What Month Should You Apply Grub Control
While it really depends on your region, you should be safe applying grub control in June, no matter where you live. If grubs have already started laying eggs at this point, they still havent had time to hatch, but in most regions, the egg-laying hasnt even started yet.We know June can be hot, and the last thing you want to do is to head out and apply grub control, but thats when youll get the best results.
Natural Ways To Get Rid Of Lawn Grubs
You can pursue two organic options for getting rid of lawn grubs before turning to chemicals. These are safer for the environment and wont harm beneficial insects, but they will take longer to be effective. In some cases, it may take years for the natural treatments to fully eradicate a lawn grub colony.
When To Treat For Grubs In Central Texas:
The best time of year to use grub control is as soon as you notice the lawn being eaten by a grub problem. A systemic insecticide will work its way through the grass blades and down towards the roots, protecting your grass from larval beetles and larvae that are feeding on the roots of your yard. It is very important to read the labels on the grub control products before using them so you fully understand how to properly apply it. Some require watering in after application while others should not be watered directly afterward.
Once you have treated your yard for grubs it is time to eliminate them from your lawn and prevent any future grub damage. The adult beetles tend to be attracted to light, which makes them a lot easier to catch once they are flying around in the late spring and summer months. You can use a beetle trap or just turn on the backyard lights at night when you see these bugs flying around looking for mates. You should continue turning on the lights until all of the June beetles have found a mate or died off for the season. This will keep June beetles from mating and laying eggs in your yard, causing an infestation next year too. Also mowing regularly tends to deter June beetles from entering your yard, so keep that in mind when planning your mowing schedule.
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Will Controlling Grubs In My Lawn Help Control The Garden Beetles That Eat My Plants
Not necessarily, because the adult stage of grubs are flying beetles that can travel to your garden from outside your property. Learn more about these beetles.
Disclaimer: The use of specific brand or trade names in this article is for educational purposes only. The University of New Hampshire does not support the use of one product over others of similar composition, nor does it guarantee the efficacy or quality of any product. The user is responsible for applying pesticides only as directed on the label and in compliance with the law. Product availability is subject to change depending on registration status in the State of New Hampshire and other factors.
Got questions? The Ask UNH Extension Infoline offers practical help finding answers for your home, yard, and garden questions. Call toll free at 1-877-398-4769, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., or e-mail us at .
How To Tell If You Have Grubs In Your Yard
Activities of birds and other animals often increase on a lawn in case of a grub infestation.
Photo by Carol
The most straightforward method for determining whether or not you have a grub problem is to search for irregular brown spots spread throughout the lawn. The grass will also be easy to rip in these spots and devoid of roots. However, there are many other ways to check a grub infestation, which are described below.
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How To Identify A Lawn Grub Problem
- First test is to lay a wet towel, hessian bag or piece of carpet on the lawn overnight. In the morning, lift it up and see if anything has come to the surface and is underneath it.
- Second test is to mix together a bucket of soapy water and pour it over the edge of an affected area. Keep any eye on it and after about 10 minutes or so, usually if there are grubs there, they will come to the surface. This is best done at dawn or dusk when they are most likely to be active.
So, youve done the tests and you do have a grub problem, but how do you fix it?
Beneficial Organisms May Suffer
Insecticides are known to be effective in grub control.
However, theres a downside to using this method. While grubs get killed, other beneficial organisms arent left out. These too are decimated in the process.
Plus, the use of insecticides is known to be harmful to the environment.
With the damage caused by insecticides, can this method be discarded? Not at all! There are safer ways to apply insecticides for grub control with minimal damage to beneficial organisms.
Doing this successfully also boils down to timing.
This has little impact on other beneficial organisms in the soil. Thus, the damage is contained and your lawn is kept free of grubs.
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Are There Natural Treatments For Grub Infestations
The two natural products we are asked about most are milky spore and nematodes.
Milky spore is a bacterium that is effective for controlling Japanese beetle larvae, provided the spring soils are sufficiently warm. While the research on milky spore in our region hasnt been revisited recently, the latest research findings are that spring soils in Northern New England are too cold for milky spore to be effective. That said, there is anecdotal evidence that it has shown at least some efficacy in warmer micro-climates within southern New Hampshire. Milky spore may be worth a try if you are:
- Sure that the grubs in your lawn are the larvae of Japanese beetles
- In a warmer microclimate within southern New Hampshire
Keep in mind that milky spore will take several years to achieve good results.
