Sting nematodes may affect warm season grasses and bentgrass. The cell contents are then sucked out by the nematode through the stylet. Damaged roots may be more susceptible to other plant diseases. Affected plants are usually stunted, wilt in hot weather, develop nutrient deficiencies, respond poorly to fertilizers and may die during prolonged droughts. Damage is usually more severe in sandy soils and less severe in heavy clay soils.
Many nematodes are beneficial to the balance of nature in the soil ecosystem.
Of the several hundred nematodes that feed on plants, relatively few damage turf grasses in the southeastern United States. Two of the most important nematode pests of turf, the sting and the stubby-root nematodes, feed externally on the outer surface of turf roots. The larval rootknot nematode penetrates into the root and causes a very small gall to form around it. As the rootknot nematode grows, its gall on the grass root grows also. Female rootknot nematodes never leave the galls, but lay their eggs in a jelly which is usually outside the root.