I am just really curious if this year has been found that lawn pest destroying the turf has been exceptionally bad. With the wet start of the season we had with the continual mowing and blade clippings likely building up as excess thatch and then the Hot and Dry period we experienced threw us all a curveball that the prime conditions for every turf eating insect we could image having a hay day. From sub-surface grubs etc to surface worms of all varieties (army, sod webworms, cut, etc.). Seems like we went from the very visible japenese beatles eating tree leaves the past few years to them going now sub-surface and doing their thing. Argh. What a mess and a lot of damage they can do and lots of lawns are showing it now that the fall rains have come.

For some parts of Illinois it was the "perfect storm" for some pests. Fall Armyworm was very bad in just parts of Illinois. The female Japanese beetle needs a green lawn with adequate soil moisture to successfully lay eggs and have the grub survive. the more droughty parts of the state avoided heavy damage, on the other hand lawns that were watered were favored by the beetle. Did not hear of much of a problem with Sod webworm. Disease may have been a concern on lawns with lots of clippings over insect concerns.