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Bermuda Disaster

2K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  andymac7 
#1 ·
What's up everyone,

So, it's been a horrific year for my Yukon Bermuda. Mainly in one large spot. I'm frustrated, to say the least. There is no way this is just winterkill, as most of the rest of the yard is fine and growing nicely. We did have a really late Spring, with a frost in frickin' May. But this is just horrible.



I have a crazy theory.. Last year around the same time as now, we had a dang lane-wide yard sale. A large tent was placed over this exact spot. We had a LOT of tables, totes and people rummaging through our junk back and forth over this spot. However, the grass did recover, and greened back up in the following weeks. Here's what it looked like last year:



So, could this place really have been damaged by the yard sale, to where it caused winterkill like this? Is bermuda grass really THIS sensitive? Overall, we had a mild winter, aside from mid-late February, when much of the country got smacked in the mouth with the Polar Vortex event. Even then, we were spared the crazy cold, since we are further east, and hit 7 degrees F for two nights.

Now, I know what some of you will say, and I agree, just push it with some N, plug, water, etc. But I would love to know exactly WHY this happened, so if anyone has some ideas, I'd be very grateful.

Also, I have this same effect, to a much lesser degree, in front of our house, where the mailman frequently walks (We are finally having a concrete driveway and sidewalks put in next week. Yay!). So is there correlation there? Am I just supposed to not TOUCH bermuda during the winter, or what?

Thanks in advance for any/all replies.
 
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#4 ·
Redtwin said:
With the tent and the mailman, those areas may just be a bit compacted. Are you able to aerate?
I actually just aerated a couple days ago, so yeah we do have yellow clay here in southern OH. I'm gonna also put down some humic to try and loosen it up.
 
#5 ·
Superfalc said:
Jeez

Tell us about your pesticide regimen
Well, this is embarrassing.. :/. I don't really currently have one, in all honesty. I've never really seen much damage from grubs or other pests. Moles very occasionally. My main issue has been fungus, which I got hit with Spring Dead Spot this year, and treated that, and will try to stay on top of through the fall.

Are you seeing some sort of pest here?
 
#7 ·
You had everything looking amazing. Especially amazing for a bug with an appetite. Soap test like the other poster mentioned and do a can test for chinch bugs seeing as the section is near the road. Nothing that cant be fixed and back to the way it was considering how great it was before.
 
#8 ·
Ok thanks so much, I think I will do the soap flush test and see if I can spot anything. As you can see, I'm still learning at this lawn thing, so I suppose I just haven't covered all the bases yet. Now if we'd just stop getting torrential downpours every other day, I might actually be able to do some things in the yard. :/ I will post an update on my findings.

Thanks again
 
#9 ·
Hey everyone, so I did the soap water flush, and we did spot this little critter.



Can you guys confirm that it is a chinch bug? ( Sorry for the poor photo quality) It looks like it has the right shape, but it is pretty solid black. Could it be a juvenile with no wings? Some photos on the web seem to match it for a baby one.
 
#10 ·
Possibly, really hard to tell from that photo. Chinch bugs occasionally show up in bermuda but its not too common. That aside, I would at a minimum get on a grub prevention program with Chlorantraniliprole and probably think about applications of a broad pesticide be it liquid or granular to control and prevent any issues.
 
#11 ·
Looks like a chinch bug to me, especially if it has a red chevron stripe on its back (hard to see). I don't believe they would be causing your issue in bermuda. Ohio, even southern Ohio, is very far North for bermuda so it is going to be slow to get rolling in the spring and early summer. You will also be dealing with some winter kill as well. I think if you just keep pushing it, it will come back once it gets crazy hot up there. Mine in Florida just recently hit full throttle the first week of June. It's been a crazy spring so hopefully you don't deal with this every year.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the help @Redtwin

I very commonly have people question my choice to grow Bermuda in my location. And I get it. Ohio=bone chilling cold, right. Ehh, it's not so bad down here in this river valley. Of course I did choose the most cold-hardy seeded variety- Yukon, which is listed as suitable for the transition zone. I'm well within it, being I am USDA zone 7.



For context, I I've had the following plants in my yard for years now:

Windmill Palm, Slash Pine, Camellia, Eucalyptus, Purple Heart, to name a few..

Phew! 😊. Now that that's out of the way, lol, I purchased a broad spectrum insecticide yesterday and will be blanket spraying tomorrow, plus adding in a light liquid fert, and throwing down some humic. Yesterday, I also "hand-fed" bare spots with 32-0-5 and used the garden weasel to work the ground up a bit for those runners.

So, I'm hopeful things will get back on track. Any other suggestions, I'm certainly all ears.

Thanks!
 
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