Category Archives: Bugs

Those bugs are called leafhoppers. They’re about the size of a grain of rice and always present in your lawn. They typically hop from blade to blade sucking out the juices. You can tell by the small yellow spot in the middle of the blade. They also excrete a sap-like substance called honeydew which sometimes appears as a shiny spot on the blade. Leafhoppers do very little damage. Sure, a huge infestation might give your lawn a slightly pale appearance, but because the damage is typically short term, superficial, and very short lived, we do not recommend treatment. But here’s some Leafhopper factoids for all you science buffs: Leafhoppers spend the winter in debris and thatch and emerge in mid spring. Females lay eggs in the early summer, which hatch within two weeks.  

First of all, those aren’t ant hills. What you’ve got there is a swarm of night crawlers that have nested in your lawn in the fall and hibernated over winter. Night crawlers are thick long worms often used as lures when fishing. Night crawlers don’t usually cause any serious or permanent damage, although they can sometimes leave your lawn very bumpy, like you’ve got golf balls under it. In that case, the best remedy is to aerate to reduce the compaction in the soil. In extremely serious or dry conditions, a second aeration may sometimes be required in the fall.  Top dressing the lawn will also help to fill in the gaps between the bumps.

These are often called “paper moths” because they look like a light piece of paper blowing erratically in the wind. They are not often cause for concern.  There are literally hundreds of species of moths that look very much the same.  There is only one moth that is of concern and this is sod webworm.  Fully matured sod webworms become moths that drop eggs onto the lawn as they fly. These eggs hatch and turn into the sod webworm larvae. Sod webworms are white in colour with an orange head. They are about half an inch long. They chew off the roots of the grass plants. The first symptom of serious damage is the appearance of small, dead, fist sized patches. The lawn in these damaged areas peels up quite easily when gently tugged. Peel back the turf, and several sod webworms are likely to be seen. Keep the lawn…