I noticed some weird dry spots on #13 green, but upon using the moisture meter to check, these were not dry spots. I kept my eye on it for a couple days and I noticed that birds were pecking the turf, eating something within. I went over to take a look and noticed little black beetles all over the green. Upon inspection, these looked to be Black Turfgrass Atenius beetles.This green is particularly thatchy, so that is part of the problem. They like to burrow into the thatch.
I went out the next day and sprayed an insecticide to kill the beetles. The next week, it all looked fine again. After that, we focused more on heavier thatch removal through verticutting, and that has seemed to help the issue.
Update: 2018 season we had no issues with the beetle, as we were controlling thatch more.
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| Weird looking "dry spots" |
