How 2025 Weather Has Affected Lawn Health & Pest Activity

Last year's prolonged drought severely weakened root systems across Maryland. Many lawns never fully recovered over winter, leading to: 

• Thinner turf coverage
• Reduced root development and depth
• Increased thatch accumulation, prone to water retention issues
• Reduced resistance to pest and disease 

Why that matters: Grass that entered spring already stressed is now struggling to keep up with excessive rain, humidity, and fungal pressure. 

A Wet, Warm Spring = Fungal Boom

May and June 2025 brought record rainfall and higher-than-normal temperatures. These warm, wet conditions have created perfect conditions for turf disease, especially in lawns with poor drainage or compacted soil. 

Infected lawns are now showing signs like: 

• Tan or brown lesions on blades 
• Straw-colored patches forming across the yard 
• A "melting" appearance in humid areas 

What That Looks Like in Your Lawn

This lawn in Annapolis started the season with a strong green-up - but by mid-June, Brown Patch disease had set in. You can see the irregular patches spreading from the center of the slope, where water runoff and heat combine. 

High humidity and moist soil = playground for pest: 

• Mosquitoes are breeding rapidly in standing water from recent storms. 
• Ticks are thriving in shaded, overgrown edges. 
• Grubs and chinch bugs are active in many lawns with prior drought stress. 
• Spotted Lantern Fly are thriving due to the lush plant growth from to the wet spring, and the warm humid summer has been ideal for fast development of nymphs. 
• Ant colonies are often pushed indoors as they search for drier places to move their nests following rainfall. 
• With other insect populations rising predatory insects like Bald-faced hornets and yellow jackets have also been extremely active and also take advantage of the hot humid summer for rapid colony growth

This all adds up to a stronger insect populations both in the lawn and around homes. 

What D&D Lawn and Pest is Doing to Protect Lawns 

At D&D Lawn and Pest, we tailor our Turf Care, Pest control and Plant Healthcare program to the current weather conditions. This year, we're focused on: 

Lawn Treatments: 

• Disease Control applications based on real-time pressure 
• Soil amendments to improve drainage and root health
• Fall aeration and seeding to recover lost turf density 
• Grub Control applications to help reduce grub population

Pest Control: 

• Mosquito, Flea and Tick treatments to help reduce the population of these disease carrying vectors
• Spotted Lantern Fly reduction program to help knock down the population of the invasive insects and help protect our native plants 
• Home Pest Control to help keep your home free of unwanted invaders 

If your lawn is struggling - it's not your fault. The combination of the drought in 2024 and 2025's extreme weather has put even healthy lawns at risk. 

We recommend a mid-summer lawn evaluation so we can assess disease and pest rick - and develop a plan to rebuild turf strength heading into fall. 

Call D&D Lawn and Pest today at (301) 337-4884 or contact us online to schedule your free assessment. 

Let's protect your lawn and restore its health - despite everything nature throws at it.