The lawn should be moist at the time of treatment. Water in the pesticide lightly, with about inch of water, or as directed on the label, to flush it into the soil where the grubs are feeding. My yard has lots of shade, and my lawn is St. Augustine floratam grass. The grass is dead in patches, and I would like to know if I could reseed these shady areas with some other grass. A better plan would be to plant ground cover in these areas, or a combination of ground cover, mulch and beds of shade-loving plants such as impatiens and ferns.
Good ground covers for shade include mondo grass, ivy and dwarf confederate jasmine.
Ajuga does well in light shade or part sun. Camille Hunter is a master gardener with the Duval County Agricultural Extension Service. She or another master gardener is in the Times-Union newsroom from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays to answer questions from readers. Enter words describing a concept or keywords.