Taking care of your lawn is the chore that most of you consider one of the very important thing to do at home. Since this helps beautify and create a good ambiance within every home. Lawn care tips that we always bare in mind is not just enough to learn but also the mistakes that we often neglect or caught unaware of it. Just to freshen things up, here are some lawn care mistakes that we should avoid.

* Wrong schedule of fertilizing and watering of lawn - There is always a right time to water and fertilize your lawn. But this will also depend on which area you belong as well as the season and weather condition in your place. But, the most required time to water lawn should be done early in the morning for the grass to absorb it thoroughly and so your grass would not remain its moist for long compare to watering it on night time which most of us do especially when we are working during daytime. Same goes with fertilizing, it should have the right timing and schedule depending on the climate and area you have.

* Cutting lawn very short – Usually when we have a busy schedule everyday, we use to come up to an idea of cutting the grass in our lawn too short for us to have a longer period of break till we mow them again. But it is not a healthy for the grass to cut it more than 1/3 of grass blade this will make them weak and will result to unhealthy growth.

* Ignored mulch importance – Mulching plays an important role in lawns since this makes lawn grow healthy. It provides nutrients and blocks pests that would invade lawns.

* Mistakes in Using seed and sod – When making a new lawn, one should decide which method to use either seeding or sodding depending on its advantages or main purpose to your lawn. Sodding prevents soil erosion and seeding helps fills bare spots from your lawn.

* The use of powder and organic products – Powder products is less expensive compared to organic products but this has the tendency not to stay within your lawn because can easily be blown. While organic products could be penetrated within your lawn provided this is time consuming and could produce longer results.

Photo by Stan Shebs

The most recommended time to repair bare spots in your lawn is during the season of fall. These spots may be the cause of your pets urine, foot traffic drought or it may be a sign that your lawn is suffering from a disease where it is being invaded by bugs or pests. When grass doesn’t grow anymore, your lawn is already prone to ruts that will create a larger portion in your lawn. What is essential is that you should match your existing grass with your newly planted ones to have a more level look of your lawn. Here are ways to repair the bare spots:

- get all the old dead grass in the spot using a shovel and trim to clean up and put in the new top soil then start to plant the seeds and in order not to be damaged by heavy rain, you can put in straw in the seeds. In planting your seeds, make sure that you don’t plunge it deeply in the ground.

- Put on fertilizer according to label instructions for a primary application.

- Patch should be covered with a straw to keep in the moisture for the seeds to develop or grow. A light spray on the seeds will also be best for the seeds to grow evenly, and make the top portion of seeds moist always.When seeds develop, keep them moist and put in ample amount of water to make it moist down from its surface.

- When seeds start to grow, avoid walking or mowing through the area until the grass will reach in an about 2-3 inches height.Also, weed control should not be use on your new grass until they mature.

Aiming for a beautiful healthy lawn needs a lot of effort and strategy. Any kind of lawn care could be possible as long as you are doing the right thing for your lawn’s good health. Here are 5 easy steps for your lawn care guide that will help you yield good results:

1. Mow efficiently – This does not only require cutting of your grass to its required height but also depends on mowing at the right time of the year. In mowing your lawn, it should not be less than one-third of its height for the efficient absorption of the sun. This should consume the right amount of light from the sun that is needed by the grass to develop a healthy plant. After mowing, your mowed grass should be left on the lawn to decompose as fertilizer that would be best for your lawn.

2. Use a sharp blade – It is important for your lawn to use sharp blade when cutting grass so it will not tear grass that would make your grass unhealthy easy to catch diseases and difficult to fight off pests. Few days after mowing, check on your grass very well especially the tip of it. If you can see brown lines on its tips, then you should make a move to get rid of those unhealthy signs.

3. Regulate water supply – The right irrigation system could help you prevent lawn problems especially the growth of pests on your lawn. Too much water would not do good for your lawn. On the average,grasses only need weekly water supply of 1-1.5 inches. that would just be enough for the clay to moistened, 4-6 inches below the surface and 8-10 inches for sandy soil. Rain Guage is the most advised in determining water supply during rain also to regulate the proper amount.

4. Keep fertilizers and pesticides at normal levels – Overfeeding your lawn with chemicals is very harmful. Be always prepared most especially during seasons of spring, summer, early fall & after the first fall be sure to provide it with balanced amount of fertilizer.. then on drought, you can skip summer feeding but not fall feeding.

5. Prevent, rather than cure – In Lawn care, you can also apply the statement that says prevention is better than cure. Regular feeding of your lawn could save its life from bugs and pests as well as diseases this could also help repair bare spots and you can use right herbicides to help you control and manage growth of weeds.

Maintaining proper care for your lawn is this easy but it also requires your proper attention for you to make things right in whatever strategy for the best of your lawn care.

One constant concern in caring for our lawns is the presence of bugs, insects, and pests. This is a common problem, and it requires that the lawn should be periodically checked for bugs and pests.

Here are the top 7  lawn pests and insects that can cause some damage to your lawn:

1. Armyworm: Armyworm larvae go from place to place and feed on the shoots of the grass. They eat at night and sometimes on cloudy days, but they usually hide int he thatch layer during the day. They eat the grass as soon as they are hatched from their eggs. They also move as a group, which makes it imperative to eliminate them as soon as you spot some to stop their spread.

2. Bluegrass Bill Bugs: Simply known as the Bill Bug, this pest feed in the roots, rhizomes, and shoots of the grass. The Billy Bug larvae feed into the stems where there is moisture, and it is here when they cause great damage to the grass. The adults only cause minor damage as compared to the larvae. The larvae are usually hatched and appear in late May and June.

