Sir Walter - section dying

ok - I have waited until now to see if Perth's warmer weather can spring this dying section back to life.....well it seems to have worsened !!! Here are the much requested pics....hopefully someone knows what has happened to this because it seems if something isn't done then the whole lawn will die ! It seems to be spreading and now a new section has appeared - an area that gets no traffic at all ! How do I know if bugs have got to it? Should I simply use a product which kills these bugs anyway?

Thanks,
Tom
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Not much of a help but I would suggest the area inside the gate is suffering from foot traffic and the area under the window is a dry patch not helped by being under under the eaves. Cat or dog pi** s doesn't help either.
Lift some up with a fork or shovel and inspect for root eating grubs. I think this was suggested earlier. Get some Wetta Soil and give the area a good dose and then a thorough soaking.
The area near the gate you could try aerating with a garden fork, push it in about 75mm and lean back gently to lift slightly. When finished give it the Wetta Soil treatment and a good drink.

if you have sprayed it with confidor, then you would of noticed little black beetles dead everywhere.
Those are adult lawn grubs, follow the directions on the label.
You may need to do a follow up treatment to break the life cycle.

If you havent seen any dead beetles then your problem is not lawn grub

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bugsy

if you have sprayed it with confidor, then you would of noticed little black beetles dead everywhere.
Those are adult lawn grubs, follow the directions on the label.
You may need to do a follow up treatment to break the life cycle.

If you havent seen any dead beetles then your problem is not lawn grub

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Pardon me but I have not heard about a lawn grub that is a beetle in the adult form. The ones up here in Queensland are all moths. Is it common in other states?
http://www.jimboombaturf.com.au/turf..._lawngrubs.htm

Cheers
Michael

ahh ok found a site http://www.gardenet.com.au/pests/insects/bbeetle.htm

I don't think its Lawn grub.

If you use the gate, then the area there would be better off paved as it'll always struggle. The bit under the eaves will also struggle too - its going to get very little rain - does it get any sun? Maybe it'd be better to put a plant there, or a water feature or statue.

Nuking the whole lawn with confidor because you might, but probably don't, have a grub, is not going to solve your problem, but it will kill every other living beastie, including the nice ones.

Hi All

We have Sir Walter, we are also in Perth. Our lawn suffers the same?? No one knows why. If it was a circle I would suggest a fungus, as we have had one, sorry can not remember whats its called. But the name is suggestive of a circle "ring something."

Ours also is in random positions on the lawn, some in traffic area others near walls and some in the middle. It's worse at the front of the house West facing so full sun in the arvos, no shade what so ever.

Hubby hates it and wishes he never got it.

One thing I thought of the other day. Do you mower it your self or pay some one? We have a lawn mower man and I wondered if he is tracking in something on the blades of his mower?:?

Celeste

I was just wondering how this lawn problem worked out.

While I have no experience with WA growing conditions , the dead patch of grass near the gate, looks identical to problems we get here when the soil gets wet and then gets compacted.

As a general rule Sir Walter (and most grass) needs a 75 - 100 mm layer of sandy soil under it to withstand compaction and waterlogging. When areas of grass root begin to rot they get attacked by a phytoflora (fungus) which may slowly spread - there is no remedy.

i would dig that square out taking an extra 500mm or so all around it. Place some 2 x 4 timber around it and put a layer of brickies sand or similar in to stop the mud.

Forget it for a few months and see if the rest of the lawn starts to go funny. Lay some pavers as stepping stones for the future. If it doesnt go funny then i would dig down a good 150mm and ditch that soil/sand/clay and refill with clean soil and then some turf underlay.

Relay new turf. For the small cost of new turf i wouldnt bother trying to fix it.

cheers

From the pictures it looks the same problem I'm having. I tried treating for lawn beetles with no success i.e. none came to surface.

I reckon it's lack of water!! the spots where mine 'browns' off is close to sprinklers near the edges, so I don't think the spray is overlapping enough between sprinklers (the spray seems to reach but maybe doesn't deliver enough water). I hand watered the spots for a few nights and it came back fine, stopped hand watering and it start to die/go brown again.

I think the sir walter and other soft leaf buffalos (I've got another variety out the back) are really thirsty. A lawn mowing contractor recommended to me that I water twice a day for 40 minutes on my 2 watering days per week.

Garry

Theoretically if Phytoflora are eating the roots then there shouldnt be any root mass left in the dead spots. Maybe try digging a small bit of dead turf out and check - also check on the bare earth patches and see if there are remains of roots.

If the roots are still intact - but dead - then something else is going on.

Over here the roots start to die and rot before the grass leaves.

if it was Lawn grub they would not have been as selective as the pic show and the lawn would have been completley destoyed by now as others have said it looks like the gate area has suffered purely from "hightraffic area" it looks as though you have already used a spray of some sort going by the marks around that area

They recommend you should use only Baythroid in small doses for pest treatment on Sir Walter if you want to know if you have grubs just get some laundry or car wash detergent and pour on the area affected and wait for the grubs to come up butI dont think that is the problem!

What i would b doing is go over the area effected with a solid Raking to break up the dead grass fertilise and water and wait!!!! And keep off te area round the gate

Oh yeah I have used that slow release fertiliser they recommend and I rekon it is crap I used it periodically with fair results then applied Shirleys 17 and bang instant green it looks great now!

The bare patch near the gate to me looks traffic related, like it's wearing out. And others have said, along the windows maybe lack of water.

Sir Walter can struggle during winter, and isnt very hardy during its dormancy to foot traffic, but normally mostly during establishment. Yours seems to be past growing in period so not sure if that would be a cause. Pics are from October so maybe or maybe not this may be the case.

In any event, if any turf area gets it's fair share of foot traffic probably best to put in a path. Whether it be paver step stones, or put some pavers in, line it with a border of edging leaving a gap inbetween pavers and edges and fill with pebbles for a good effect.

ok all - looks like it is now improving and here are the secrets.

1. the area under the window sill repaired itself ! We went away for 2.5 weeks and in the meantime the dog wasn't jumping up at the window sill looking at us inside the house! Therefore - traffic was an issue.

2. the area next to the gate has also improved! Only after we put down some potting mix! We put about 10-15 mm of potting mix over the area and watered it in....runners are now flourishing and I reckon by the time Autumn hits it will be fully recovered. It still gets plenty of traffic. My thinking is that the soil isn't too good and the grass was struggling under heavy traffic and poor soil....

see pics
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Seems to be it....traffic related

Give it a little top dress once a year, a couple of additions of fert and a good water when you can and it'll be great for years. You can look after a lawn much better than just a water, it needs the nutrients to stay strong as well