DEAR JOAN: In the past year, as I walk my dogs through nearby central San Jose and Rose Garden neighborhoods, I’ve noticed an increasing number of previously lush lawns that are being subjected to severe abuse, apparently by some kind of nocturnal wildlife.
I have to admit to a little bit of satisfaction at the sight of these previously perfect grass patches, dug up and shredded, with mud and turf flung all over the yards and sidewalks. It always seems to be the lawns that are the greenest and most heavily watered that are suffering all the damage.
What animal is doing this? I assumed possums, but a neighbor reports that crows have been seen committing these lawn crimes. What are the marauding animals after — grubs and worms? And are these over-watered lawns being targeted because the abundance of moisture leads to an abundance of fat, happy bugs for the marauders to eat? I notice that all of the browner lawns in the area are untouched. Is the fix for these homeowners as simple as cutting back on their daily watering?
I say that this grassy carnage gives me a little bit of satisfaction because, in the middle of our 500-year drought, overwatering shows a fundamental disregard for our water-starved state and local communities. Of course it’s judgmental, but it seems like just deserts to me.
Tony Marek, San Jose
DEAR TONY: There are a number of animals that damage lawns. Opossums, however, aren’t to blame.
Skunks and foxes do some damage, usually digging shallow holes or creating lawn divots. Raccoons are responsible for most of the destruction, tearing up swathes of lawn and rolling up new sod.
The biggest lawn destroyers are wild boars, which thankfully are scarce in most neighborhoods. They are living rototillers.
While it’s true that the lawn disturbers are digging for grubs, and that many people over-water their lawns, not everyone who has lawn damage is guilty of that indulgence. Healthy, well-managed lawns have fewer grubs, but beetles will burrow into any expanse to lay their eggs.
Let’s not be too harsh on lawns, either. They reduce the carbon footprint, help clean the air, filter toxins from rain water, and help reduce temperatures.
DEAR JOAN: In addition to black widow spiders, don’t we have to worry about the brown recluse spider?
Jerry, San Jose
DEAR JERRY: Not as long as you stay in California. We don’t have brown recluse spiders here, but even if we did, they are not as deadly as their reputation asserts.
California is home to four native recluse spiders that primarily live — in small numbers — in Southern California. Some brown recluse spiders have been found in the state, most likely arriving in shipments of other things, but they’ve never been able to establish themselves here.
The bite can be painful, and in about 10 percent of the cases result in treatable skin lesions. Most produce only a mild irritation. Your chances of encountering even a native recluse spider are extremely rare. They call them reclusive for a reason.
Contact Joan Morris at [email protected].
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