Everyone loves their family pet or should I say canine member of the family.   However, Fido can have disastrous effects on the uniformity of home lawns.   Dog urine often leaves brown dead spots surrounded by a dark green ring of tall grass.   Females get the bad rap here because they typically squat to urinate in a concentrated spot in the lawn.   In contrast, most males mark their territory with several low-quantity visits typically near trees, posts, or other objects rather than the middle of the front lawn. Research has shown damage to the turf is caused by excess nitrogen; not pH.   As a result, well fertilized lawns are more susceptible to damage.   Changing Fido's diet to alleviate pee spots in the lawn can potentially be harmful to his or her health.   Adding water to their food will help dilute urine but is not completely effective to save your lawn.   You can also water down the "visited area" to dilute excess nitrogen after they go.   The best solution is to train your pet to visit a designated spot.   Fill Fido's bathroom with mulch or pea gravel and be sure to keep it relatively clean or she will move to greener pastures.   What if the damage is already done?   Be sure to water the area well to dilute existing nitrogen.   The turfgrass will recover over time if you can keep your pet away.   Large areas can be reestablished with seed or sod.   Only make soil amendments, such as fertilizer or lime, based on soil-test recommendations.

Those of us who have mole problems are willing to try just about anything to control them.   You may have tried insect control, poison baits, ultrasonic noise makers, and maybe even laying in wait with your BB gun.   First let's address insect control.  A common misconception is that white grub control will eliminate mole problems.   While moles do eat white grubs and many other lawn insects, their diet consists primarily of earthworms, which are beneficial to your lawn.   Moles can dig tunnels at a rate of 18 ft/hour, thus expanding hiding places and increasing survival rate.   Moles also move from area to area depending on food supply and weather conditions.   This constant moving can falsely give the appearance that your control methods are working.   However, even if disturbance does send the moles packing they will return when least expected.   Moles prefer soft moist soil, so irrigation makes your lawn a more desirable home since it softens the soil and also pushes insects and worms to the surface.   Under these conditions, moles are more likely to make more surface tunnels which are an eyesore.  Moles dig both surface and deep tunnels.  Deep tunnels, which usually aren't visible from the surface, are permanent mole highways that are traveled more frequently than surface tunnels.   Deep tunnels are also the primary habitat in winter and summer while moles are more likely to start using surface tunnels in fall and spring.   While baits and insect control sometimes work, research has shown few control methods are as effective as trapping, thus alternative methods should only be used in conjunction with trapping.

Cool-season turfgrass is typically seeded in the fall. Fall seeding usually ensures cool temperatures for stress-free growth and avoids pesky summer annual weeds like crabgrass. In fact, crabgrass and other summer annual weeds are the major limiting factor when establishing cool-season turfgrass in spring. In most areas of the transition zone and north, grasses like fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass can be seeded and established in spring granted you start early and can avoid summer annual weed problems. Two herbicides are currently registered for crabgrass control during establishment of cool-season grasses. These herbicides include siduron and quinclorac. Both of these chemicals can be applied at seeding of tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass with the exception that quinclorac must be applied seven days before Kentucky bluegrass seeding. Siduron controls crabgrass, foxtails and some other summer annual grasses but does not control broadleaf weeds or sedges. Quinclorac controls crabgrass, foxtails, and some other summer annual grasses and suppresses many broadleaf and sedge weeds. In most cases, siduron will need a follow-up treatment with an herbicide that controls broadleaf weeds later in the season. Quinclorac is best applied at planting and approximately five weeks after planting. These two herbicides can make the difference between a stand of turfgrass and a stand of crabgrass when seeding in the spring. Always read and follow instructions on the label before using any pesticide.

Lawns are edged in many ways, both chemical and mechanical.   Edging often leaves a strip of bare ground along structures in the lawn such as flower beds, gardens, patios, and sidewalks.   Edging gives the lawn a clean, manicured look but may increase weed infestation and soil erosion; let's examine how.   Why do weeds occur along your sidewalk edge?   There are several reasons.   Weeds need moisture and sunlight to stimulate seed germination.   Edging affords both.   Weed seedlings survive better in the absence of turf competition along the edged area.   Preemergence herbicide can be depleted from the sidewalk edge in two ways.   Lawn care managers often use leaf blowers to clean sidewalks of stray herbicide granules and often leave the edge of the lawn clean as well.   The edges of sidewalks make a perfect channel for rain water to run, thus, washing herbicide away in that narrow edged band.   All of these things increase weed presence along edged walkways and there is little that you can do about it.   The best way to combat these weeds is to edge more often or treat with a selective herbicide that kills the weed without harming the turf.   The best way to prevent soil erosion is to avoid edging on slopes as much as possible or contour the land so that the edge is discontinuous as it moves down the slope.    Also, avoid chemical edging on sloped ground as this method often results in the widest band of vegetation control and would lead to the most soil erosion.

