If you happen to be a historian, you're aware that carefully studying and understanding the enemy have won many major battles. Knowing what to expect and when to expect it are the basic rules of warfare. This knowledge helps overcome vast numbers and superior weapons.

Fire ants are spreading throughout the South.

In the world of turfgrass pest management, this same philosophy holds true. Knowing your pest problems, what to expect and when to expect them are critical to success and victory. This is more important than ever with today's new materials.

First, we must realize that much has changed in the turfgrass pest management over the past 25 years, including the pests, the turfgrasses and the products to combat the pests. Expectations and management of turfgrass have also changed dramatically. And as management and demands for turf quality have changed, so have the pest problems we face.

Billbugs are problems in numerous locations.

In many parts of the country, sod webworms used to be a major problem. But they haven't been a problem in many of those same areas for 20 years. And most people never heard of hunting billbugs in warm-season turfgrass 20 years ago. Today, billbugs have been a significant problem in numerous locations.

In some cases, the increased demands on turf quality have brought about pest problems. Modest damage that went unnoticed 20 years ago may now be viewed as a problem in light of current higher expectations. In some instances, a new pest has not emerged, but rather a demand for higher quality created a new problem.

Mole crickets are moving into new areas of the Southeast. (PHOTOS COURTESY: DUPONT, THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY; VW&R)

In other cases, new pest problems have emerged. Most obvious is the spread of fire ants throughout the South and the continued movement of mole crickets in the Southeast.

New pest problems have occurred for other reasons as well. Some of our newer pest problems are the result of us simply offering them a better meal. We are growing higher quality turfgrass under more irrigation with more fertilization than ever. This creates a great environment for some pests and has most likely contributed to the emergence of more serious problems with billbugs, fall armyworms and other insect pests, not to mention disease problems.

If we create a lush, green food with plenty of organic matter and lots of moisture, we will increase insect problems.

There's another side to this idea of more insect pests than ever and that relates to changes in the insecticides. Years ago, we relied fairly heavily upon broad-spectrum insecticides in the organophosphate and carbamate classes. Through the years, many of these have been moved out of the marketplace for myriad reasons.

Replacing these older chemistries has been a wide range of newer products that are really great additions to our arsenal for battling insect problems. They typically have lower mammalian, bird and fish toxicity, lower use rates and are considered more environmentally friendly. They're typically very effective against the target pest when properly timed and applied.

The reality of today's modern products is they're very good at controlling the pests at which they're directed. Another reality is that, in general, today's new insecticides are more narrow in spectrum, require a good job of being properly timed for application and ask us to have a fairly good understanding of the insect's lifecycle.