Ornamental and Turf Pest Control
Ornamental and turf pest control covers lawns, golf courses, sports fields, nurseries, greenhouses, and landscape plantings. The exam tests turfgrass and ornamental pest diagnosis, phytotoxicity, application calibration, pollinator protection, runoff, and reentry.
Core rules
- Diagnose before treating: mowing injury, drought, thatch, compaction, nutrient deficiency, and herbicide injury mimic disease.
- Turf herbicides differ by grass species and growth stage; some are safe on cool-season turf but not on fine fescue or newly seeded areas.
- Ornamental labels may restrict use by plant type, bloom stage, or application method; test phytotoxicity on a small area when the label permits.
- Protect pollinators: avoid bloom applications, drift, and dust; follow label bee warnings.
- Prevent runoff into storm drains and water by respecting setbacks, avoiding overspray, and not applying before rain.
- Calibrate spreaders and sprayers; granular and liquid rates are not interchangeable.
Worked example
A lawn is 10,000 square feet. Label rate is 0.5 lb active ingredient per 1,000 square feet, and the product is 50 percent active ingredient. Active needed is 0.5 times 10 = 5 lb. Product needed is 5 divided by 0.50 = 10 lb. Reasoning: convert area to thousands, multiply the label rate, then divide by product concentration to get formulated product. Weigh spreader output before treating the whole lawn.
Traps
- Treating visible symptoms without checking roots, thatch, and soil moisture.
- Using a turf herbicide on an ornamental bed or vice versa.
- Applying during bloom or allowing drift to flowering weeds.
- Confusing product weight with active ingredient weight.