Turfgrass

One way to identify insect pests of turf is to categorize them by where they feed within the turfgrass environment. These insects fall into three categories:

• insects that feed below ground
• insects that chew turf foliage
• insects that extract plant sap
• other pests

Pests that damage turf in these categories include:

• Insects that feed below ground include mole crickets, white grubs and billbugs.
• Insects that chew turf foliage include armyworms, cutworms and sod webworms.
• Insects that extract plant sap include aphids, chinch bugs and spittle bugs.
• Other pests are fire ants, scale insects, mealy bugs, and cicada killers.

Clicking on the links below will lead to a picture and description of the insects.