Mealybug query

When examining turf roots for signs of disease or insects, have you ever come across white, cottony patches in the soil, underneath warm -season turf or cool-season turf? When you examine the turf more closely, do you see very small (less than 1/10 inch long), wingless, soft-bodied insects crawling around amidst the roots and the strands of wax filaments that they secrete?

These insects are known as ground or soil mealybugs (probably the genus Rhizoecus), and though they are distributed…