SEEDING YOUR LAWN

We’re quickly approaching the time of year when we can overseed to thicken up our lawns. The best time to overseed your lawn in southeast Michigan is mid-August to near the end of September. Mid-August may sound too early to start seeding, but keep in mind it will take Kentucky bluegrass 2 - 3 weeks to germinate.

Speaking of Kentucky bluegrass, this type of turfgrass is considered the best species for home lawns in southeast Michigan. If you’re going to overseed with Kentucky bluegrass, it’s important to find a grass seed blend that has at least three different cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass. Each cultivar has its strong and weak points, so having more than one cultivar reduces the possibility of your lawn being severely damaged by one particular lawn disease.

Perennial ryegrass is found as a component of most bags of grass seed. This type of grass seed is added because perennial ryegrass germinates quickly, usually in five to seven days. This helps to protect the Kentucky bluegrass after it germinates. One downside of perennial ryegrass is that the seedling is very aggressive. If more than 25% of a Kentucky bluegrass/perennial ryegrass mixture is perennial ryegrass, the established turf will be predominately perennial ryegrass.

Grass seed that is marketed as “shady blend” usually have one or more varieties of fine fescue grass seed in them. Fine fescue is another quick germinating seed. Fine fescues blend well with Kentucky bluegrass and also provide the mixture with some shade tolerance.

The improved turf-type tall fescues have been well received over the last several years for their improved texture and color. These tall fescue hybrids are especially adapted to sandy, drought-prone sites because its extensive root system can avoid short-term drought. Turf-type tall fescue also has good wear tolerance and some tolerance to shade. If you decide to use a turf-type tall fescue be sure to select an improved variety and plant it as at least 70 - 80% of the mixture. This will give your lawn a more uniform appearance once it’s established. DO NOT confuse turf-type tall fescue with varieties such as K-31, which is the coarse-bladed grass that often grows in large clumps.

Once you have overseeded your lawn it’s important to keep the seed moist so it will germinate. After it’s germinated it’s critical to keep the new seedling moist so it won’t dry out. A skipped day of watering could ruin your overseeding project.

THE PILL BUG, SOW BUG & HOUSE CENTIPEDE

Pill bugs and sow bugs feed on decaying plant matter such as rotting wood chips and mulch. They are an important link in the group of organisms that dispose of, and recycle these materials. House centipedes linger in the shadows of this habitat snatching off very small insects, spiders and other very small creatures. They are the wolves of this dark, damp world. They play the important role of regulator.

Like most of the backyard fauna, all will enter your house if given the opportunity. They are more than happy to go where they can find food and habitat similar to their outside home.

Damage and Importance

Pill bugs, sow bugs and house centipedes, if present in your home, will be found in dark, damp and relatively undisturbed areas of structures. This usually means your basement or crawl space. More specifically, around floor drains or near damp wood such as paneling or baseboards. Also, look under any cardboard boxes in the basement that haven’t been moved lately.

None of these home invaders cause damage to your home. In fact the house centipede will do a pretty good job preying upon small insects, mites and spiders. However, the sight of one skittering in and out of a floor drain in the basement can cause great alarm to some homeowners.

House centipedes have bitten people. They are not poisonous. In fact, they have very weak jaws and their bite ranks around a mosquito bite on the severity index.

Identification

Pill bugs and sow bugs are quite similar in appearance. Anyone who has ever flipped over a board laying on the ground has seen one, or both.

The pill bug will roll up in a ball when disturbed. The sow bug cannot ball up. It has two tail-like appendages on the tip of its abdomen, preventing it from exhibiting this behavior.

The house centipede’s many (15 pairs) long legs and striped coloring make it very distinctive. Some folks misname them millipedes, but they are quite different. All centipedes have one pair of legs for each body section (segment). Millipedes have two pairs for what appears to be each segment.

None of these are actually insects.

Controlling Pill Bugs, Sow Bugs, and House Centipede’s

Through the summer months you might find any or all of these harmless creatures roaming around your house. The probability will increase if you have mulched areas near entrances and have an attached wooden deck. Moist summers tend to favor higher populations. Dispose of them as you would any other nuisance, non-damaging household pest. Keeping them out of your house involves sealing cracks and crevices to deny entry.

Changing the local habitat can help keep these unwelcome guests out of your house. Remove any non-essential debris, mulch and boards from around your house. Establish a zone of bare soil adjacent to your house that will dry out.

If you seem to have unusually high numbers of pill bugs or sow bugs, this is an indication that you’ve probably got damp wood nearby that needs to be dried or replaced. House centipedes are predators. If you have high numbers of these, it indicates they have a plentiful supply of prey nearby.

If all other options don’t seem to be getting results you can set up a perimeter pest control program. This is an insect control program where a foundation spray is applied to discourage insects, spiders, and other home-invading pests from entering your house. Perimeter pest control treatments are started in the spring, continue into the summer, and end in the fall when insects begin to hibernate for the winter.