Flea & Tick control programs Fleas and ticks: you literally wouldn't wish them on a dog. Yet environmental conditions, proximity to woods and open fields, and wildlife and pets (yours or your neighbor's) near your home can lead to an infestation of these pesky and potentially harmful critters. The good news is that professional treatment programs will help rid your lawn of fleas and ticks. Fleas must be eliminated from your lawn and garden because they can easily move inside on pets or humans. They usually multiply rapidly and can quickly infest carpets and upholstered furniture. Outside or inside, fleas usually require multiple treatments for complete control. Treatment programs are also essential where ticks become a problem in the home landscape because ticks can carry Lyme disease or even Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, both very serious illnesses. Humans should avoid all contact with ticks. We can help keep fleas and ticks away from your family by working with you to develop a solid plan for their control. Prompt treatment as soon as a problem is noticed will prevent the invaders from migrating to inside living spaces. Whatever your flea and tick control needs, please feel free to call us for more information. Core Aeration Power core aeration is one of the most important cultural practices available for your lawn. Aeration helps control thatch, improves the soil structure, helps create growth pockets for new roots, and opens the way for water and fertilizer to reach the root zone of your lawn. Annual or semiannual aeration is advised for all lawns on heavy clay soils, those with a thatch buildup, and any lawn that needs to be "thickened up". Aeration removes thousands of small cores of soil 1" to 3" in length from your lawn. These cores "melt" back into the lawn after a few rainfalls, mixing with whatever thatch exists on your lawn. The holes created by aeration catch fertilizer and water. Turf roots naturally grow toward these growth pockets and thicken in the process. Aeration holes also relieve pressure from compacted soils, letting oxygen and water move more freely into the root zone. Thatch on your lawn works like a thatched roof. This layer of roots, stems and other plant parts sheds water and prevents fertilizers and insect controls from moving freely into the soil. Thatch that is too heavy can make major lawn renovation necessary. Regular aeration helps thatch break down naturally by mixing the soil cores into the thatch and speeding up decomposition. Performed once or twice per year, aeration significantly reduces thatch and improves turf growth. Lime: A Lawn Value Lime "sweetens" your soil. In areas where soil is naturally "sour" (or acidic), this is extremely important to growing healthy turf. Lime helps improve lawn color and density, helps control thatch, and increases root development. Our Lime application helps keep the chemistry of your soil in balance so that you can have, and enjoy, a thicker, greener, healthier lawn. Lime affects color, thatch and root development. When your soil pH is too low (acidic) it needs lime to bring it back into balance. Soil acidity causes "fertilizer lock-up". This means that fertilizer and important micro-nutrients become locked up in the soil and unavailable to the grass plants. The results of this lock-up are that the grass becomes thin and yellow, thatch may build up faster, and root growth slows down. A lawn in this condition is called "unthrifty" because even when properly fertilized, it can't make use of the plant food applied to become thick and stay green. We suggest annual liming for acidic soils. It helps everything else we do work even better. That's what makes lime such a great lawn value for you. Grub Control There are several types of white grubs that feed on the roots of lawn grasses.  All of them can cause severe damage if left untreated. OUT OF SIGHT...OUT OF MIND Grubs live and feed in the soil.  It's easy to miss them as they gradually cut the roots out from under your lawn until brown patches begin to appear and the grubs are finally discovered.  Pull back the turf if you suspect grubs.  If the lawn pulls up easily (like new sod), you may find white grubs in the top inch or so of soil. SPRING AND FALL FEEDERS Grubs are the larval (or worm) state of many types of beetles.  The beetles lay their eggs in your lawn, and the newly hatched worms work their way through the thatch and into the soil, where they feed on roots of grass palnts.  Most beetles lay their eggs mid to late summer, and the young grubs do their greatest damage during the fall months.  As the cool weather sets in, most grubs burrow deeper into the soil for the winter.  They then return to the surface to feed again as the soil warms in the spring.  After this spring feeding, the grubs pupate into adult beetles and begin the cycle again. DON'T WAIT Grubs don't disappear on their own.  The should be treated before damage begins to appear, or as soon as they are discovered.  When discovered early enough in the year, a preventive treatment can be applied.  When damage appears in the fall, a fast acting curative treatment is needed.  Weed Control Even the most beautiful lawn is likely to have weeds appear at some point.  Keeping a lawn "weed free" takes more than just having a couple of herbicide treatments each year.  Nature finds ways to make sure something starts growing in any lawn that has become too thin.  Bare patches of soil quickly fill up with broadleaf and grassy weeds of all sorts.  That's why a healthy, thick turf is the very best weed prevention there is. Their are numerous types of grassy and broadleaf weeds that invade our turf at spearate periods of the growing season.  Summer weeds have a thick, waxy coating that makes them the toughest to control.  We have specialized approaches for controlling the various types of weeds common to lawns. Regular fertilization, at proper times is the best way to produce healthy, thick turf that helps fight off invading weeds.  Working together, we can keep your lawn beautiful and healthy while keeping most of the weeds out.  CB Lawn Care is a North Carolina Certified Pesticide Applicator, call us today to schedule your turf program. Lawn Disease Control Of all the pests that damage lawns, fungus diseases are one of the most difficult to tame.  There are hundreds of diseases that can infect your turf.  Some are realatively harmless; others can destroy an entire lawn in a very short time. DISEASE TRAVELS BY FOOT, WATER AND AIR Fungus spores spread on the shoes of people, on the droplets of rain that bounce from plant to plant during rain or watering, or by wind, blown like microscopic seeds across your lawn.  Every lawn has disease organisms.  The trick is not letting them get the upper hand. PREVENTION IS THE BEST CURE To reduce disease, keep the lawn healthy and growing with proper feeding, mowing, watering and thatch control measures.  Some grass types are much less susceptible to fungus attack.  Consider asking your landscape professional about overseeding your lawn with different varieties of disease resistant seed. WITH TREATMENT, CONTROL IS THE GOAL Disease treatments do not usually eliminate the disease from the lawn.  Instead, they supress activity for a period of a few days to several weeks.  The goal is to keep the disease in check long enough for the grass to recover or the weather conditions to change.  Often, several treatments are needed.