Nematodes are microscopic worms, and some species of nematodes can work very well for controlling grubs in home lawns. To successfully use nematodes for grub control, you should keep the following principles in mind:
For home gardeners that do their homework and follow instructions carefully, nematodes can be a great natural option for controlling grubs.
Learn How And When To Treat Japanese Beetles And Grubs With Blains Farm & Fleet
The immature stage of the Japanese beetle the white grub typically has a three year life cycle. However, most of the damage to ornamentals and turf grass happens during the spring and fall the second year. This is when grubs are present in the top inch of the root zone, heavily feeding on grass roots and thatch. In the third year of the cycle, the grubs rise out of the soil as Japanese beetles. These beetles feed on surrounding plants and lay eggs in the soil throughout the summer. These eggs eventually hatch into grubs and the cycle begins again. Blains Farm & Fleet is here to help you get rid of Japanese beetles and grubs.
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Why Should I Avoid Treatment For Grubs At Certain Times Of Year
As the year winds to a halt, grubs become dormant with no damage caused to your lawns from November through January. However, as winter winds to a halt grubs emerge after thaw and begin to cause moderate damage.
This is still not the ideal time for treating grubs.
Such feeding later ceases between April through July with no visible damage to your lawn.
Although no damage is seen, this period is considered an acceptable treatment period because adult beetles lay eggs at this time.
Introduce Natural Predators To Eat The Grubs
Grubs have plenty of natural predators. While predators like raccoons and moles will damage your yard, others wont.
Birds like chickadees, blue jays, and robins, for example, love grubs and will happily eat them all day long. Backyard chickens will also graze the yard and pick up grubs.
To use birds as a natural control method for grubs, make your yard as attractive as possible for the winged visitors.
Add bird feeders, birdbaths, and birdhouses around your yard. This will attract beneficial bird species and help keep your yards grub populations in check.
Pros: Easy, non-toxic, safe for households with kids and pets.
Cons: Birds may damage vegetable gardens or potted plants.
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How To Detect Grub Worms
Knowing how to detect grub worms is key to treating them. Visible lawn grub damage can be seen from late summer to early fall. Look for irregular brown patches of lawn that peel away easily from the soil, like carpet. To determine the extent of infestation or which areas require treatment, dig up small sections of lawn. Typically, more than five grub worms per ¼ square foot warrants treatment and lawn grub control.
Do I Need To Apply Grub Killer Every Year
You dont need to treat for grubs every year because a preventive pesticide application should kill a majority of the grubs that are likely to cause damage the next year. Grubs in your neighbors lawn are unlikely to spread to your lawn every year, so only treat when you see the signs of grub damage.
In fact, a healthy lawn can tolerate a few grubs here and there without showing any signs of damage. You only need to start treating the lawn with a grub killer when you see irregular patches of dead grass and also put down a grub preventer as a precaution for the next year.
For prevention purposes, put down lawn insecticides with either thiamethoxam, imidacloprid, or chlorantraniliprole as the active ingredients once every 2 years early in the spring. Follow the instructions on the product label to guide you on the right time to apply the grub control pesticide because some products last longer in the soil than others.
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Controlling Grubs In The Lawn
Beetles, like Japanese and chafer beetles, emerge in early summer, feed on plants in the garden, and lay their eggs in the soil in the lawn. Later in the summer, the grubs hatch and immediately begin to feed. They will continue to eat and grow until mid-fall, when they move deeper in the soil so they can survive through the winter. When the soil warms up again in the spring, the large, mature grubs move back into the upper soil levels, where they transform into adult beetles that emerge in early summer and start the whole process over again.
The key to controlling grubs is to kill them before they hatch and begin to cause damage to your lawn. In spring or early summer, apply a preventative grub control product, such as Scottsî GrubExî1 to your lawn, following label directions. This is especially important if youve had problems with grubs in the past. One application of Scottsî GrubExî1 can kill and prevent grubs for up to 4 months.
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When Is The Best Time To Treat For Grubs On Your Lawn
Dealing with a brown, patchy lawn problem? In some cases, grubs may be the culprit behind this. A grub infestation can destroy your turfgrass before you know it, so its always best to act on the issue at once. So, if youre like several other homeowners wondering: When is the best time to treat for grubs?
The best time would be between early spring and late summer. Commonly, the extent of grub damage becomes more evident during May, when theres increasing grub worm activity. When it comes to grub preventers, apply them between June and July .
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The Beetle Life Cycle
The majority of adult beetle species lay eggs in the summer. The grubs hatch and eat the grass roots until cold weather arrives. Then grubs burrow 2 to 8 inches into the soil to overwinter. When spring arrives and the soil warms, the grubs begin feeding on the grass roots again. In late spring and early summer, they pupate, and emerge as adults in midsummer.
