Expert: Ronald B Persaud - 5/26/2009

Question
Is there a home remedy for treating webworms in St. Augustine grass? We live in Gainesville, Fl...home of the Gators. Thank you.

Answer
An old saying runs "Children and insects do not like soap". This is the basis of the soap flush to determine if you have got insects on a patch of lawn. So, if you treat the lawn with a soap solution on a monthly basis, it will have the follownig benefits.
It will kill some insects directly, by contact.
It will cause many more (and earthworms also) to come up to the surface where they will be taken by predators (mainly birds).
It will physically clean dust and grime off the leaves of the turf.
It will create soil conditions which will aid water infiltration.
How do you do it? Use a hose end sprayer to disperse a lemon scented dish washing soap over the lawn. But first you need to calibrate. Calculate the area of your lawn in sq. ft. Put a measured  quantity of dye (food coloring) into the receptacle and spray the lawn. You want to have an even coloring of the grass when you are done. It is almost like spray painting. At the end of the exercise you will know how much dye (because you measured it) and also how much water you used (it should be indicated on the hose end sprayer). The objective is to apply one ounce of soap per 100 sq. ft. If the soap is too thick, you can cut it with an equal quantity of water but you will have to do it twice to get  one ounce per 100 sq.ft.
Ignore the funny looks of passers-by as the product foams and bubbles during application. If you hype it right, you can get the children to want to do this for you.
Finally, please bear in mind that this is not an immediate remedy for all your insect problems on the lawn at this time. It is a benign preventive treatment which will take some time to become effective.