stays open longer than a clean cut
- Deal with drainage and compaction. Saturated soil is behind a surprising share of turf problems
- Keep thatch in check. More than about half an inch holds moisture at the surface and keeps roots out of the soil
- Do not let a diseased area be mown last and then everything else - or do, and clean the deck afterwards
Answers
Questions about disease and pests guide
What does large patch look like?
Roughly circular patches, often a foot to several feet across, appearing in the cool damp weather of spring or fall, frequently with a slightly orange or bronze ring at the edge. Description is not diagnosis.
What is spring dead spot?
Circular dead areas in Bermuda that appear at green-up: the lawn comes back in spring and those patches do not. The root damage happened over winter, and it tends to recur in the same places.
Could grubs be damaging my lawn?
Possibly. The classic sign is turf that lifts like a loose rug because the roots have been eaten, often with birds working the area over. Cut a square foot on three sides, fold it back and look.
How do I know if I have armyworms?
Speed. Armyworms can strip an area in a couple of days and the damaged edge advances in a visible front. They are most active in late summer and early fall here.
Why are there mushrooms in my lawn?
Fungi breaking down organic matter in the soil, very often an old tree root or buried debris. It is decomposition rather than a sick lawn, and it usually passes with the wet weather that brought it.
Does HRH treat turf problems?
Looking at what is wrong and putting a plan of work to it is turf management, and treatment sits under weed control and fertilization. Nothing gets named from a phone call - the visit comes first, and it is free.
Read next
Related reading
Why a Lawn Turns Brown, Yellow, Thin or Patchy
From the lawn and property care guide.
Turf Management
A service HRH Lawn Care handles.
North Alabama Lawn Watering Guide
From the lawn and property care guide.
Weed Control and Fertilization
A service HRH Lawn Care handles.
HRH Lawn Care Services
Not sure what your property needs?
Call and ask. We would rather come and look at it than guess over the phone, and it does not cost you anything either way.