Lawn Error, A Big One

Closed Thread
Thread Tools
  #16  
Old 10-11-2018, 07:39 PM
Bjeanj Bjeanj is offline
Soaring Eagle member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Santiago
Posts: 2,118
Thanks: 113
Thanked 1,465 Times in 545 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jazuela View Post
Why would you need to spray insecticides at all? Why not just use Diatomaceous earth instead? I can't imagine the Floridian insects and bugs being that much different from the rest of the planet that this wouldn't work on them.
Huh. I just spent 1/2 hr looking this up. Sounds like something I had not considered.

Am I correct in concluding that if one has a dog, this silica could harm its lungs or cause silicosis?
__________________
Teach your daughter how to shoot, because a restraining order is just a piece of paper.
  #17  
Old 10-11-2018, 09:33 PM
OrangeBlossomBaby OrangeBlossomBaby is offline
Sage
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 8,423
Thanks: 6,790
Thanked 9,375 Times in 3,052 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bjeanj View Post
Huh. I just spent 1/2 hr looking this up. Sounds like something I had not considered.

Am I correct in concluding that if one has a dog, this silica could harm its lungs or cause silicosis?
Only if you dump it out in a big clump and lead his nose to it, or if you let him roll around in the grass within a couple of hours of dusting it.

But the dangers of inhaling DE dust are not much more significant than the dangers of your pooch inhaling a whole lot of any very fine substance (such as flour, corn starch, baby powder, arrowroot).

The nice thing about DE, is that other than the "don't put your nose into a pile of this stuff and pretend you're a coke addict" - it's non-toxic to dogs and cats, and birds, and other mammals and reptiles. It is only deadly to insects and grubs.

The fact that it is *not* poison - means that animals that eat those insects, and grubs, will not be poisoned by eating them. It doesn't taste all that great, but it won't hurt them.

It's basically just a particular variety of incredibly fine natural clay. Clay, as you probably know, is absorbent. Any woman who uses facial masks or makeup that allows for a "matte finish" would be familiar with the absorbency of clay.

So when you dust the ground with DE, the very fine powder just sort of sits there. Insects wander through your grass as they always do, oblivious for the most part. This clay sticks to their exoskeleton and skin, and they carry it back to their nests, where it dusts the nests. The clay then does what clay always does - it absorbs moisture. From the insect. Basically it dehydrates them to death.

Kills the insects, the eggs, the queen, and destroys the nest. Fairly inexpensive. This is the #1 "insecticide" that organic farmers use, because it also contains nutrients that most produce requires to thrive.
  #18  
Old 10-11-2018, 11:12 PM
Nucky's Avatar
Nucky Nucky is offline
Sage
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 11,094
Thanks: 4,377
Thanked 3,625 Times in 1,884 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shimpy View Post
I used to work with a guy who came home and found his patio screened in. The work crew was on the wrong street. They tried to get him to pay for materials but Florida law says anything you receive that you did not ask for may be considered a gift.
That is a beautiful thing. I seem to remember a wrecking crew knocking down the wrong house somewhere at sometime. I have no facts to back it up. That makes a lawn problem look like nuttin'.

If the lawn dies, which I doubt I'm gonna find out if it's kosher to put stone on the entire front and sides of the property. I'm not ever going thru this again. All this after people have started to respect each other's property with their animal's. I guess I would pick my problem over the problems some other people face daily.
  #19  
Old 10-17-2018, 02:54 AM
Ozzello Ozzello is offline
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 450
Thanks: 5
Thanked 78 Times in 44 Posts
Default

You should not dethatch St Aug. Only Zoysia. St Aug. is not crab grass, and will die easily from scalping. If you cant tell crab grass from St Aug., you might want to rethink giving landscape advice.
  #20  
Old 10-17-2018, 02:56 AM
Ozzello Ozzello is offline
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 450
Thanks: 5
Thanked 78 Times in 44 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by thetruth View Post
I regularly laugh at posts my lawn can take your lawn.
All lawns have issues.

If, you do have cinch bugs, you must have St Augustine grass. Chinch bugs do not like Zoyzia.
As to hubby doesn't want to spray. You really have no choice. To make it worse the chynch bugs have developed immunity to common insecticides also the insecticidesdo not kill the eggs. Look up insturctions. You will likely need to spray 2-3x at two week intervals.
cinch bugs LOVE Zoysia. Actually Floratam variety of St Aug was developed to be cinch bug resistant.
  #21  
Old 10-17-2018, 05:26 AM
Doro22's Avatar
Doro22 Doro22 is offline
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 395
Thanks: 8
Thanked 124 Times in 49 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozzello View Post
cinch bugs LOVE Zoysia. Actually Floratam variety of St Aug was developed to be cinch bug resistant.
We just had our lawn replaces with Floratam - St.Augustine, and love it. The Villages is using Floratam - St. Augustine in the new areas. It’s so much nicer than Zoysia. St. Augustine has thick, wide shiny blades.
__________________
"If you are lucky enough to live in The Villages, you are lucky enough."
  #22  
Old 10-28-2018, 11:32 PM
big guy big guy is offline
Veteran member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 600
Thanks: 49
Thanked 90 Times in 51 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nucky View Post
At 7 AM this morning several people were buzzing around our yard doing the lawn maintenance thing. We didn't give it a second thought as our service has been GREAT from Choice Maintenence.

Turns out the guys zipping around the yard were here mistakenly from a different unknown company and butchered our lawn. The scalped the hell out of it, piled grass all over the decorative stone and left the sidewalk and driveway in a disastrous state. It is a heartbreaker, trust me.

Our regular guy Tate from Choice Maintenence is coming tomorrow to help straighten us out. This happened to a friend of our over on St Andrews and it cost him about a thousand to Re-Sod the burnt out area.

Has this happened to other people in the Historic Area or anywhere in The Villages? I didn't call anyone to report it because I didn't want to waste their time and I really don't know who to report it to. What's done is done I would just like to alert others to save some unnecessary anxiety.

It really looked good to me before, this stinks. It was a Black Pick Up with a trailer in tow. Oh well, Onward.
Same thing happened to us a few years ago. My poor lawn looked terrible for a while. I sprayed with Miracle Grow (the lawn uses it all at once since it's a liquid) and watered it. Luckily it was a couple of cloudy days.
Closed Thread

Tags
lawn, choice, maintenence, report, people
Thread Tools

You are viewing a new design of the TOTV site. Click here to revert to the old version.

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:51 AM.