How to Control Ground Pearls in Lawn | BUGSPRAY

Thanks for your recent information regarding lawn fungus- we’re getting the PH tested before starting treatment to get the centipede lawn healthy first and then applying a fungicide.

I’ve also been advised that we have a local area on our lawn that has lawn pearls. I’ve seen them attached to the grass roots and I’m prepared to dig out the infected area and put in new sod but we need your advice as how to effectively chemically prepare the sandy soil area to prevent any possible pearl larvae, insects or pearl sacs that might still be in the soil from coming back and infesting the area again after installing the sod.

We appreciate any suggestions or recommendations that you might have, and thanks again for your help.

First, you’re welcome and we hope our advice is leading you in the direction you want to go regarding your landscape and pest control concerns.

Second, there is no need to remove or replace any of your grass if the main reason you want to do this is due to the ground pearls. In fact ground pearls are an insect; they fall into the “scale” family and are vulnerable to range of insecticides. There are many water based products that list scale but they won’t work. You need the one we have (see below) which is oil based. Its got scale on the label and we have found its the best by far cause it can “penetrate” them better than any of the water based options.

But before you treat, its important to understand that one of the most common traits we see with ground pearls is that they seem to really like soil with low PH levels. A log PH means you have an acidic environment so if you end up finding your PH is 6.5 or lower, this is where you will want to spend your time and effort: fixing the ph as explained in our article here:

Soil PH: https://bugspray.com/article/ph.html

If the PH is below 6.5, you’ll need some of our LIQUID LIME to get it up closer to neutral. This will allow our products to properly work AND make it harder for the ground pearls to survive.

In the article you’ll see us reference a PH METER and if you don’t have one, it would be well worth  investing in one so you can check your PH throughout the year.

Of all the things in your yard, the PH is the one variable that controls everything else. In other words, once it drops below 6.0, your turf will become weak and vulnerable to fungus, insects, weeds, etc. Also, the low PH will cause the insecticides to not work so well so this must be addressed if its not in the right range and at least 6.5 if not closer to 7.0.

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Now once the PH is fixed, apply MAXXTHOR GRANULES at the rate of 2 lbs for every 1000 sq/ft and retreat once a month for 3 months. Maxxthor will control a wide range of insects using turf grass for nests including scale related pests.

The main reason for using this slow releasing product is that it will get down deep into the soil, 6-12″, where baby ground pearls will be active. The liquid spray does not get deep so you need to use the granules 2-3 times a year for the first year when treating.

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Next, spray over the granules with MAXXTHOR EC. This needs to be done once a month while you see activity. Use 1 oz per 5,000 sq/ft. This formulation is fast acting and will quickly knock the down the active scale but it won’t penetrate down deep like the granules so you’ll need to do both for long term control.

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A good HOSE END SPRAYER will be needed to spray the Maxxthor. This one is easy to use; add 1 oz of Maxxthor and fill it up to the 5 gallon line. Next, hook it to your garden hose and spray the entire contents over 5,000 sq/ft.

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If you’re PH is in the proper range, you should see improvement after 2-3 weeks. And after the second application, most problems will be resolved. After that, treat every 3 months with both granules and the liquid to insure they don’t come back. And be sure to check your PH at least once every 6 months.

On a related note, the products above are not labeled for use in vegetable gardens. Essentially they’re a bit too strong. But we have two options that are safe enough for use in vegetable gardens and yet strong enough to kill active ground pearls.

Like the approach above, you’ll want to first treat with a granule and but for vegetable gardens, you’ll need BIFEN GRANULES FOR GARDENS. Its about half as strong but still effective. Use 1 lb per 500 sq/ft.

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Once the granules are in place, spray over the top with CYONARA RTS. Safe enough for use on vegetables and fruit bearing plants, Cyonara will work on a range of scale including ground pearl.

Just hook it to your garden hose and spray. One jug will cover up to 16,000 sq/ft so it goes a long way too. Treat every two weeks for two months to knock out the current problem.

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