The leaves are falling, it is football season and the air is turning crisp.  But that's no excuse to ignore your lawn. Now is the time to get rid of weeds and bugs, nourish the grass for winter and plan for a beautiful spring.

"Fall is the perfect season for fixing up your lawn," said Rob Rogan, turf expert for United Industries, manufacturer of Spectracide and Sta-Green products.  "Many lawns have damage from the hot, summer months, and you need to take steps to repair this summer damage and nourish the grass and root system for a long, cold winter."

Rogan recommends five simple tasks to protect the lawn all winter long and create gorgeous, green grass when the weather warms up again.

·         Let the leaves be your guide. When the leaves start to turn, it's time to fix up the lawn. Don't wait until the first frost hits or the temperature drops below 45 degrees to plan for the lawn's winter care. It will be too late to tackle bugs and weeds, and the problems can literally multiply for the coming spring.

·         Give the lawn a winter coat. Apply a phosphorus-free winterizing lawn fertilizer. Winterizing the yard will strengthen the root system and give the lawn the vital nutrients it needs to rejuvenate from the summer and to survive the winter months.

·         Eliminate weeds before winter. Apply a weed control product specified for lawns. Weeds can not only germinate in the fall, but can also leave behind seeds that will germinate in the spring. Applying a weed control in the fall will reduce the amount of weeds in the lawn in the fall and what pops up in the spring. 

·         Ban the bugs. Apply an insect control product, available in granules or spray. Fall weather conditions are ideal for insect survival. Once the temperatures get really cold, many of those insects will search for shelter in your home. Applying an insect control will keep your yard safe in the fall and your home protected in the winter.

·         Re-seed for a lush lawn. Fall is great time to patch up those bare spots or overseed the lawn. Use quality, weed-free grass seed to sow the lawn or fill in bare spots to avoid planting weeds from the start since some grass seed inadvertently has weeds already in the mix.

With these five simple steps, homeowners can fix up their lawns this fall and be back enjoying the football game in record time.  And when spring arrives, they'll have lawns worthy of a college playoff game. 

For information on Spectracide Weed Stop, visit www.Spectracide.com and for Sta-Green fertilizer, visit www.sta-green.com.