non-chemical ways to manage turf insect...

NON-CHEMICAL WAYS TO

MANAGE TURF INSECT PESTS

“Days of Education”

Slovenia Turf Conference

November 2016

Dr. Pat Vittum

University of Massachusetts

Turf insect pests

Sod webworm

Cultural strategies

• Put the turf at an

advantage

OR

• Put the insect at a

disadvantage

Cultural strategies

• Manage soil moisture

• Manage thatch

• Mowing heights

• Encourage healthy root system

Manage soil moisture

• “Good” soil

moisture allows

turf to tolerate

some insect

activity

• Need good

drainage too!!!

Photos: P. Vittum

Well timed irrigation keeps turf growing well,

so it can tolerate some insect activity

Photo: P. Vittum

Dry soils

• Insects that

survive well (and

cause more

damage) in dry

conditions:

– Chinchbugs

– Caterpillars

– Billbugs

Photos: F. Baxendale

Wet soils

• Craneflies survive

MUCH better if

soils are almost

saturated when

the eggs are laid

and the larvae

hatch

Kendalluk.com

P. Vittum

Soil moisture and grubs

• Scarab eggs need soil

moisture to survive

• If soils are too dry,

females will delay

laying eggs for

several weeks, until

moisture improves

• Damage may not be

noticed until later than

usual

NYSTA

P. Vittum

Manage thatch

Photo: Kansas State Extension

Managing thatch

• Avoid having thick

or dense thatch

• Some insects

feed in thatch

• Many live or hide

in thatch

Kansas State Univ. extension

Nelsonlandscapemaintenance.com

Insects that prefer thatch

D

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crane flies caterpillars

chinchbugs

F. Baxendale (UNL)

billbugs

F. Baxendale (UNL)

P. Vittum

Mowing heights

• Low mowing height

puts more stress on turf

• Raise the height of cut

whenever possible

• Higher cut will help turf

survive insect activity

www.probotiq.com

P. Vittum

Encourage healthy root system

• Aeration improves

soil health by

increasing oxygen

to the roots

• Aeration can

reduce thatch

Lawn Institute

Res.cloudinary.com/usga

Can aerification

destroy grubs mechanically?

Slide: B. McGraw

Can aerification

destroy grubs mechanically?

Yes but:

- more grubs are killed when using large

tines and narrow spacing but

damage to the turf is severe

- only effective when grub population is

high

Ben McGraw, Penn State University

Cultural strategies

• Barrier strips (BCW)

• Disposal of clippings (BCW)

• Manage secondary pests (grubs, CF)

• Milorganite (grubs)

• Plant well-adapted species and cultivars

Barrier planting of KBG (Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pratense)

- Black cutworms do not survive well

on KBG

- If caterpillars must crawl across

KBG, many will die

Photo: P. Vittum

Disposal of clippings

(black cutworm)

90% of eggs are removed with mowing

BUT most of the eggs survive

SO be sure to dispose of clippings

away from the green (at least 10 m)

Photo: P. Vittum

Disposal of clippings

The further the caterpillars must walk,

the better chance something

bad will happen

Photo: P. Vittum

Manage secondary pests

• Many animals

(skunks, raccoons,

cranes, crows)

feed on grubs and

crane fly larvae

• Their damage is

worse than the

grubs or crane flies

P. Vittum

S. MacDonald

Secondary pests

A-z-animals.com Blogs.mcgill.ca/oss

www.allaboutbirds.org Stevetabone.files.wordpress.com

Some fertilizers

• Milorganite™

appears to deter

skunks (and maybe

raccoons) from

digging for grubs

• Fertilizer derived

from water

treatment plant in

Milwaukee,

Wisconsin

Well adapted species and cultivars

• Use species and cultivars that grow

well in your conditions

• Use cultivars of perennial ryegrass

(Lolium perenne) or turf-type fescues

(Festuca) that contain endophytes

Endophytes

• Fungi that produce substances toxic to insects

Endophytes

• Fungi that produce substances toxic to insects

• Available in some fescues (Festuca) and perennial ryegrasses (Lolium)

Plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu

P. P. Cobb, Auburn Univ.

Endophytes

• Fungi that produce substances toxic to insects

• Available in some fescues and perennial ryegrasses

• Effective against chinchbugs, billbugs, and some webworms

www.naturesfinestseed.com

dl.sciencesocieties.org

Endophytes

• Fungi that produce substances toxic to insects

• Available in some fescues and perennial ryegrasses

• Effective against chinchbugs, billbugs, and some webworms

• Provide good drought tolerance too

Plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu

www.naturesfinestseed.com

Biological control options

• Bacteria

– Bacillus thuringiensis

• Entomopathogenic nematodes

– Steinernema carpocapsae

– Steinernema feltiae

– Steinernema glaseri

– Heterorhabditis bacteriophora

Bacteria

Photo: NYSTA

Bacillus thuringiensis

(BT)

• a bacterium that is found in soil all over

the world

• first discovered in Japan in 1901

• paralizes the gut so insect stops feeding

Slide: S. Alm

Bacillus thuringiensis

“BT”

• Several “varieties” or “strains” of BT

• Each strain is quite specific, only

affects some kinds of insects

– BT kurstaki

– BT israeliensis

– BT galleriae

BT – kurstaki

caterpillars

• Most effective

when most

caterpillars are

still very small

• Hard to control

full-grown

caterpillars

Entomology.osu.edu/bugdoc

NYSTA

BT – israeliensis

crane flies

• Can provide 55%

control if applied

when larvae are

small • (G. Stahnke, Walla

Walla Community

College, Washington

State)

Desantislandscapes.com

C. Bramhall

BT - galleriae

white grubs

• Looks promising

against white

grubs

• Can provide 55 to

65% control if

applied when

grubs are small

Photos: P. Vittum

Insect-attacking nematodes

Entomopathogenic Nematodes (EPNs)

• Nematode penetrates

insect through a

natural opening

• Nematode releases

bacterium, which kills

insect

• Nematode reproduces

and looks for another

insect to attack

Slide: CSIRO

Photo: Entomology Dept, UFlorida

Entomopathogenic nematode life cycle

Slide: A. Koppenhofer

Nematodes• Sensitive to

sunlight and high

and low

temperatures

Nematodes• Sensitive to sunlight and

high and low

temperatures

• Avoid using cold

water in spray

tank (above 10 C,

15 C is better)

Nematodes

• Sensitive to sunlight and

high and low

temperatures

• Avoid using cold water

in spray tank

• Soil temperature

must be at least

12-15 C, warmer

is better

Entomopathogenic

Nematodes (EPNs)• MUST irrigate (at

least 1 – 1.5 cm) after

application

• Also irrigate BEFORE

application if possible

• Do not apply between

1000 and 1400 on a

warm, sunny day

Photos: P. Vittum

Heterorhabditis bacteriophora

white grubs

• Can provide 50 to

70% control of

some grub species,

sometimes better

• Most effective if

applied when 1st or

2nd instar (August /

early September)

Nematodes.com

Bugwoodcloud.org

Steinernema carpocapsae

caterpillars• Can be effective

against caterpillars

• Apply at 2 to 2.5

billion nematodes

per hectare

• Can use standard

hydraulic sprayer

(remove filter)

Photo: bishwoadhikari.wordpress.com

Photo: Univ. of GeorgiaP. Vittum

Steinernema glaseri

white grubs

• Some studies in

US suggest it can

reduce white grub

populations of

some speciesBiosys

Steinernema feltiae

crane flies

• Can provide 55%

control if applied

when larvae are

small (Stahnke)

• Soil temperature

must be above 8 C

CSIRO

Kendalluk.com

Entomopathogenic fungi

Beauveria bassiana

• Occurs naturally in

many parts of the world

• Commercial formulation

now available in US

(Botanigard™)

• Limited testing on

chinchbugs and billbugs

Metarhizium anisopliae

• Found in soils

around the world

• No commercial turf

formulation in US

• Cranefly photo

looks like

Metarhizium to me

• No field trials in USwww.swansea.ac.uk

Non-chemical options

Cultural options

Biological control agents

Questions ???

pvittum@umass.edu