What's eating my side oats grama?

Side Oats Grama is a tough North American prairie grass with few serious insect pests. Grasshoppers are the principal threat in dry years, stripping foliage completely. Billbug larvae chew roots and crowns, causing dead patches, and sod webworm caterpillars skeletonise leaf blades. Its drought-adapted constitution means it recovers well once pest pressure eases.

Leaves stripped or chewed to stubs during summer drought years; large infestations can defoliate entire stands Apply Nosema locustae (grasshopper bait) for organic control over large areas; in gardens, remove egg-laying bare soil patches; encourage birds

Crown and root tissue hollowed out; individual tufts turn brown and pull easily from the soil; dead patches spread slowly Apply beneficial nematodes (Steinernema carpocapsae) to moist soil in late spring when larvae are active; remove and destroy affected crowns

Leaf blades skeletonised or eaten from the edges; fine silken tubes at the base of the plant; brown patches in summer Apply Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in the evening when caterpillars are feeding; encourage parasitic wasps; avoid over-watering which worsens damage