GADA stands for Grub, Ant, Disease, & Aeration. It’s our little acronym for preventative turf care solutions that will keep your lawn healthy – which means green, lush plus weed and disease free. 

Our GADA program is an additional service that is not included in our standard 8-Step Fertilization and Weed Control Program. 

We’re going to break down each of these elements to help you understand why you may need these extra measures in your yard if you want the grass to be greener on your side of the fence. 

Grub Control for North Texas Lawns 

The first concern we have with grubs is that they love to feast on the roots of your grass. When they do this, they’re eliminating the ability for your lawn to suck up water and nutrients and this can lead to severe stress and even death of the lawn in patches. 

The second concern with grubs is that while they’re eating roots, critters like moles, armadillos, and skunks like to eat them. We want to do everything we can to avoid those animals in your lawn as they can be destructive. 

In the spring and fall, grubs are the larvae stage of many beetles like June Bugs and May Beetles. Bad infestations can roll up the grass like carpet when the root system is compromised. 

The good news is we have options to control them! At College Fund Landscaping, we apply a form of Imidacloprid 2F (or trichlorfon, dimethyl, phosphonate) which is a fancy talk for a pesticide that flows through the grass and when the grubs feed on the roots they will become paralyzed and die. 

We have products that work on actively feeding grubs as well as preventative treatments. It’s important to note that one grub is no big deal. In fact, there are grubs in every healthy yard. However, the general rule of thumb is no more than 6-7 grubs per square foot of lawn. 

Want to learn more? Check out our Grub Control YouTube Video. 

Fire Ant Control in North Texas 

If ants are looming around your home they can cause serious damage. Some of the most common ants in Texas include the acrobat ants, carpenter ants, fire ants, odorous house ants, and rover ants. All of these ants can be damaging for your home, but the imported fire ants are our main concern.

Fire ants are easily distinguished because of their bright red color. They have biting ability that delivers a painful, venom-filled sting. Even worse, they can sting repeatedly and will attack in large numbers. This obviously doesn’t sound like fun your family had in mind while enjoying yourselves in the backyard! 

As part of our GADA program, we will apply a one-time, long lasting ant treatment using the active ingredient Fipronil. This product will control fire ants for one year (guaranteed) and as an extra benefit it will treat nuisance ants (lasius neoniger) for three months. 

This long residual insecticide works on contact when applied to the lawn and landscape surfaces. While this treatment may be more costly than purchasing a bag at a garden center, it is more effective because ants that move into treated areas will be eliminated while the chemical is active for 12 months. 

Disease Prevention and Control for North Texas Lawns 

During the spring or fall you may look out your window and notice that your lawn doesn’t look healthy and has become infected with brown patches. These areas of disease can be prevented and controlled, but first we have to properly diagnose the disease. 

Identifying Symptoms of Turf Disease 

  • Yellow or brown spots of grass in areas
  • Thin areas that used to be lush
  • Grass roots turn brown and shrivel
  • White or gray spots on the grass blades in a mottled pattern

Some common types of disease that St. Augustine grass is susceptible to are Brown Patch, St. Augustine Decline (SAD), Gray Leaf Spot, Downy Mildew, and Leaf Blight. Many of these diseases are caused by humidity and wetness staying on the turf for extended periods. This is why it’s very important to water in the morning, so that the grass has time to dry out during the day before the cool nights arrive.

Thin turf that doesn’t get proper fertilization and weed control treatments will always be more susceptible to disease infestations. That’s why we always recommend preventative care of a healthy lawn, first and foremost. 

However, if the disease has already struck, we do have curative measures we can take to stop the spread. If the spread of the disease isn’t stopped, it could take out your entire yard and be more expensive in the long run to replace with new sod installation. 

Fungicide Treatment Details 

A fungicide is a type of product that will be applied to the lawn. It works in two different ways – systemic and control. The systemic properties will be soaked through the leaves and roots of the plants to protect them from further spread. The control properties work on contact with the disease to stop it right away. We recommend these measures during an active infection to stop the spread, but also in the spring and fall as preventative control. 

Want to learn more? Check out our Fungal Disease YouTube Video. 

Turf Aeration for North Texas Lawns 

Great soil is the first step to a great lawn. In North Texas we work primarily with dark black to light grey clay which is easily compacted. Compacted soil doesn’t allow for the roots of the grass to dive deep which means they aren’t going to be as strong as possible. By de-compacting the soil, we give the grass roots more opportunity to spread their roots to get vital oxygen, water and nutrients that we feed it. 

Aeration North Texas College FundLandscaping

During mechanical aeration practices, this is done using a large, heavy machine that punctures holes in a pattern throughout the soil. The machine can be very trying to operate, hard to get into small spaces, and damaging to certain things such as underground wires and irrigation heads.

Different from mechanical, liquid aeration is accomplished by introducing a humic acid solution on top of the soil to break down and loosen compacted soil particles. The humic acid solution is mixed with water and then applied evenly across the affected area of turf. As the liquid gets to work on the compacted soil, small channels are created which allow water, oxygen, and nutrients to permeate hard-to-reach areas.

Want to learn more? Check out our Aeration YouTube Video. 

What is GADA and How Much Does it Cost?

GADA stands for Grubs, Ant, Disease & Aeration. This is an additional service that is offered to our fertilization and weed control clients who want extra care for their lawn. We’ll provide proactive services like aeration that help your lawn thrive as well as preventative and curative treatments that will help your lawn combat turf disease and grubs!  

The pricing is based on square footage of your lawn. We can provide you with a quote within about 5 minutes of a phone call! Don’t stress about your lawn anymore – let the experts at College Fund Landscaping handle it for you!