What's Wrong With My Yard?

Yellow grass usually means it’s missing nutrients like nitrogen or iron. Overwatering and mowing too short can also drain the color.

Our 8-round lawn care program feeds your grass on a schedule built for Texas lawns, so it gets what it needs all season.

Brown patches can come from drought stress, insects like chinch bugs or grubs, or a lawn fungus. Insect damage often starts in hot, sunny parts of the yard.

Grub and chinch bug control are included in our 8-round program, along with regular feeding to help grass recover. If a fungus is to blame, see the lawn disease section below.

Pale grass is often underfed, or the soil is packed so tight that roots can’t take in nutrients.

Fertilization gives your lawn what it’s missing, and aeration opens up the soil so those nutrients actually reach the roots.

Dead spots are commonly caused by dog urine, grubs feeding on roots, chinch bugs, or root rot. If the grass pulls up easily, grubs are a likely cause.

Grub and chinch bug control are part of our 8-round program. For pet spots, regular feeding helps the surrounding grass fill back in.

Frayed, discolored tips usually mean dull mower blades are tearing the grass instead of cutting it cleanly.

Professional mowing with a clean cut at the right height keeps grass tips healthy.

If water runs off instead of soaking in, compacted soil may be the problem. Chinch bugs can also cause brown areas that don’t respond to watering.

Aeration helps water reach the roots, and chinch bug control is included in our 8-round program.

Thin grass usually comes from a mix of compacted soil, poor nutrition, and mowing too short.

Aeration and fertilization work together to build thicker turf, and mowing at the right height protects new growth.

Most Texas lawn grasses need several hours of sun a day. In heavy shade, even healthy grass thins out over time.

Regular feeding and proper mowing height give shady grass its best chance. Where grass just won’t hold, a mulched bed can be a cleaner option.

Grass under trees competes for sunlight, water, and nutrients, and tree roots usually win.

Regular feeding helps grass compete. Where it can’t, mulching around the tree gives you a clean, low-maintenance look.

Bare spots often form in high-traffic areas where soil gets packed too hard for grass to spread.

Aeration loosens compacted soil, and fertilization helps nearby grass spread into bare areas.

Cutting grass too short, also called scalping, stresses the lawn and can leave it brown or thin.

Professional mowing at the proper height for your grass type prevents scalping.

Weeds move into open space. When grass is thin or stressed, weeds fill in the gaps.

Weed control treats what’s there, while fertilization and proper mowing build thicker grass that crowds weeds out.

Weeds like nutsedge and dallisgrass grow faster than your lawn and stick up a few days after mowing. Nutsedge often shows up in wet or compacted areas.

Weed control is part of our 8-round program, and aeration helps with the compacted, soggy conditions nutsedge likes.

Crabgrass sprouts in spring and summer in thin or stressed spots, then spreads quickly.

Weed control in our 8-round program helps stop crabgrass, and thicker turf leaves it less room to grow.

Clover and henbit, a small weed with purple flowers, show up in cooler months, often in lawns that are low on nitrogen.

Seasonal weed control and regular feeding address both the weeds and the conditions they like.

Grassburs produce sharp, spiky burrs and thrive in thin, stressed, or sandy areas.

Weed control reduces grassburs, and a thicker lawn makes it harder for them to take hold.

Pulling or spot-spraying weeds doesn’t fix the thin grass that let them in, so new weeds keep finding the same open space.

Our 8-round program pairs weed control with regular feeding to treat the weeds and the reason they keep returning.

Compacted soil, especially Texas clay, can be so tight that water runs off before it soaks in.

Aeration opens up the soil so water can reach the roots instead of running into the street.

Poor drainage, compacted soil, or overwatering can leave water sitting on the surface.

Aeration helps water move down into the soil. Standing water that never goes away may point to a drainage issue, which is outside our lawn services.

Clay soil plus foot traffic, pets, and mowing packs soil down over time.

Aeration relieves compaction so air, water, and nutrients can get back into the soil.

Mushrooms usually pop up after rain or heavy watering and feed on decaying organic matter in the soil, like old roots or wood. They’re generally harmless to your lawn.

They typically disappear as the soil dries out. Watering less often but more deeply can help. Remove them if you have pets or small children.

A thick layer of thatch, the dead stems and roots between the grass and soil, can make a lawn feel spongy and block water and nutrients.

Core aeration helps break up thatch and gets water and nutrients back to the roots.

Grubs feed on grass roots. Once the roots are gone, the grass lifts up easily and often turns brown.

Grub control is included in our 8-round lawn care program.

Fire ants build mounds in sunny, open areas and can sting kids and pets.

Fire ant control is included in our 8-round lawn care program.

Chinch bugs are a common St. Augustine pest in Texas. They hit hot, sunny areas first, leaving yellow patches that turn brown and spread.

Chinch bug control is included in our 8-round lawn care program.

Fleas and ticks can live in your lawn and hitch a ride on pets that play outside.

Flea and tick control is part of our 8-round lawn care program, helping reduce them in your yard.

Brown or yellow rings are often caused by brown patch or large patch, fungal diseases that show up in warm-season lawns during cool, wet weather in spring and fall.

Water early in the morning, avoid overwatering, and don’t overdo nitrogen in the fall.

Take-all root rot is a fungus that attacks grass roots, leaving irregular yellow to brown patches, often after wet weather.

Avoid overwatering and improve drainage where you can. Your local Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office can help confirm the cause.

Gray leaf spot causes small gray or brown spots with dark borders on St. Augustine blades, mostly in hot, humid weather.

Avoid watering in the evening and go easy on nitrogen during summer.

Overgrown shrubs, weedy flower beds, and faded mulch can make a freshly mowed lawn still look unfinished.

Our landscape maintenance services cover shrub trimming, flower bed cleaning, and mulching.

Leaves left on the lawn block sunlight and trap moisture, which can smother the grass underneath.

Our leaf removal service clears leaves and debris and hauls everything away.

Weeds and old, thinning mulch are the most common reasons beds look tired.

Flower bed cleaning and fresh mulch bring beds back to a clean, cared-for look.

During peak growing season, most Texas lawns need mowing about once a week. Growth slows down in the cooler months.

Our mowing service keeps your lawn on a regular schedule so it never gets overgrown.