Question
Hi - I hope you can help. I have exhausted myself with ideas. I take much pride in my lawn and last year starting in July and continuing this year my lawn has yellowing brown spots which are taking over my grass. I water regularly so I don't think water is an issue - I know this sounds like grubs, which last year I treated for them but the problem is that I have not been able to find a grub in my front yard (my yard looks like grubs are having a field day under the soil). Do you have any suggestions what this could be or where to start?

Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi chrstine;
Turn over a spadeful right next to the dead area, and see if you see any grubs under the soil. If you see more than 6 or 8 in that spadeful, they are your problem.
If you only see one or two, they are probably not the main problem.
You could have brown patch fungus.
I use no chemicals. I am on a totally organic program, and since i have been on it, I have NONE of the oproblems I used to have.
I find baking soda disolved in water a much more effective fungicide than any of the chemicals ones i used.
Organics builds healthy soil, and most of the problems i used to have, like the grubs, weeds, fungus etc, just don't thrive in healthy soil.
Powdery mildew on some shrubs, and black spot fungus on my roses has always been a problem. We have a very hot humid, sub-tropical climate.
I had to spray my roses once a month with fungicide and still had some black spot.
now, i spray only the new growth in the spring, and after our rainy season, with baking soda, and after the weather gets up above 75 degrees, I don't have to spray anymore, and no black spot.
I have not been aboe to find out how much baking soda you are supposed to use, so I use about 1/4th cup per gallon of water. that seems to be enough. i don't know if less would work, but baking soda is innexpensive enough so that is not a major consern.
If you don't find some grubs in that spadeful, I would disolve bakig soda in water, and saturate the areas that look dead. You might want to apply it outside the brown areas some, in case brown patch has started to spread there, but not showing any symptons yet.
Write again if this doesn't work, and we will figure out what it is.
You might take  a little soil with the problem grass on it to a nurseryman and see what they think.
Usualy, when it is brown patch,. you grab some of the grass, and it comes up very easily, with little or no roots attacj]hed, and I think it is also a bit slimy.
It has been a long tiome since I have seen any of it.
With an organic oprogran, it is a healthy enviornment for lawn critters., like toads, grass snakes, and lizards etc. the eat all the bad bugs.
For every harmful insect that you will get in your lwan, there are hundreds of beneficial ones that feed on the harmful ones. when you use chemicals, you kill the beneficial ones as well as the harmful ones. with all the beneficial ones dead, the harmful ones get a good toe hold.
Charlotte