Bare spots on your lawn can be the result of a variety of problems: insect, disease, shade, compaction, tree removal, herbicide injury, soil pH or other cultural problems.
Preparing to Make Repairs
The cause of the problem needs to be determined and corrected before seeding or sodding the new turf. If insects or disease are the cause, contact us to help determine what insects are attacking your lawn. We will recommend the proper treatment method.
If heavy foot traffic is causing compaction, look for a way to keep traffic off that area. This may include installing stepping stones, a gravel pathway or a barrier that would reroute traffic and protect that area of your lawn. If heavy foot traffic is unavoidable in a particular area then aerating annually to help relieve the compaction is suggested.
In most areas, however, the best solution is to replace the lost grass with new sod or grass seed.
Repairing Small Bare Spots
- Relieve compaction and scratch soil surface. Remove sticks or other debris. The addition of top soil may be needed in order to bring the grade to the level of the surrounding grass.
- Evenly distribute grass seed or sod across the bare spot. Grass seed needs lightly raked into the ground. Sod needs to be rolled so that sod soil has secure contact with surface soil.
- Water frequently until the ground is thoroughly moist. It is important to not let the newly seeded or sodded area to dry out. Do this daily for two to three weeks, while new turf is establishing.
- It is optional to cover the area with a thin layer of straw (about 50-60 percent coverage) to protect the grass seeds from birds, soil erosion and from drying out.