FAQs: August Lawn Care in Houston

August Lawn Care in Houston: Pests, Fungus, Watering & Mowing Tips from Houston Grass

Late August in Houston means we’ve survived another brutal summer… but the heat and humidity aren’t done yet. In this August 2025 episode of the Houston Grass Podcast, Michael Romine walks through what he’s seeing in customers’ lawns right now and what you should be doing to keep your grass healthy heading into fall.

Below is a recap of the episode, expanded into a practical guide you can use all over the Houston area.

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What Late August Weather Means for Your Lawn

Scattered Rainfall Makes Irrigation Tricky

This summer has brought more regular rainfall than usual in many areas, which has kept things a little cooler and greener than some past years. But the rain has been very spotty. One yard might get two inches while a yard 15 miles away stays bone dry.

That means you can’t just follow a calendar schedule for watering. You need to:

• Watch the actual rain your yard gets
• Turn your irrigation off after a good soaking
• Turn it back on when your soil starts to dry out

If you don’t have a rain sensor on your irrigation system, you’ll have to keep an eye on the weather and your lawn.

Heat + Humidity = Perfect Conditions for Fungus

Warm nights, high humidity, and wet soil are exactly what lawn fungi love. In August around Houston, Michael sees a lot of:

• Gray leaf spot
• Summer patch
• The early setup for brown patch in a few weeks

If your yard stays wet, especially in shady or low spots, fungus pressure will stay high.

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Summer Lawn Diseases to Watch for in Houston

Gray Leaf Spot

Gray leaf spot is just part of life in a Houston summer, especially on St. Augustine lawns. You’ll often see:

• Small gray or tan lesions on the blades
• Thinning or weak-looking patches
• Worse symptoms in areas that stay damp

Back off the water in those areas if you can. Fungus loves constant moisture.

Summer Patch

Summer patch is in the same fungus family as the brown patch you see in spring and fall, but it behaves a little differently:

• It doesn’t usually form the neat, round circles you see with brown patch
• It just makes the grass look thin, sick, and patchy
• It’s more common when you have heat + humidity + rainfall together

Again, backing off the irrigation where possible helps a lot.

The Best Fungicide Michael Recommends: Heritage G

For gray leaf spot, summer patch, and brown patch, Michael’s go-to fungicide is Heritage G:

• Sold in 30-pound bags
• Roughly $110 per bag (subject to change, call for current pricing)
• One bag covers:
  • 15,000 sq. ft. at the preventive rate
  • 7,500 sq. ft. at the curative rate

Customers have had excellent results with a couple of treatments. It’s not cheap, but it’s very effective and covers a lot of lawn.

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Insect Problems in Late Summer: Chinch Bugs, Grubs & Sod Webworms

Chinch Bugs: The Classic Drought-Stress Pest

Chinch bugs are one of the biggest late-summer problems in St. Augustine lawns around Houston.

They love drought-stressed grass. They will:

• Avoid the neighbor’s lush, well-watered lawn
• Move into the weak, dry sections of yours
• Kill the grass fast if you don’t catch them early

How to Tell If It’s Chinch Bugs

Signs and tests Michael recommends:

• Grass looks dried out and crispy in patches even when you’re watering
• On your hands and knees, dig into the thatch and look for tiny bugs
• Adult chinch bugs have a white X across their back where their wings fold

You can also:

• Push a can (open on both ends) into the soil
• Fill it with soapy water
• Wait and watch – chinch bugs will float to the surface if they’re there

Treating Chinch Bugs

Michael likes Cyonara in a hose-end sprayer:

1. Stretch the hose all the way out into the yard
2. Start in the back and walk backwards, spraying side to side so you’re not walking through the chemical
3. Treat the whole yard, not just the dead spots
4. Repeat in 4–5 days to catch newly hatched bugs
5. A third treatment might be needed in bad cases

Granular insecticides work, but the liquid forms tend to act faster.

Be prepared: badly damaged areas will likely die out. You’ll often need to:

• Scrape off the dead area
• Replace it with fresh sod
• Or weeds and Bermuda grass will fill in instead

Grubs: When the Lawn Feels Spongy

Michael’s also hearing more calls that sound like grub damage:

• The lawn looks terrible
• It feels spongy when you walk on it
• The roots have been eaten right down at the base
• You can often peel the grass back like carpet because the grubs have cleaned out the roots

That’s a very different feel from chinch bug damage, even though both kill grass.

Sod Webworms: Attacking Otherwise Healthy Grass

Interestingly, Michael notes that in 2025, sod webworm calls have been low, but they’re always something to watch for in late summer.

Signs of Sod Webworms

Look for:

• Brown moths flying up out of the grass when you walk through the yard early in the morning
• Small areas, maybe the size of the bottom of a soccer ball, that look like they were scalped
• Grass tips that look shredded and jagged, like a weed eater chewed them instead of a mower blade cutting them

The adult moths lay eggs. The eggs hatch into small green worms (larvae), and those worms:

• Come up at night to eat the grass
• Drag the blades back down into their tunnels during the day

Treating Sod Webworms

Treatment is similar to chinch bugs:

• Spray the yard with Cyonara
• Repeat in 4–5 days
• A third treatment may be needed

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Watering New Sod in the Houston Summer

Watering brand-new grass is basically the same year-round in our area. The heat just makes it more urgent.

