How do you replace a whole lawn and who do you call?
Question:Cinch bugs and the Florida draught destroyed my lawn. Where to I get pallets of new turf? And how much is it per pallet? Homeowners Assoc coming down on me. Is it better to wait until Fall?
Answers:
Csider,
Contact your local County Extension Agent immediately. You need to confirm the Cinch Bug Problem before you do anything. Contact them by phone and in writing (for the Orgz.). This pest is not in your turf alone!! The steps you take will save your neighbors hours of labor and money!
Think about this logically. Your lawn was destroyed by both the lack of irrigation and an insect. The insect in question attacks turf that is not healthy. Trust me, it is not the only insect that found your turf a Thanksgiving Feast!! Putting down new turf over soil infested with pests is absurd.
The County Extension Agent can visit your property and ascertain the exact nature of your problem and outline a plan of action. This should hold the Assoc. at bay, and, inform them of steps that they should take as well!! Kind of a community service on your part.
With no mention of the size of turf you will still need to make plans for a proper irrigation system in the case of no rain. Everyone thinks that inground systems are best. There are no Sod Farms that I know of that use it. A properly spaced or traveling above-ground system works wonders. They are cheap and can follow a pattern of either a hose or line set-out.
The insects will need to be addressed with a pesticide. I would again go with the Extension Agents advice, however, I would prefer to go with Sevin for my initial treatment. This will control most of your pest to a degree. They may recommend Talstar, however, this compound does not (to the best of my knowledge) contol the other insects that followed the Chinch Bug.
Your turf was probably St Augustine in composition. Boy they love that stuff. Your options are to remove the turf and use the Talstar on the soil, or, rototill the turf and apply nutrients, and reseed using a different mixture. A mixture of Certified (Blue Label) of Bermuda grass, Perennial Ryegrass, and Perennial Fine Fescue would do you well. If you resod use a Bermuda Sod Farm (they use the same mix).
Make sure the seed mix is certified as it has no weed and has a high germination rate. With the irrigation in place you keep it wet for two days, moist for seven, and the 1" per week thereafter.
If you rototill please apply an application of Round-up (not the Quick Kill!) ten days before you begin. This will work its way into the roots and kill the entire plant. Rototill to a three to four inch level. The dead plants will be your base organic materials. If you remove the turf on the surface you will be left with roots that will impede/repeat and eventually overcome your efforts. Bottom line - Kill, Till, Begin Again.
I know this seems a bit much, however, the spray of Round-Up takes about ten minutes per 1,000 ft. Keep the remainder on hand for sidewalk and bed weeds. There are many traveling sprinklers which cost as little as $30 that come with the capacity to follow the course you lay your hose.
A half day of a Rototiller from a rental store should be less than $50. The Granular Sevin is cheap. The Talstar a bit more. The seed may seem a bit expensive, however, you are only going to use 2-3lbs/1,000 ft. Buy just enough to seed now and again in November and save money. I assume you have a hose (get more) and a cyclone type spreader or drop spreader. Either will cost you about $25 at a box-store. Cover the seed with Lebanon PennMulch and good luck.
Let me know at gjgjobs@yahoo.com.
you need to dig up the whole lawn, strip the sod off completely,but there is something at the garden centers, that kills cinch bugs its a liquid form,sales will tell you what it is. I can't remember the name of it now.garden centers carry sod rolls, but no sense replacing sod, until you get the bugs checked,or your wasting money.
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