ELITE SERVICES
Lawn Disease Treatment​​​​​
The first line of defense is a strong, healthy lawn.
Lawn diseases can have varied symptoms, and pinpointing the exact disease requires a trained eye.
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The diverse weather seasons in Michigan create conditions ripe for various fungal diseases, such as snow mold in winter and leaf spot in the summer. Lawn disease control involves proper cultural practices like appropriate mowing, watering, and fertilization to build a healthy, resilient turf, along with fungicide applications for active infections.
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If you suspect a disease or are unsure about your lawn problem, contact us so we can accurately diagnose the issue and prescribe the best treatment plan to control your lawn disease. We will identify the problem and apply a suitable fungicide if necessary.
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Fertilizing​
Why Would I Want to Fertilize my Lawn?
Fertilizing your lawn will provide essential nutrients like nitrogen, which is crucial for producing a healthy, thicker, more vibrant green blade of grass. Encouraging strong roots to develop for better drought tress resistance, and crowding out weeds to grow a lush, healthy lawn. Where there is abundance of green grass, you will have less pests and fungus in your yard.
Fertilizing helps grass develop deeper root systems, which improves its ability to absorb water and nutrients and makes it more drought-tolerant. A well-fed lawn can recover more quickly from stress caused by foot traffic, pests, weather, and disease. Proper nutrition strengthens the grass, making it more resilient and less susceptible to common turf diseases and insect problems.
A dense, healthy lawn leaves little room for weeds to take root, making it a natural method of weed control. Stronger root systems and improved soil structure allow the lawn to hold water more efficiently, leading to reduced watering.
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Weed Control​
Is it Safe to Use Weed Sprays?
We are professionally licensed and trained to use safe EPA-approved products correctly and effectively to minimize risks to your family, pets, and the environment.
Spraying weed control on your lawn offers benefits such as improved aesthetics, increased property value, and a healthier lawn. Weeds compete with grass for vital resources like water, sunlight, and nutrients, which can starve your lawn. Eliminating them allows your grass to thrive. Systemic herbicides can penetrate and kill weeds down to the root, preventing regrowth. Applying pre-emergent herbicides can prevent new weeds from germinating and growing in the first place.
Additionally, it can prevent potential dangers from poisonous and stinging weeds and prevent the spread of pests and diseases that weeds can harbor.
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Core Aeration​
Why Aerate?
The main reason for aerating is to alleviate soil compaction. Aeration involves perforating the soil with small holes to allow air, water, and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots. This helps the roots grow deeply and produces a stronger, more vigorous lawn.
When is the Best Time to Aerate?
It is best to aerate your lawn in the fall approximately four weeks before the first frost of the season and after the spring thaw. The soil will also influence the number of times lawn aeration is required. A lawn with clay soil will become compacted easily. It will need to be aerated more than once each year, a lawn that is loamier or sandy will only be required once a year, usually in the Fall.
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Overseeding​
When to Overseed?
In Michigan, late August to mid-September is the ideal time to seed all grass types. The soil is warm, yet the air has cooled down from summer temperatures. However, most homeowners do not want to go through the summer with a spotty lawn.
Mid to late spring can be a suitable time to reseed bare patches in the lawn, after frost warnings are lifted. The soil temperature needs to be at least 50 degrees for grass to germinate at a normal rate. Waiting longer gives the soil more time to warm up improving your success rate. Given sufficient moisture, the seed will germinate quicker with the added warmth, depending on the seed type.
How Often Should I Overseed my Lawn?
If you reseed every three to four years you re-establish the lawn before it begins to thin out. This ensures the lawn stays thick and dense, which prevents weeds from invading. If you have pets or areas that receive a lot of foot traffic, you may have to reseed more often to prevent bare patches.
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Mosquito Defense​
Mosquitos can be a pesky, annoying insects that can put a damper on your summer entertaining, but you can eliminate those unwanted, disease carrying pests from all your backyard summer activities by having a mosquito defense program in place. Services can start at any time during the season and still be effective.
Your property size, foliage content, and number of applications will determine the cost of our mosquito defense program. On the initial application date, we will inspect the property, measure the area to be treated, and assess the mosquito’s hiding and breeding places like vegetation, stagnant water areas, and landscaping.
What You Can Expect From Elite’s Mosquito Defense Service
Our technician will evaluate all potential breeding areas around the property, the vegetation around the perimeter of the home, and beneath decks and other outdoor shaded areas. Using a spray mister, a growth regulator treatment will be applied to these areas in addition to areas where water stands, which is an ideal location to lay eggs.
Limitations of Mosquito Defense
Grass is not treated for mosquitos since they do not typically rest in grass, but it can be requested at an additional cost. Spraying the grass can also treat fleas and ticks along with many other insects. It does not defend against Culex Pipiens - a nighttime mosquito that usually resides in tall trees. The service only focuses on the Asian Tiger mosquito.
Even if you have had your yard treated for mosquitos, your neighbor will still have them in their yard. Treatment does not mean you will never encounter a mosquito in your back yard ever again.
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Mole & Insect Prevention​
Prevention is the Most Effective Way to Eliminate Insect, Grub, & Mole Damage From Your Yard.
Moles primarily feed on insects, ants, and termites, consuming earthworms, grubs, and slugs eating up to 60-90% of their body weight daily. Their extensive tunneling is a search for this prey, not a search for plants, though their activity can damage plant roots and bulbs. The presence of moles is often an indicator of a heavy population of grubs and insects.
It is important to realize that healthy turf, supported by frequent rain or irrigation, can support a grub population of five or more grubs per square foot with no visible turf damage. In fact, most well-maintained lawns do not have visible damage from grubs. A lawn should be mowed at 3 to 4 inches in height and properly fertilized for maximum root growth. Grubs in turf for low-maintenance lawns may be prone to weeds and drought stress.
The most common larvae (grub) are of the Japanese beetle generally found in drier turf, their population levels will fluctuate depending upon how wet or dry the weather was the previous summer. They can devastate a large area with little warning because their evening flight to mate and lay eggs occurs after sunset.
Skunks and raccoons will dig and turn over patches of turfgrass heavily infested with grubs to find a favorite meal. If you look closely, you will see thin and lumpy small patches of dead grass. This is often the first symptom of grubs that people see. If you see dead patches in your lawn, be sure the problem is grubs before wrongly treating lawn areas. Not all the grub prevention products on store shelves will be effective. Active ingredients are the rate at which the insecticide is applied to prevent future grub problems, not to eliminate the grubs present in the lawn. However, when applied in early summer they provide excellent protection against the next generation of grubs.