When the Heat Rises, So Do the Pests: Why Summer in North Texas Wreaks Havoc on Your Landscape
When the Heat Rises, So Do the Pests: Why Summer in North Texas Wreaks Havoc on Your Landscape
North Texas summers are intense. As temperatures soar and rainfall drops, your lawn and landscape aren’t the only ones under stress; pest populations explode, often catching even the most attentive homeowners off guard.
At Urban Garden Solutions (UGS), we’ve seen a dramatic uptick in spider mites, lace bugs, and chinch bugs in DFW. These aren’t your average pests. They’re tiny, destructive, and difficult to control—especially when heat and drought kick in.
👇 Here’s Why These Pests Are Such a Problem in the Summer:
🕷️ Spider Mites
Microscopic & Reproduce Fast – A single female can lay hundreds of eggs in just days.
Love Heat & Drought – Dry, dusty conditions (common in Texas summers) give them the upper hand.
Hard to Kill – Many sprays only target specific life stages, and resistance is becoming more common.
Spread Easily – Wind, tools, even your clothes can move them to healthy plants.
🪲 Lace Bugs
Sneaky Feeders – They feed from the underside of leaves, so damage often goes unnoticed until it’s widespread.
Multiple Generations – Hot weather lets them reproduce rapidly, causing wave after wave of damage.
Spray-Protected – Their underside feeding makes many over-the-top treatments ineffective.
Stick Around into Fall – Just because the calendar says summer is ending doesn’t mean they’re done.
🌱 Chinch Bugs
Mimic Drought Stress – Their damage looks like dry grass, delaying treatment until the turf is dead.
Love the Sun – They thrive in hot, open areas, especially in St. Augustine lawns.
Small & Stealthy – They’re hard to see and often go undetected until significant damage occurs.
Watering won’t help – These pests damage plants by injecting toxins, and no amount of irrigation will reverse it.
💡 Why You Need Targeted Treatment, Not Just a Spray
A DIY approach or generalized pest control treatment just doesn’t cut it with these insects. Most homeowners (and even some landscapers) treat the symptoms, not the source. That’s where we come in.
At Urban Garden Solutions, our team of certified arborists and licensed commercial applicators:
Identify the pest accurately
Select the appropriate product for the pest and its specific life stage.
Time treatments correctly to break reproduction cycles.
Use soil and plant health programs to reduce long-term susceptibility.
✅ Ready for Summer Protection?
If you’ve noticed stippling on leaves, brown spots in your lawn, or early leaf drop, it’s time to act before it spreads.
