Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jan 21, 2014 10:59 pm Hi everyone, I layed 200sqm of new Sapphire Buffalo turf in September and followed Fu manchu's soil preparation to the letter. After a few initial hickups I'm now faced with two main problems. The first one is that something is eating my lawn, it seems to be attacking the foilage rather than the roots, and they look like some form of caterpillars. Here's one of the culprits in the middle of the pic Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ and the resulting damage Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ and their droppings Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This guy (crane in the middle of pic) has become a daily visitor and I hope that he's helping with getting rid of the Caterpillars. He stays for a couple of hours each day and is happily picking away at something. (ignore the many bare patches on the lawn, they stem from me paint brushing Glyphosate onto some unwanted grass varieties that came through) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Also found a heap of these guys at night Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The other issue that's bugging me is that our lawn is slowly changing colour from dark green to light/lime green. It started in a few confined areas and seems to be spreading more and more. The foilage seems otherwise healthy. These two pics were taken at night so the colour change is not as obvious as during daytime, but still visible. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ So, the question is, does anyone know what exactly those caterpillars are, if I need to do something about them and if yes, what exactly without killing all the other goodies in my lawn? Also, what is the change in foilage colour all about? is it just a simple mineral deficiency (like Magnesium)? I have given it two bursts of Seasol/Powerfeed/Molasses since but the lighter colour seems to be spreading rapidly. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Many Thanks! Re: Two lawn issues, 'Caterpillars' and changing grass colou 2Jan 25, 2014 12:52 pm I've done some more identifying and they seem to be sod webworms. I'm pretty certain that it's them. Any ideas on how to kill those without killing everything else that might be beneficial for my lawn? Will neem oil help? I note they list caterpillars and army worm but not sod webworm. Also, if going by their listed ratio (20ml per 10sqm) I would need 400ml for my lawn, which equals 4 little containers from Bunnings and $80. Re: Two lawn issues, 'Caterpillars' and changing grass colou 4Jan 30, 2014 10:08 am I had a reply from yates regarding mixing ratios of Dipel: The product to use to control the sod webworm in your buffalo lawn is called Complete Lawn Insect Control. This product is available in a convenient hose-on container. Dipel is registered to control a variety of caterpillars on crops but it will not control sod webworm in a lawn situation. You will be able to purchase Complete at any of the larger hardware stores or retail nurseries. A 500ml bottle of product will cover 150 sq.m of lawn. Measure your lawn area first to know how many bottles you will need. People in the US seem to think that Dipel works against sod webworm, but only if you hit them at larvae stage. The product yates recommends me to use is one of those 'kill all' solutions. Is this really the only way? I had a look at yates success, but again that doesn't seem to cater for lawns. Anyone with advice? Re: Two lawn issues, 'Caterpillars' and changing grass colou 5Jan 30, 2014 10:30 am I've also noticed a whole heap of tiny black-ish crickets jumping on the lawn. Are these good or bad for my lawn? I've read that some eat moth larvae and other pests, but also green material. How much are you ahead in payments compared to where the build is at? Have you fully drawn down the loan? 5 11934 Hi All, I'm new here! I'm in a block of 4 apartments (Waverley council) and looking to change a window to a sliding door. The window faces an enclosed garden (with a… 0 5540 Hi all, I've received the unwelcome news that our certifier (BCA Certifiers) has merged into the McKenzie Group. A quick Google revealed McKenzie is the mob that… 0 4245 |