What is That Brown Spot in My Lawn?

The most common question at The Lawn Institute is the most difficult to answer. Asking through an email or a phone call about the health of your lawn and expecting results is about as successful as calling your doctor and asking why you are sick. Brown grass can be caused by many things. Some are harmful to the grass and some are grasses natural response to the environment that allows lawns to be successful. Brown grass is caused by stress. Either biotic (living) or abiotic (not living) stress placed on a plant. Often both are a direct result of how we take care of our lawns. Biotic stresses include things like insect damage and disease infestation. Abiotic stress can include drought, temperature and lack of nutrients along with many other factors. Biotic Stress Insects- There are a tremendous amount of insects that feed on grass. Many beetles begin their lives as grubs in the soil that feed on the roots of grass. The caterpillars of some moths also live out a part of their lifecycle ...  more