Top Recommended Company For Grub Control
TruGreen offers extensive Grub Prevention & Control Services. A specialist will use a pre-emptive application to eliminate white grubs before they can do too much damage. The specialist will start by monitoring the lawn for adult beetle activity, then apply insect control just before the hatching season. The product will get absorbed by the soil and stay in the root system to eradicate grubs that hatch.
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Can You Apply Grub Control Too Early
While you want to apply grub control early, theres definitely a thing as too early. Most grub control products will work for about four months, so if youre applying it before that, you wont see the results youre looking for.
Also, keep in mind that grubs dont just lay their eggs for a week or two. They lay eggs for about one to two months, which means the earliest you can apply grub control is two months before they start laying eggs.
While early applications will yield the best results, you can definitely apply grub control too early and not get the results youre looking for.
How Bad Are Grubs For The Lawn
Grubs, which are the larval, or immature, stage of several species of beetles and chafers, can damage a lawn by feeding on the roots of your grass. Healthier grass can tolerate more grub feeding, and all grass can tolerate some grub feeding.
A grub infestation will cause patches of thinning turf, and these patches will gradually increase in size. Often times grub damaged grass will pull out very easily at the roots.
What we often hear from homeowners is that they believe they have grubs because animals like moles, skunks, crows and racoons are digging in the lawn. This isnt a reliable clue, however, because grub infestations arent always accompanied by animal damage and animal damage doesnt always result from a grub infestation. These animals feed on other insects in the lawn, like earthworms, which are beneficial to the health of the lawn. That all said, if you do have grubs and animals are digging for them in the lawn, that can be detrimental to the health of your turf and to the appearance of your yard.
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When To Apply Grub Control
If you have grubs, you need to do everything you can to get them under control. And like with many pests, if you can kill the grubs before they start munching on your lawn, its far easier. But to do this, you need to have a basic understanding of the grub life cycle.
Mature grubs, now beetles, emerge in the early summer to feed and mate. By mid to late summer, theyre laying eggs in your lawn, and those eggs hatch in just a few weeks. Those grubs start to much on your lawn straight away, but the feeding frenzy really kicks off in the fall.
Thats why its best to apply grub control in either the early or mid-summer. You want to apply a product before any grubs hatch, but you dont necessarily have to wait until the beetles lay their eggs.
Preventative grub control products will kill the eggs as soon as they arrive, and thats the best way to take control of your grub problem!
Prevention & Maintenance Tips
Applying a preventative grub control product in the spring or early summer will provide much better grub control than waiting until after the damage has occurred. Use a spreader to apply Scotts® GrubEx®1. Be sure to follow application directions. To activate the product, water immediately after applying. A drought-stressed, underfed lawn will show grub damage faster, and with fewer grubs per square foot, than a properly-fed, well-maintained lawn. A properly maintained lawn can tolerate more grubs per square foot than a stressed lawn. Repair dead patches caused by grubs with Scotts® EZ Seed®.
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What You Need To Know About Controlling Grubs With Scotts Grubex
Scotts® GrubEx® is a specialized product designed to eradicate the Japanese beetle larvae wreaking havoc on your lawn from beneath.
These grubs live by gobbling up your grass roots, and this will eventually kill your lawn.
Left untreated, grubs can ruin your lawn in a single season.
Luckily, GrubEx is an extremely effective, easy to use tool in the fight against Japanese beetle grubs.
In this article, we provide sound information to help you make the best use of this excellent product.
Will Dawn Dish Detergent Kill Grubs
Dawn dish soap smothers grub worms, and typically kills them quickly. If you can, spray the mixture on the affected areas of your lawn with one quart of water. After an hour or so, check to see if the grubs are still alive. If they are, spray the worms with the Dawn solution.
Dawn can also be used as a natural insect repellent. Place a small amount of Dawn on a piece of paper towel and apply it to your skin. You can then rub it in with your hands to get rid of the insects.
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Grubs In Warm Season Turf Grasses
by Happy Gardener | Jun 20, 2019 | Pests & Diseases, Summer Garden, Turf & Lawn |
Summer brings on the battle against soil-dwelling insects, like grubs and chinch bugs, who chew their way through our warm-season grasses. Todays blog will give you some insight into why it is ideal to treat for grubs right now, and how to discern if you have these prevalent pests in your lawn.
I answer to: June bug, May beetle, Phyllophaga crinita and the southern masked chafer whatever you want to call me, just know my offspring can wreak havoc on your lawn in a hot minute.
