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Dealing With The Cranberry Girdler

Cranberry. That word. What comes to your mind? There sure are thoughts of this plum and juicy fruit. Something that you can eat and something that is healthy and delightful and sweet. Now when you say ‘cranberry girdler’, what do you think? It is not a type of food. It is a insect, yes. But it is not the insect you find in cranberries. And it is not sweet and wonderful.

What are cranberry girdlers you may ask? Well, the thing is, cranberry girdlers are actually insects. They look like worms though they are not really such. They are usually gray or dirty white in color and have a head that is brown-orange in color. It is just around 3/4 of an inch long and they bear no markings that are distinct to them. They may be small and look harmless but they can bring much chaos to your lawn or your garden. Now that is something that you do not want to happen after all the effort you had put into it.

You may not actually notice that your lawn or your garden already has cranberry girdlers in them. See, these insects actually work their way right in the important parts of the grass and they stay there. You will find them usually in the crown of the grass and even in the roots. With that, they stay away from sight but they really do much damage. They actually start taking in the nutrients from the plants so much so that the grass starts to have less of what it needs to be healthy. The grass then withers and browns up and when you try to pull it out, it can be easily done and it would be as if you were just pulling out a rug from your homes floor.

Your grass in your lawn or your garden has already turned brown and you know that that is one sign that cranberry girdlers are there. Now try to pull out that brown patch. If you see larvae beneath and in the soil, then you have these insects as the culprit. Do not leave them as they are. These insects will go through your entire lawn and leave you with nothing but brown, dead grass.

What you can do is to get out your favorite insecticide. Start applying it on the brown patches which are where the cranberry girdler has affected. Check on the progress weekly. If the brown patches are still growing, continue to apply insecticide. When the brown spots are no longer spreading and you see dead insects on the soil, you have done it well.