When you buy a lot and build a house, you are moving into the natural territory of animals. Some of them will leave, some will stay but be harmless, and some, like ants, insects, and the gopher and mole, can be pests. The following information will explain why these pests are attracted to your lawn and what you can do to keep them from residing there full time.



Pests will most likely not create a major problem in your lawn, but they can still be annoying and cause some minor damage. Insects, even if you can't see them, may be killing sections of your lawn. You can see this by finding brown patches of grass. It is easy to know when gophers and moles are in your lawn. They form holes and hills of dirt to create their tunnels. But how do you get rid of the pests once you know you have them?

First, you can call an expert to help. For a fee, there are professionals to help. If you want to avoid the fee and do it yourself, you can do that instead. It will take proper identification of the problem to be able to deal with it correctly.

If you see insects in your yard, it does not mean that they are causing a problem. Many types of insects are beneficial, actually. They get rid of other, harmful insects. Some insects control your thatch level as well, which is good. You need to identify the insects that you see to determine whether or not they are helpful or harmful.

Some insects live above ground, and some live underground. It is more difficult to find and identify the underground insects, for obvious reasons. This does not make them less of a problem though. They can still eat the roots of your grass, just as the above ground insects can eat the blades of grass.

There are five main ways to treat an insect pest problem: chemical insecticides, biological insecticides, botanical insecticides, insecticide soaps, and predatory insects. Find which of these is best for your specific needs. I like organic, safe, natural pest control using neem!

Not all pests are tiny with six legs though. Others are larger animals such as moles and gophers. They both build tunnels. Moles are smaller than gophers, and have pointed snouts and big front claws. They do not directly harm the grass, and actually eat insects that could harm it.

The problem with moles is the mounds of dirt they leave from digging their tunnels. Also, the tunnels may make the ground uneven. Gophers are larger, and have buckteeth. They'll eat the grass and roots in your lawn. Also, their holes and tunnels are larger than that of the mole.

The tunnels can cause sinkholes in your yard, and the holes cause hazards for walking. It is easy to twist your ankle in a gopher hole. You can deal with gophers and moles by killing them or trapping them.

No matter what kind of lawn pests you are faced with - insects, gophers or moles - your lawn is crying for attention to look great, grow well and put on a good show for the neighborhood. It's all a part of lawn care like mowing, weeding, fertilizing and watering your lawn.