North Carolina Summer Lawn Care Tips

North Carolina summers can ruin your lawn if you’re not giving it the proper care & attention it needs. The heat & humidity can quickly turn lush green lawns dry and brown. The summer warmth also brings summer intruders, including weeds, insects, moles, and various other pests.

What preventative and maintenance measures can you take to ensure that your lawn is beautiful and inviting all summer long and into the autumn months? Hicks Landscape recommends the following:

Summer Lawn Watering Tips

Grass depends on three main factors to grow and flourish: Soil, Sunlight, and Water.

During the warm June, July, & August months in eastern and central North Carolina, your lawn will be getting plenty of soil and sunlight. It’s up to you to provide the water.

A timed Sprinkler system from Hicks Landscape is an ideal, hassle-free solution, but not everyone has a water management system readily available. If a sprinkler system is not an option due to strict water conservation ordinances, then manual watering is the next best choice.

The best practices for watering your lawn manually include:

• Water deeply and infrequently, so as to not overwater.
• Water early in the day, to prepare your grass for the intense midmorning and afternoon heat.

Insects, Moles, Grubs, & Other Pests

While insects and small rodents can sometimes be a nuisance, they are perfectly natural within a healthy North Carolina lawn. It is important to try not to remove every living creature inside your yard. Insects are beneficial and necessary, so don’t attempt a complete eradication.

An application of a mild insecticide from Hicks Landscape in late June or early July will help control many insects common to North Carolina, such as beetle grubs, European Chafers, and Japanese Beetles. A mild insecticide is best because it will control the nuisance pests while reducing harm to the beneficial insects throughout your lawn.

Pest Control by Hicks Landscape

Moles, Voles, and other rodents are often more difficult to eliminate from your lawn than insects.

The Hicks Landscape Pest Control Team are experienced in the humane removal and long-term deterrence of lawn rodents in Raleigh and eastern and central North Carolina.

Rodent traps are available at local hardware stores, however, these traps are often brutal, and medieval in design and intention. These types of traps are also not very effective in long-term pest removal because they only eliminate a single creature per use. Humane forms of repellent are widely agreed to be the best pest removal methods.

Weeds & Crabgrass Removal

Certain weeds and crabgrass are common in North Carolina during the summer months.

Removing the weeds and crabgrass from your lawn can change an average-looking, unhealthy lawn with patchy grass spots into a beautiful, lush field of healthy green grass. With that in mind, what is the best way to remove weeds and crabgrass from your lawn?

The most common method is to hand pick weeds and crabgrass, being sure to remove the roots as well as the exposed stems – but this method is tedious, time-consuming, and physically demanding for the average homeowner.

Hicks Landscape recommends using high-quality herbicides and weed killers. These are usually sold over the counter, and can easily be applied to weedy areas via a spray bottle. This method will be effective against small patches of weeds or invasive crabgrass.

If your lawn is more weeds than grass, you may need a complete overhaul. Hicks Landscape offers full-service lawn maintenance services to customers in Raleigh, Wake County, and eastern and central North Carolina.