Need help with my new lawn

[vikrant]

Hi Everyone,

I have just bought my first house here in Oshawa Canada and I am looking to get some help in turning around a very tiny lawn in the backyard of my townhouse which is currently in a very neglected state. I do not have any experience in gardening and lawn maintenance so I would need your help. The first thing I want to tackle is pest infestation in the lawn. There are these yellow patches of dead grass which look like pieces of dead turf thrown on top of the soil. I can literally lift them with my hands but there are some very nasty bugs underneath. I have already bought some Harris Diatomaceous Earth powder and want to know if that would be the right thing to use. Also, I want to know if I should dust the powder on top of the dead grass and wait for it to work or if I should remove the turf to expose all the bugs and then dust it on top of the soil. Please refer to the pictures below. I will also discuss the rest of the lawn later on which at the moment looks like a piece of land with burnt grass and some weeds but, need to get rid of those insects first.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Which came first the fescue or the thatch? Mix seed with compost and spread a layer of the mix, then keep it moist. A pesticide can help but identify the pest first.

 

[Chuck]

Those bugs you see could be bad or they could be good. And as far as that dead grass, it is just the remainder of when it was last mowed (or string trimmed). What I would do first is get a decent lawn/grass rake and rake up all of that dead stuff (thatch), let the grass get a little sunlight and then see what you have. Don't worry about the insects....yet. What you are probably seeing are ground dwelling insects such as beetles and spiders, most of which are very beneficial.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

"Oh to be in England." If I turn over anything robin is there, just in case there are insects underneath