Question

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Let me go back to the Ortho Max issue.
I didn't put this on my lawn till I came back home and saw all the brown spots. If mulching is better, then I will continue doing it. I have always done it in Fla. I just wasn't sure if it was creating a problem due to being a different type of grass in NC.
Thanks,
Bud

Followup To

Question -
I move to Morganton NC in Dec 05 from So. Fla. I had my lawn re-sodded in April/May (Fescue) I have been mowing it by hand it's 1/3 to 1/2 acre. (Whew)
I now want to use a riding mower and have like the size and style of the Snapper rear engine mower. It has what they call a Hi-Vac sys for lifting the grass before cutting it. I have been multching my yard, but now think it should be bagged and removed.
Do you recommend this type of mower, or do you have a have a favorite you like better?
P.S.
I just came back from Fla, and my lawn now has brown spots all over it. When I left 10 days eariler, it was dark green. I noticed very small bugs flying around when you walked thru the grass. So I don't know if I have a fungas problem or a bug problem.
I put ortho-Max down to help control the bugs. Any suggestions?
Thank you.
Regards,
Bud

Answer -
My friend, I am most definitely not the person to help you with this problem.

I can tell from your question, Bud, that casual applications of products like Ortho-Max (main ingredient: esfenvalerate) and God knows what else are nothing new to you. Brown spots and bugs are part of the territory you take when you use this stuff on your grass. If we spent two or three days going back and forth, me asking you to describe the bugs and the brown spots, you would not like the final prescription -- you are asking me mainly what kind of chemical you can buy to kill the bugs and to get the grass to green up, and I can't in good conscience tell anybody to do that.  

I hate to say this because I generally like people named Bud!

My brother's nickname... My Uncle's name...

But Bud, those bugs and that brown are all signs that you should not be putting Ortho Anything on your grass.  Period.  End of story.  

The Ortho Something Else that you put on it before you went down to Florida is probably wiping out all signs of life -- as I told someone recently, taking a walk around your property is like going to the moon.  

Life is a balance. You have destroyed the balance. There is no quick fix -- but you can slowly give yourself any number of weird diseases that always strike people who put this stuff on other peoples lawns for a living.

Plus your decision to stop mulching is the opposite of what most informed people would make - maybe you are looking for a way to control thatch, which has nothing to do with your grass clippings.

All those grass clippings are pure Nitrogen. They are good for your grass.  They decompose because you have microbes in your soil -- oops! you don't have those anymore.

It is the height of a hot summer, you have an enormous swathe of lawn there to keep trimmed and I can't blame you for wanting to mow your lawn doonbuggy-style. Even in some of this heat, it would still be a chore - but it sure beats the hard labor of hand mowing. I have heard only the best things from people who use Snappers, both push and riders.  I do not unfortunately use gas mowers; I use electric when necessary; I love reel hand mowing. Reel is better for the grass, but maybe not realistic on the scale you need.  

I hate to recommend products I don't use myself but I can tell you I have only seen smiles on the people who push or drive Snappers.  Big smiles.  Sorry I can't be more enthused with respect to the rest of your philosophy of lawn care.  There are others here who will be much better, and more experienced, at giving you the information you are seeking.

Thanks for asking.

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Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.
?Henry James

Answer
Nice to hear from you again, Bud.

The official Ortho line on their Max pesticides (and there are a whole bunch of these) is posted on their website.  Pull up the Ortho page (www.ortho.com/) and in the Search box type Max.  They will give you a list of Products that are called Ortho Max, not that many and I think you will be able to find yours easily.  Then click on the link under the right Ortho Max bottle, and it will tell you what that bugkiller is capable of, plain and simple.  They have a lot of beautiful lawn photos as well that you might find inspiring.

That said, this Ortho Max is reallllllly bad.  I won't go into what happens to the people in the factories who make these Max bottles for Ortho.

The main ingredient in this stuff is something called Bifenthrin.  This chemical is called a "Pyrethroid".  Pyrethroids are poisons that kill by destroying electrical impulses in nerves and causing paralysis.  

The scary thing is that insects, birds and mammals share the same basic nervous system. When you kill bugs with this stuff, you kill a lot of other things as well.  No lawn is worth that, Bud.

One more thing: The EPA classifies this as a Class C Carcinogen.

I am sorry you are having trouble with your lawn.  I'm good at solving these problems.  If you were down the block I could definitely figure out what went wrong, why and how to fix it, quick and cheap and organic.  But you have done so much to this real estate, Bud, to get this far, and you are clearly not a lazy guy -- you have worked hard on this grass and you want to take good care of it. And that's what good neighbors do.  

But to me, adding more chemicals is just not an ethical thing to do, it's worst for you because you are going to be breathing that stuff, walking on it, bringing it into the house, until someday those brown patches in the lawn will seem like insignificant next to the problems in your bloodstream.

I have never met a Bud I didn't like.  Not even Buddy Hacket.  Bud Weiser.  Rose Bud.  My brother, Buddy.  My Uncle Bud.  The list goes on.  Ask one of the pro-Chemical Lawn Experts what to do about your lawn -- he will most certainly be able to give you advice that will effectively fix your grass in time for your next BBQ, even as it paralyzes and poisons the rest of the neighborhood.  But who's counting?

Very best regards from organic Long Island, NY, USA and God bless America,

your pal and goodbuddy

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER