Question: My bermuda looks sick in odd patches. The runners, such as they are, don’t appear vigorous, and the grass is dying. What are the possibilities?
Answer: It’s very likely that bermuda mites are involved. They’re even smaller than red spider mites, their more common cousins, so you won’t be able to see them without magnification. What you can see, however, will be their damage. It will cause the runners to be very shortened, almost clubby. They eventually look almost like an old-fashioned shaving brush with very small leaves attached in clumps. Control them by spraying with a listed insecticide directly down into the affected patches. Since the mites are an inch or two off the ground, sprays are better than granules.