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Safety tip: Always wear the appropriate safety equipment (safety glasses, gloves, and a mask, for example) and always follow the instructions for the product or equipment. Always wear gloves and a mask when handling potting mix, mulch and compost, and store products out of the reach of children and pets.
What it looks like: A small, shiny black beetle about 15mm long. The body is stout and the legs are serrated to assist with digging.
What it does: This beetle feeds on shoots just above or below the soil surface, giving the lawn a frayed appearance. Damage to turf can be caused by the adult beetles, but it’s the larval stages of the beetle that are the more voracious feeders, so this is where you should focus your control efforts (see curl grubs, below).
How to treat it: To treat and protect your grass, look for products with active ingredients such as bifenthrin, beta-cyfluthrin or chlorantraniliprole (Acelepryn). Apply in early spring, prior to peak egg-hatch season.
What it looks like: Ants have segmented bodies, antennae, six jointed legs and an exoskeleton.
What it does: Ants aren’t typically lawn pests, but their underground tunnelling can damage lawn roots and their mounds can make the grass look unsightly.
How to treat it: For the most part, they can be left alone, but if the damage or infestation becomes severe, treat with an insecticide containing beta-cyfluthrin or bifenthrin.
What it looks like: Small, cream-coloured, and legless. Adults are dark grey to black and resemble beetles with a protruding snout.
What it does: The larvae of the Argentine stem weevil (as well as a number of other weevils) are destructive lawn critters. They mostly feed inside grass stems, and later in the crown of the grass and on the roots, causing the lawn to wilt, brown off and die. Adults feed on the leaf blades at night.
How to treat it: Focus control on the larvae with insecticides containing chlorantraniliprole (Acelepryn) and treat adults with bifenthrin or beta-cyfluthrin.
What it looks like: This caterpillar (which is not actually a worm) has a smooth, tubular body that is brown-green in colour, with rows of prominent white or cream stripes. This helps with identification.
What it does: Armyworms tend to occur in large numbers, ‘marching’ across the lawn and feeding on leaf blades down to the ground. Look for signs of your lawn appearing scalped with damage spreading rapidly. They can destroy a lawn in a few nights, so you’ll need to treat and control quickly.
How to treat it: Treat immediately with a registered lawn insecticide suitable for armyworm.
What it looks like: Billbug larvae are about 9mm long and legless, with a C-shaped body. They are creamy-white in colour, with an orange-brown head.
What it does: Billbugs are double trouble in the garden – both the adults and the larvae are devastating lawn pests. The larvae burrow through grass stems and, as they mature, feed on rhizomes (underground stems) and stolons (above-ground stems), cutting leaves off from the roots. As a result, the lawn dies off and takes on a dry, brown appearance. Hollow turf stems filled with a sawdust-like material are a good indication of billbug presence.
How to treat it: Treat adult billbug infestations with products containing beta-cyfluthrin or bifenthrin, but focus your efforts on controlling the larvae with pesticides containing chlorantraniliprole (Acelepryn).
What it does: Black field crickets emerge at night to feed on the leaves and stems of seedlings and grass blades. Adults are active from summer to autumn.
How to treat it: These insects may be controlled using a chemical insecticide. Otherwise, the best form of control is to backfill cracks in the soil.
What it looks like: Due to their microscopic size, these pests are hard to spot.
What it does: As couch mites feed on the grass, leaf growth becomes distorted, causing the ends to form tufted rosettes or ‘witches brooms’. These pests favour hot, dry conditions and are prevalent in summer.
How to treat it: Keeping the lawn well-watered throughout summer can help reduce the likelihood of an infestation. Treat with an insecticide that contains beta-cyfluthrin.
What it looks like: ‘Curl grub’ is a common term used to describe the larvae of scarab beetles, such as the African black beetle and Argentine scarab beetle. These grubs are about 25mm long and they curl into a C-shape when disturbed, hence their name. They are pale cream in colour and with an orange-brown head. The adult forms are not normally noticed and are hard to control.
What it does: These grubs are serious lawn pests that feed on grass roots, resulting in brown dying patches of turf that can sometimes be rolled back like a carpet. Curl grubs are mostly active through spring and summer.
How to treat it: Treat with a lawn insecticide registered for use on curl grubs. These are normally applied as a drench that controls the larvae.
What it looks like: These fleshy caterpillars are about 35mm long and vary from dark grey to green-brown or black in colour, with lines and dark spots along the length of the body. They are the larval form of a variety of moth species, including the bogong moth.
What it does: Cutworms are nocturnal lawn pests, sheltering in the soil during the day and emerging at night to feed on leaf stems, often cutting them off at ground level. The grass yellows or browns and eventually dies off in patches.
How to treat it: Control cutworms with a drench of an insecticide registered for this pest, containing beta-cyfluthrin or chlorantraniliprole (Acelepryn). Cut worms typically live in the thatch layer in the lawn, so if you regularly remove the thatch, you will get less damage.
What it looks like: This unusual-looking cricket has a hard, shiny brown head and body, plus large front legs with jagged claws.
What it does: As its name implies, the mole cricket tunnels through the soil and spends most of its time nesting underground. It damages the lawn by feeding on the roots, and by severing the roots when burrowing through the soil. As a result, grass leaf blades dry, brown and die.
How to treat it: Mole crickets are most active during the summer months. Treat with a suitable lawn pesticide.
What it looks like: A small grey-brown caterpillar with dark spots along the length of its body.
What it does: It feeds at night on grass blades and stems near the soil surface, leaving the lawn with ragged brown edges or a completely scalped appearance. This garden pest hides in burrows during the day, which are often lined with tiny green pellets (their excrement).
How to treat it: Treat with products containing chlorantraniliprole (Acelepryn), bifenthrin or beta-cyfluthrin.
Tip: To test for the presence of African black beetle, armyworm, curl grubs, cutworms, or sod webworm, pour a bucket of soapy water onto affected areas to bring the beetles or their larvae to the surface.
Rescue your lawn with our range of insecticides.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Asbestos, lead-based paints and copper chromium arsenic (CCA) treated timber are health hazards you need to look out for when renovating older homes. These substances can easily be disturbed when renovating and exposure to them can cause a range of life-threatening diseases and conditions including cancer. For information on the dangers of asbestos, lead-based paint and CCA treated timber and tips for dealing with these materials contact your local council's Environmental Health Officer or visit our Health & Safety page.
When following our advice in our D.I.Y. videos, make sure you use all equipment, including PPE, safely by following the manufacturer’s instructions. Check that the equipment is suitable for the task and that PPE fits properly. If you are unsure, hire an expert to do the job or talk to a Bunnings Team Member.