Day 1: Flood It In

On the first day after installation, you need to flood that new sod:

• Target: 2 inches of water that first day
• With a hose and sprinkler, that usually means 8–10 hours of watering to get to 2 inches

The best way to know you’re hitting those numbers is to:

• Put a few rain gauges (or tuna cans) around the yard
• Run your sprinkler or irrigation
• Check how much water actually lands on the grass

Weeks 1–2: Daily Soakings

For summer installs:

• Water every day for two weeks
• Aim for about 1 inch of water each day
  • With a hose and sprinkler, that’s roughly 4 hours per day
  • Irrigation systems may need less time, depending on output

Use your rain gauges to dial in the runtime. Don’t guess.

Week 3: Check Rooting and Start Backing Off

By the third week:

• Try to pick up a corner of the sod
• If it doesn’t move, it’s rooted in

Once it’s rooted:

• Slowly reduce how often you water
• Move the lawn toward the “established grass” schedule below

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Watering Established Lawns in Late Summer

For established St. Augustine, Zoysia, and Bermuda lawns in the Houston area:

• The target is about 1 inch of water per week
• That 1 inch is rain + irrigation combined

Michael’s personal pattern this summer:

• Normally: 2 days per week of watering
• During longer dry stretches (10 days without rain): 3 days per week
• Mostly to keep his flower beds happy; many lawns can still do well with two half-inch waterings if coverage is good and rain is helping out

If your irrigation system has excellent coverage, you can often do:

• Two ½-inch waterings per week on the grass

Again, rain gauges are your friend. They tell you exactly what’s going on.

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Mowing Tips for August in Houston

Keep Your Mower Blades Sharp

After mowing, look closely at the grass blades:

• If the cut is clean across the top, your blades are sharp
• If the tips look jagged or shredded, your blades are dull

Dull blades:

• Stress the grass
• Make it more susceptible to disease
• Cause those brown, burnt-looking tips a couple of days after mowing

Raise Your Mowing Height in Summer

By late May or June, and especially by August, your mowing height should be:

• Around 4 inches for St. Augustine and most home lawns

Taller grass:

• Collects more sunlight
• Shades the soil
• Helps hold moisture in the dirt
• Generally keeps the lawn healthier in extreme heat

There’s nothing wrong with a slightly taller lawn in summer. It’s better for the grass.

Mow Once a Week (Not Every Two Weeks)

Frequency is huge:

• You should be mowing once a week during the growing season
• If you wait two weeks, you’ll cut way more than one-third of the leaf blade off

For example:

• At 4 inches tall, you shouldn’t cut off more than about 1⅓ inches
• Waiting two weeks often means cutting the grass in half – that’s very stressful

Water the Morning After You Mow

Mowing is a stress event for your lawn, no matter what. If you can:

• Set your irrigation to run the morning after mowing
• Or drag out the sprinkler that next morning

That follow-up watering really helps the grass bounce back, especially when it’s hot and dry.

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Choosing the Right Grass for Your Houston Yard

At Houston Grass, all the sod comes from Michael’s family farm, where they’ve been growing grass since 1981. They focus on varieties that thrive in our heat, humidity, and soil.

Here’s what Michael highlights in the podcast:

St. Augustine for Most Houston Lawns

St. Augustine is the main seller and the best fit for many Houston-area yards.

• Have shade?
  • Try Cobalt or Palmetto St. Augustine for better shade tolerance

Bermuda for Full Sun and a “Golf Course” Look

If you have no shade and want a tighter, finer-textured lawn:

• A Bermuda variety gives you that golf-course style look
• It needs full sun and regular mowing, but it can be beautiful in the right setting

Zoysia for a Different Look and Great Performance

If you want something that:

• Looks a little different
• Feels great underfoot
• Also thrives in our climate

Then Zoysia can be a terrific choice.

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Yes, You Can Install Sod Year-Round in Houston

A lot of people think sod season ends when the weather cools off. Michael makes it clear:

• Houston Grass sells sod 12 months out of the year
• Just because the grass goes brown or dormant after the first frost doesn’t mean you can’t plant it

This is their full-time business, not a side gig. If you need grass, they’re there year-round to help pick the right variety and get it installed.

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Getting Ready for Fall: Brown Patch & Fall Special Fertilizer

Late August is the time to start thinking about early fall lawn care.

Nitro-Phos Fall Special Fertilizer

In late September, Michael will be talking more about Nitro-Phos Fall Special (the brown bag):

• Prime timing: mid to late September
• Designed to help your grass harden off for winter and recover from summer

Preventing Brown Patch with Heritage G

If the rainy pattern continues and the nights start to cool, brown patch will be a big topic.

Michael recommends:

• A preventive Heritage G treatment in mid to late September
• A second treatment about three weeks later

At minimum, treat the low areas or spots where you know brown patch shows up every year.

Brown patch doesn’t usually kill the grass outright, but it scars it. Once the grass stops growing in late fall, you’ll stare at those ugly yellow and brown rings all winter. Preventing it is a much better plan.

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Need Help with Your Houston Lawn? Call Houston Grass

Michael and the team at Houston Grass are:

• Open Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Open Fridays until at least 2 p.m. (they often sell out of grass on hot Fridays because they can’t carry sod through the weekend)

They’re happy to:

• Answer questions about pests, watering, and mowing
• Help you choose between St. Augustine, Bermuda, and Zoysia
• Supply top-quality sod grown on their family farm

If your lawn is struggling with chinch bugs, fungus, or just the heat, don’t put it on cruise control. Catch problems early and give them a call – it’s almost always cheaper to fix a small problem than to resod half the yard later.

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