Easy Fixes for Common Lawn Problems

Your lawn is more than just a patch of grass — it’s part of your home. You want to enjoy it as much as possible and provide a personal oasis for you and your family. To get there, you may need to face down a few common lawn problems like thin grass, bare or brown spots, grubs, weeds, crabgrass, or yellow stripes in your grass. Don't sweat it. Chances are, there's an easy fix.

How to Fix 7 Common Lawn Problems

1. My grass is thin.

Harsh weather, games of tag, roughhousing with the dog—these kinds of everyday events can eventually lead to thinning grass. Looks like it's time to overseed with Scotts® Turf Builder® Thick'R Lawn™, which delivers just the right combination needed to thicken up your lawn: grass seed, fertilizer, and soil improver. Mow your lawn at the lowest setting, rake it clean, then add the product to your spreader and apply according to the directions on the label. Water daily for about 2 weeks, then resume mowing when your grass is at the right mowing height, which will depend on your grass type. Check out How to Overseed a Thin Lawn for more info.

Need a spreader? The easy-to-use Scotts® Whirl™ Hand-Powered Spreader is ideal for small lawns, while the Scotts® Elite Spreader is an excellent choice for large yards.

2. My lawn has bare spots.

If, on the other hand, your grass is in generally good condition but has a few bare spots, you'll want to take a different approach. You can get those areas growing again with Scotts® EZ Seed® Patch & Repair.

EZ Seed® has a unique combination of Scotts® high performance seed, premium continuous release lawn food, and super-absorbent growing material. You loosen the soil with a rake, spread the seeds according to the package directions, and water daily until new grass seedlings are 2" tall (then you can treat it like the rest of your lawn).

3. There are ugly brown spots on my lawn.

Okay, to be honest, this one's a little more complicated, because there are several things that could be causing the spots. Possible culprits range from grubs or fungus to foot traffic, weed dieback, and dog urine. So, before you grab a product and start spreading or spraying to fix patches in your grass, it's important to identify what the problem is.

• If critters like raccoons and skunks have begun digging in your yard, or the dead patches of grass lift up like loose carpet, chances are you have grubs. Check out section 4 below to find out what to do.
• Dead patches caused by dog urine tend to have brown centers with green outer rings. Get rid of them with Scotts® EZ Seed® Dog Spot Repair Sun and Shade (or Scotts® EZ Seed® Dog Repair Tall Fescue Lawns, if you have tall fescue grass).
• Fungus can take many different appearances in lawns, but most fungi and diseases tends to cause irregular patches of yellow or straw-colored grass that can range in size and shape. To fight back, apply Scotts® DiseaseEx™ Lawn Fungicide to control a variety of fungal diseases for up to 4 weeks. We also recommend Scotts® Turf Builder® Healthy Plus Lawn Food, a 2-in-1 fungicide and fertilizer that prevents and controls 27 listed diseases. Be sure to follow label directions whenever applying fungicide or fertilizer to your lawn.
• For brown spots caused by foot traffic or areas of dead weeds, a product like Scotts® EZ Seed® Patch & Repair will do the trick.

4. I think there are grubs in my lawn.

If you've spotted more than a few fat, C-shaped grubs in your soil when digging, you'll need to take action. Here's the lifecycle: Beetles emerge in early summer, feed on plants, then lay eggs in the soil. The eggs hatch in late summer as grubs, and then go to town eating plant and grass roots. The best way to stop this cycle is to treat the lawn before the grubs hatch. This means applying Scotts® GrubEx® in spring or early summer. Simply set and fill your spreader and apply it to a dry lawn, following the directions on the label, then water to activate the product. To learn more about controlling grubs in your lawn, check out How to Get Rid of Grubs in Your Lawn.

5. The weeds are out of control.

From dollarweed and dandelions to oxalis, crabgrass, creeping Charlie, and more, weeds are the bane of any self-respecting lawn caretaker. If you've got a particular problem with crabgrass, refer to the next section, but for all other weed problems, here's what you need to know. You can help avoid the issue in the first place by maintaining the overall health of your grass. To do that, follow these mowing tips, give your lawn just the right amount of water, and fertilize your grass regularly. If weed problems show up anyway, use Scotts® Turf Builder® Weed & Feed5* to feed grass while controlling weeds.

6. I've got crabgrass in my lawn.

There's no argument about it: Crabgrass is a troublemaker. The best way to treat it is to keep it from appearing in the first place. Use Scotts® Turf Builder® Halts Crabgrass Preventer with Lawn Food* in early spring to stop crabgrass from sprouting and protect your lawn all season long. This weed and feed product also fertilizes your lawn for strong, lush grass growth. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to seed a new lawn after using this crabgrass preventer, so plans for a new lawn may need to wait. 

7. There are stripes of yellow grass in my lawn.

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but stripes of yellow grass means you've probably applied your fertilizer incorrectly. (Don't worry—it happens to the best of us.) When you walk back and forth with your spreader, be sure to slightly overlap each pass to ensure full coverage. Strips of grass that don't receive fertilizer can appear yellow in contrast to all of the lush, new, green grass growth next to it. So, you'll just need to tune up your application technique to make sure all of your lawn is green and growing.

A happy lawn doesn't have to require tons of work. Take care of your lawn the best you can, identify problems before they get out of hand, and apply one of these easy fixes when you need to. The result? A lush green oasis you're going to love spending time in.

*Don't use either of these products if you're planning to seed, or you've just recently seeded, your lawn