One of the best ways to give your lawn a clean and organized look is to edge various features such as flower beds and sidewalks.   Edging can be done in several ways.   An edger can be powered by electricity, gasoline, or "elbow grease".    The most common method of edging involves the use of a power edger that cuts a narrow trench along the lawn edge, leaving a nice manicured look.   Edging can also be accomplished with manual edgers that work the same way as a power edger; you simply push and pull these along the sidewalk border.   String trimmers are commonly used for large areas.   Be aware that string trimmers can be a bit more dangerous when used to cut turf down to the soil level and below as is accomplished with a power edger.   Exercise caution when using string trimmers.   Finally, specialized shovels are used to leave a cut edge around flower beds and gardens.   The shovel method often involves hauling cut portions of sod away to the composting bin or to the garden.   All of the above edging methods can be classified as mechanical edging.   Chemical edging is another way to edge the lawn.   A small garden sprayer can be used to treat a narrow band of lawn with nonselective herbicide.   Chemical edging is much easier than mechanical edging but does not result in the same quality or uniformity.   Whether mechanical or chemical, edging should be done each time the lawn is mown or less often depending on the lawn's condition and the homeowner's expectations.   Some potential problems with edging include increased weed infestation and soil erosion but these problems can be minimized if the lawn is edged properly.

Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogolum umbellatum) is a perennial weed in the lily family.   This weed emerges from bulbs from January to March depending on location.   Clumpy patches of dark green "grassy" foliage will be evident, especially in dormant warm-season turfgrass.   The plants look similar to wild onion at first glance but may be distinguished by the prominent white line down the middle of each leaf and the lack of any onion or garlic odor.   Star-of-Bethlehem will grow rapidly in the spring and wreak havoc on uniformity of texture and color in home lawns.   Plants seldom produce flowers when mown but, if given the chance, may produce a cluster of small white flowers on a slender stalk in May.   Star-of-Bethlehem is very poisonous, especially to livestock such as horses or cattle.   Animals should be kept away from the plants and plants should be eradicated from the area.   This plant is extremely difficult to control with typical lawn herbicides.   Glyphosate does not control star-of-Bethlehem unless you treat several times.   It would be better to dig plants and remove the bulbs than to treat with glyphosate.   Never simply till the area as this will disperse small bulbs and increase the number of plants in your infestation.   Recent research in Virginia suggests that carfentrazone, a broadleaf herbicide for the lawn, will effectively control star-of-Bethlehem without harming desirable turfgrass.   If you dig plants, keep in mind that star-of-Bethlehem is an ornamental and could be planted into ornamental beds.   Only when plants are growing near livestock or in desirable turfgrass do they become a problem weed.

Moles have two main types of tunnels; deep, permanent tunnels and surface tunnels, which are more unsightly.   You should read the directions on your trap to determine the type of tunnel for which your trap was designed.   The two main trap types are spear and scissor.   Both act by creating a tunnel blockage that the mole tries to reopen, thus triggering the trap.   The blockage should be soft so the mole will go through rather than below or around the blocked area.   It is very important that traps are placed in high traffic tunnels or moles will not find the trap or bother with reopening the tunnel.   Tunnels with multiple branches are feeding tunnels and make poor trap locations because they are seldom revisited.   Main tunnels are typically straight and run between two mounds, along man-made borders such as foundations or walkways, or sometimes along a wooded border or garden.   Traps should be placed on active main tunnels.   The easiest way to determine if a tunnel is active is to create a small blockage a few inches wide with your heel and monitor the site daily to see if it is cleared.   If a blocked tunnel is cleared within 24-48 hours the tunnel is active.   Blocked tunnels that are cleared quickly are extremely active and make excellent locations for traps.   If there are several active tunnels, placing traps on each tunnel is highly recommended.   Note that moles may be mortally injured even if the mole is not found with the trap.   Repeated trapping has been shown to consistently reduce mole populations and lawn damage.

Spring is around the corner and you should be thinking about crabgrass control for the home lawn. Most crabgrass herbicides like prodiamine provide lasting residual control and prevent crabgrass seed from germinating. However, there are several factors that may limit the effectiveness of these herbicides or warrant additional treatments to ensure season-long crabgrass prevention. One such factor is rainfall. Under seasons of prolonged rainfall, two things happen that limit the effectiveness and reduce residual activity of preemergence herbicides. Water can act as an acid and a base and tends to chemically react with herbicides and convert them to inactive forms over time. If more water is available, more herbicide will break down. Soil moisture is a controlling factor for crabgrass emergence. If surface soil conditions remain moist for extended periods, crabgrass germination will occur over a greater time window than normal and control failures are more likely. So during rainy seasons, it's best to expect to apply a follow-up treatment about two months after the initial treatment. A common practice for healthy turfgrass growth is aeration during optimal growing periods. Cool-season turfgrass should be aerated during the fall and will not interfere with crabgrass control. Warm-season turfgrass is aerated in summer and it's important to time the aeration event between sequential preemerge treatments. A preemergence herbicide creates a barrier to crabgrass germination and emergence. Any soil disruption in the lawn will break that barrier and give weeds a chance to become established. So, expect to treat more than once for crabgrass control in rainy seasons and avoid causing soil disruption after the preemergence treatment is applied.