Maintaining a well-manicured and healthy lawn is not just for vanity. The lawn provides a lot of benefits. Aside from the fact that it practically increases the value of your property, it is also beneficial to the larger environment. In urban areas, lawn acts as oxygen mills, keeping the air around your house cleaner and cooler. A healthy lawn with a root system prevents erosion and aids in water purification. The roots filter the water absorbed by the soil making the groundwater cleaner and healthier.
Aside from its contribution to sustainability, gardening also helps people physically and mentally. Here are the advantages of keeping a clean and healthy lawn:
Promotes Psychological & Physiological Wellness
According to experts, interacting with nature even though the simplest activities such as visiting gardens and viewing trees can contribute to healing. In a study conducted to post-surgical patients, viewing trees outside their rooms allowed them to recover quicker than others. Doctors even report that people who had a clear view of the garden experienced fewer complications and took fewer painkillers to alleviate the pain. Some of their charts even reveal that patients who bask in the goodness of nature displayed a more positive attitude towards their recovery and towards their future.
To understand more about horticultural therapy, let's understand where it all came from.
History Of Gardening Therapy
Therapeutic gardening started way back in the 1700s when Dr. Benjamin Rush, a famous physician documented the garden setting in relation to the recovery of patients with several mental illnesses. As a result of his studies, he found that people recovered faster as they participated in gardening activities. After he shared his findings, interest in gardening as a means of recovery has sparked. Hence, they develop gardening for recovery and rehabilitation.
200 years later, the United States finally adopted the horticultural therapy curriculum. In 1972, it was registered as a part of the mental health program at Kansas State University. Ever since its establishment to the curriculum, healing gardens have started to blossom in the country. Hospitals, schools, prison grounds, literally every establishment and institution wanted to have their own landscapes to help their patients and their personnel obtain its therapeutic benefits.
Horticultural Therapy
Horticultural therapy involves gardening activities to achieve therapeutic and rehabilitative goals specifically to maximize psychological physical social and cognitive functioning. This therapeutic activity can significantly increase the satisfaction of people with their life. Some individuals even reported that therapy helps them improve the quality of their life and decreased the risks of depression and anxiety.
If you don't want to hire a horticultural therapist to guide you, you can still achieve the benefits of gardening by enjoying simple activities to keep your lawn and garden healthy. Activities such as mowing the lawn, trimming the plants, and weeding the soil have its therapeutic benefits. Lawn mowing, for example, is known to help reduce the risk of heart ailments of people.
We all know that one of the triggers of cardiovascular diseases is stress and lack of exercise. Did you know that the back and forth motion of lawn mowing helps promote meditation and relaxation? The best part is, this activity helps an individual exercise and lose weight. 30 minutes of lawn mowing can help burn hundreds of calories. Can you imagine what regular lawn mowing will give you after how many months of doing it regularly?
This is the reason why experts promote gardening not only for sustainability but also for us to achieve its psychological and physiological effects. However, there are instances when our relaxation and meditation time is bothered by lawn pests and garden pests.
The Nuisances Brought By Lawn Pests
Your little patch of urban grassland is a part of a large ecosystem. It is home to hundreds of small living organisms. But there are a few of these can damage your lawn. These are some of the reasons why people call Gastonia exterminators to do the job.
Some indicators of a pest-infested lawn include dying grass patches, brown spots, wilting grass blades, and insect bite marks on the leaves. When you see these signs, do go spraying random pesticides because you may be doing your lawn more harm than good. These chemicals can kill both good and bad insects.
Did you know that the World Health Organization has implemented its limits on the use of pesticides especially near residential areas? According to their studies, pesticides can cause a variety of illnesses such as food poisoning, cancer, organ failure, and skin allergies. To children, it can cause deformities and developmental disorders. If you don't want to risk your family’s lives, think again before using a pesticide. Better yet, call local Gastonia exterminators to help you accomplish your objectives.
If you see pests on your lawn, there's no need to panic. There are different do-it-yourself methods you can apply to eliminate these. But first, you need to know the common lawn pests that exist in your surroundings. Read on and find out more about common lawn pests, symptoms of an infestation, and tips in eliminating them.
Common Lawn Pests
Grub worms
These are white C-shaped larvae of several species of beetles. They feed on grassroots. These cause the grasses to wilt and create brown patches on your turf. As the weather grows colder during the fall, the grub worms burrow deeper into the soil and hibernate until winter is over. When the ground becomes warm in the early spring, they come out and continue feasting on the grass again.
Grub infestation should immediately be tended to since these little buggers can attract more pests. These white worms are a delicious delicacy enjoyed by skunks and moles.
Cutworms & Armyworms
Armyworms and cutworms are types of caterpillars. These icky pests are the larvae forms of moths. They grow from 1 to 2 inches in length and their color vary from yellow, gray, brown, and pink. They are nighttime feeders. Because they attack in tides, they can cause severe damage.
Signs of infestation include the presence of a little hole in the ground where they hide during the day and skeletonized leaves.
Mites
You cannot see these pests with your bare eyes. You need a microscope to do that. If you notice your lawn is thin with irregular straw-colored patches during the spring, these tiny creatures are the probable culprit. During feeding, mites inject their toxic saliva into the leaves. This causes swelling leading to a tangle of growth which is known as witches’ broom.
Moles
Moles are like little potatoes with small eyes, pointed noses, webbed feet, and broad forefeet. While moles can help your lawn by feeding on pests and digging holes to aerate it, they can also cause damage. Moles eat beneficial insects like earthworms and their tunneling destroys the grassroots.
Lawn Pest Prevention & Control
Following cultural practices is the best approach in keeping your lawn healthy. Here are some simple techniques you can do:
Choose wisely
Lawn grasses are split into two categories: cool-season grasses and warm-season grasses. The cool-season grasses are more popular because they are green all year-round. The warm-season grasses are most green during the summer and turn brown during the colder season.
Choose a variety that is appropriate to your climatic region. Consider the salinity and shade tolerance, water and nutrient needs, and disease resistance. Choosing the right variety will allow you to grow a healthy lawn with fewer maintenance costs.
Proper irrigation
Far too often, ignorant homeowners tend to overwater their lawns. This increases the lawn's susceptibility to stress, retards the roots, and causes diseases. Overwatering can also be a result of faulty or poorly maintained sprinkler system.
Proper Fertilization
When applying fertilizer, the amount and timing are essential. A lawn that is properly fertilized grows thick and tolerates most insect feeding. An average lawn requires 2 to 4 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet a year.
Grasscycling is a common technique that involves leaving lawn clippings as natural fertilizers. If you’re practicing this method, you should use a lesser amount of nitrogen.
Proper Aeration
That is a layer of undecomposed organic material on the soil surface. It prevents air, water, and fertilizer from penetrating the soil. To resolve this, use hollow tines to poke holes into the ground creating passages into the soil.
Use Biocontrol
The whole concept of biocontrol relies on using natural mechanisms as a method of controlling pests. There are some insects and organisms that prey on pests. They are called natural enemies. Allowing them to thrive in your lawn helps in eliminating your pest problem. The predatory nematode is one example of natural enemies that attack the larvae of several common lawn pests.
Professional Help
Sometimes, following cultural practices still fail to prevent infestations. In this case, artificial pest control management techniques are the option. But, never attempt to use chemicals if you are unsure of how to use it. Call professional pest control officer instead.
If you're looking for reliable and outstanding exterminators near you contact Go-Forth Home Services. This company offers state-of-the-art methods of pest management at a very affordable price. What better way to keep your lawn in check than calling a professional to regularly maintain it? The pest-free life you need is at your fingertips. With just one call, you can have the pest-free life you always dreamed of.
What are you waiting for? Contact the experts now.