3. European Chafer: The larvae of this species feed on the roots and rhizomes in midsummer. During this time, the grass aren’t able to regenerate well and brown patches will appear.  As they grow (with one year life cycle) they will move to swarm in the trees.

4. Japanese Beetle: The larvae also feed on the roots and rhizomes in the summertime, causing brown patches to appear on the grass.  The adult Japanese Beetle feeds on fruit and on shrubs.

5. June Beetle: The larvae also feed on the roots and rhizomes in the summertime. It is larger than the other larvae pests and has an irregular life cycle. The adult June Beetle feeds on foliage and on shrubs. You can see them at night flying around lights.

6. Hairy Cinch Bug: This bug drinks the juice s from the grass, thus giving the grass irregular yellow or brown patches. The Hairy Cinch Bugs, or Nymphs, first appear in May, then a second generation appears in September.

7. Sod Webworm: The Sod Webworm larvae feed on the shoots of the grass, eating the grass down to soil level. They eat at night. The moths hide in constructed silk-lined tunnels through the thatch layer and into the soil. They usually fly at dusk or when there’s foot traffic in the lawn.

There are specific insecticides and solutions for each of these lawn pests and insects. You might want to consult with a lawn care or gardening expert to learn how to take care of your lawn better against these pests and insects.

To learn how to minimize your lawn pests and insects problems, read Bruce Zimmerman’s Know Your Turf Grass Thugs.

Technically, weeds are annual or perennial plants growing where they are unwanted. As long as soil provides the necessary environment for plants to grow, weeds will grow too. Most soils already contain dormant weed seeds which only need the right germinating conditions to sprout.

Weeds are classified into 2 groups:

Broad-leafed Weeds - The term “broad-leafed weeds” describes all weeds that are not grass-like. Many of these broad-leafed weeds, like chickweed and spotted spurge, have leaves only the size of large freckles.

Grassy Weeds - Any grass that destroys the even texture and uniform color of a lawn is considered a weed grass. The list of these grassy weeds is long. Some of the most common grassy weeds are: annual bluegrass, bermuda grass, crabgrass,dallisgrass, quackgrass, and rye grass. With the exception of Bermuda grass and quackgrass, you can pull grassy weeds by hand or with a steel weed knife. To combat more tenacious grassy weeds, you can choose from an assortment of chemical weed killers.

To treat for weeds in your lawn, you have to understand the type of weed that you have. Since different type weeds require different types of treatment.

Sometimes there are physical or mechanical problems in a lawn that cause it to look unhealthy. These conditions are usually permanent or repetitive, and they’ll continue to cause trouble until you locate and correct them. Make sure to fertilize & water your lawn properly.

Here is a list of physical problems that can produce lawn troubles:

* Applied Chemical weed killer or pesticides - If spots appear in your lawn after chemicals  have been applied, check whether the shape of the spots bears any relationship to the course you traveled with the dispenser or spreader. Spots that appear as streaks,squares,, or half moons are probably chemical burns. Water the areas heavily to leach the excess chemicals into the ground. The lawn will eventually recover.

* Spot persisted through all the season - sight across the bad spots of the lawn to see if there are any high or low spots. Either of these physical features can bother grass too much water in a low spot or too little water in a high spot.

* Does water stand on the surface or run off? - Compaction by traffic, a build-up of thatch beneath the grass, or just plain soil contrartiness can be responsible for this conditio. Open up the compacted area with a soil corer or aerator.

* Sprinkler system - always check your sprinkler system if it gives enough waterto the area.

* Bad Spots in shady area - If the shade comes from the trees, then thin out the branches to let more light for the grass to grow better. Feed lawns growing under the tree at least three times a year to replace the nutrients taken by the tree. Some trees are moisture robbers. Try watering the grass around the tree more than the rest of the lawn and cut higher grass under trees.

* Female dogs roaming around the premises - They can be responsible for little dead spots often surrounded by a ring of very green grass. Soak the spots with water and grass should begin to grow, if not, ressed the area.

* Something might be wrong underground - Use a soil corer or auger, a soil sampling tube, or a spade to dig down and find the problem. If there is some debris below, remove it. If there is a layer of hard clay, dog it out and replace it with good soil that is similar in texture to the soil above and below the clay layer. After you finish,make a seedbed over the area, sow new grass seed, and treat the spot like a new lawn until the new grass is up and growing.

Reducing or eliminating moles/ ground vole problem in your lawn would take a lot of patience and time.

Lawn moles are animals that live underground. They are about the same size as a chipmunk. They are typically six to eight inches long (about 15 to 20 cm) and weigh only three to six ounces (about 85 to 170 grams). They don’t eat the grass as people think but the burrow tunnels below the soil surface as they forage for grubs worms, earth worms and insects. They destroy the root system of lawn. First signs of lawn moles are the small mountains and pathways they form on the surface of ground as they create and burrow tunnels near the surface.

In the South area, Moles are called as Voles. You can reduce their food source by placing a long lasting grub preventative in your lawn during summer so their activity would reduced too. But this will not guarantee moles to leave but this could definitely help. In addition, you can also try to use mole repelling treatments for your lawn. Designed to drive moles away from lawn.

lawn moles prefer to stay deep underground where their tunnels are not evident from the surface. A lawn that is over watered, however, will cause the insects to move to toward the surface. As a result, the lawn moles will build new tunnels that are closer to the surface in order to hunt for food. Keeping the lawn properly watered helps keep lawn moles far below the surface, where they can benefit the yard rather than damaging it with tunnels.