I have an infestation

The first picture looks a little bit like an earwig. Dont know if those are harmful or not.

If that’s all that came up you’re far from having an infestation of anything!
What symptoms are you seeing that made you do this soap test anyhow?

Earwigs eat aphids, mites, etc.

Are we sure its an Earwig?

corneliani said:

If that’s all that came up you’re far from having an infestation of anything!
What symptoms are you seeing that made you do this soap test anyhow?

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I have some spots that are struggling to fill in. I also have some spots that were good and have since gotten very weak. The area that has died off had nothing come up. Areas that are filling in, but very slowly had these come up.

I sprayed Bifen yesterday and watered it in. I will put down Imidocloprid tomorrow, and just ordered some Acelepryn

You should not water in bifen if targeting cutworms. Best to let it dry on the leaves and used as a contact insecticide. From the label:

“Notes
1Armyworms, Cutworms, and Sod Webworms: Postpone irrigation or mowing for 24 hours after application to obtain the best possible control. Higher treatment rates (up to 1 fluid oz. per 1000 square feet) may be necessary if high pest pressure exists and if the grass is maintained taller than 1 inch.
“
Also, Imidicloprid provides cutworm suppression. (no control for army worms or sod webworms).

Acelepyrn will work great for all 3.

And now of course, I am addicted to the soapy water test. Watching them come up and wriggle and die gives me some form of perverse pleasure.

Ok, so Earwigs good, Cutworms bad.

Anyway while I wait for my Acelepryn to arrive, I put down some Imidacloprid yesterday and left it on the grass for about 2hours before I watered it in. Hopefully it gets all absorbed in. Although I have noticed that bird activity has increased since I put down the Imidacloprid which I dont think makes sense but whatever. I gave the grass a good soak so I wont have to water for a few days.

So I plan on putting down Bifen this evening and leave that on the grass for at least 2 days before watering.

Has anybody tried using Neem oil or insecticidal soap? I am ready to throw whatever it takes to end this.

Watering will drive insects to surface and putting down pesticides stir them up.

Ever notice when you apply and insecticide around your house you see more insects in your house right after? Then they die.

Well if they are agitated let me finish them off. Put down a heavy dose of Bifen with NIS. Let’s see what bird activity is like tomorrow.