Ask The Experts

Dear Mr. Hester,

Thank you for writing! Grass seed will last for a minimum of 2-4 years. It is important it be kept in a dry, cool (not freezing), mice-free environment. When evaluating the seed you will see a test date on it. You will also notice that some will put 85% as the germination rate for all the seed varieties. Seed producers do this so it can sit on the shelf for a year and not have to be retested. Most of the time, the seed that says 85% will actually have a 90%-95% germination rate. Turf Type Tall Fescue is harvested in Oregon in August and then shipped south for sale. This is a tight window to get harvested, tested, bagged, and sold. Because of this, a lot of what you buy this year is last year’s crop.  We actually prefer a seed that is a year old because it germinates better after it dries out a little. I have never seen seed not germinate from being old.  I know this was a long explanation and I hope it helps you! Thanks again and please don’t hesitate to write me if you have further questions.

The TurfCommander

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Name: R. Hester
Question for the Commander: What is the shelf life of grass seed?

Dear Karin:

Yes, we do both small and large tree applications.

How tall are they?

I will suggest that once the webs are formed they are hard to break.  They will not damage the trees even though they are unsightly. The tree has essentially made its food for the winter, so don’t panic that you could lose them. We will be glad to come look at them for you and let you now the best approach to manage them.

If you will send me information,  we will contact you to set up a free evaluation.

The TurfCommander

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Name: Karin H.

Question for the Commander: I see you specialize in lawn – but I was wondering whether you could assist with webworm infestations in my trees as well? Our trees are tall! My dilemma with the webs are the worms dropping onto our entertainment area, means we do not utilize the area when the webworms are around! Not major but surely inconvenient:-)

Dear Jerry:

Clover is actually fairly easy to control with the right product. It may take two applications in times of extreme cold or heat due to the plant not actively growing. To kill any weed or plant since most herbicides cause the plant to grow their selves to death, it is important the weed be actively growing.

We use a three-way herbicide along with a mix of surfactants to aid in uptake. These products are readily available at any hardware store. We include this in our program and would be happy to do a free estimate for you. This would allow us to measure your lawn and give you realistic expectations of what to expect! You can visit our website and fill out the contact form and we would love to come to see you!

Let me know if you have other questions and have a great weekend!

The TurfCommander

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Name: Jerry H.
Question for the Commander: What is the best thing for getting rid of clover in my yard?

Jill,
Thank you for your question! First, let me thank you for allowing us to come out and look at your property!

As a matter of fact, I have researched this issue for a friend of mine who raises free-range chickens and had similar issues. At the time, I was unable to find research on the products we use in regard to chickens. I do know the mosquito products we use are pyrethroids which are the synthetic form of pyrethrins, which are developed from chrysanthemums. They are the same products used in many of the products used in dog flea and tick control. I have 3 dogs and 4 children myself and use everything at my house. I used the mosquito control at my house for 10 years before it became a line of service for many companies, with great flea and tick reduction, as well as mosquito control! The key to the above-mentioned is to allow the products to dry and use common sense.

NC State did a study of how long it took to dry and be taken up by the plant, broken down in sunlight, or bound by the soil. They scrubbed the area every hour and measured what came off with a technique that could measure micro amounts. The result was around 4-6 hours. The one thing we are adamant about is safety and the products we use are newer, safer, better-tested technology vs products that came out in the 70s when products weren’t tested as well. Long story short, family and dogs, I am comfortable saying as long as they can be up for a few hours, no problem!

In regards to the chickens, I will send a few emails to some friends at Syngenta, Bayer, and NC State to explore this issue more in-depth. I found a lot of articles where people are having great success with the same product we are using and chickens but I am not ready to do this without more research which I will do today. Here is a thread I found of someone using the same product in a similar manner for starters—backyardchickens.com/t/528721/mosquitoes-are-horrible-i-have-the-solution

I will add that we treat over 3500 properties every 6 weeks and while we do our best to know where we apply, we can’t control what happens when we leave and I am proud to say in 15 years We have never had an issue. This includes many horse pastures and dog kennel’s that we do for weeds and flea and tick control.

Thanks again and I will be back later.

The TurfCommander

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Name: Jill S.

Hi, we received an estimate from your company and my husband is very interested in your services. We are looking at the mosquito and turf services. My concern is that we have backyard chickens that free-range sometimes. Additionally, we have dogs and a small child. Are these services safe for the chickens? They live in a run but I’m concerned about runoff and spray that could harm them, particularly because they eat insects. Do you have experience with these products and how they can affect animals? Thanks.