How To Get Rid Of Lawn Grubs
In most climates, grubs are near the surface of the soil. Theyre at their smallest and most vulnerable in August and September, so these are the best months to treat for them.
Sod Solutions recommends Dylox 6.2 Granular White Grub Insecticide, which needs to be applied with a broadcast spreader and watered within 24 hours. However, this product is toxic to wildlife, and shouldnt enter storm drains or drainage ditches. For a natural pest solution, try one or more of these options:
- Introduce nematodes beneficial, microscopic worms that feed on grub worms.
- Introduce milky spore, a naturally occurring disease that attacks grub worms but doesnt harm other plants or wildlife. The spores must be spread several times over two years, but they protect your lawn for 10 years or more.
- Create a bird-friendly habitat by placing birdhouses and birdbaths in your yard to attract insect-eating birds like robins, wrens and jays. Theyll eat the grubs, along with the beetles once they start to emerge.
Sign 02 Check The Grubs:
If you have found some symptoms of the grubs, your next step will be to examine insects physically. To do this work, follow the below steps.. Take a shovel for digging an affected area.. Using your shovel, dig a square foot of the affected area.. Dig an area about two inches deep.. Check the C-shaped worm or insects carefully with their legs.
If you found the larvae or worms or insects, it means there are grubs in the lawn.
Make Sure Grubs Are Actually The Problem
If youve started noticing brown patches in your lawn and simultaneously unearth a white grub, you may jump to believing that grubs cause your discolored grass. In fact, there are dozens of common and uncommon lawn issues that can cause grass to turn brown. It also normal for lawns to have some grub worms.
Treating your lawn for the wrong issue is a waste of time and money. So before you jump to blame the grubs, check for these specific signs of grub damage.
Lawns damaged by grubs will show these symptoms:
- Irregular-shaped patches of dying grass.
- Grass thins and turns brown.
- Grass may feel spongy as you walk on it.
- Grub worms attack the root structure holding the grass firmly in place, so visibly weakened areas may be easily pulled and rolled away, almost like a rug.
- Depending on where you are in Texas, the damage will appear sometime between June and October.
- You may notice an increase in animal activity. Animals such as raccoons, armadillos, and birds may be frequenting your yard to feed on the grub worms. Look for mole holes or tunnels.
If your lawn checks off the items on the list above, its time to conduct a test to find grub worms. Use a shovel to dig up or peel back a damaged area of your lawn. The testing area should be about 3-5 inches across and 3-5 inches deep.
The next part is simple but slightly unpleasantcount the worms! Knowing how many worms inhabit your small testing area is crucial. Having some grubs is normal and should not be harmful to a lawn.
Read Also: Craftsman Lt1000 Snowblower
Lawn Damage From Raccoons And Skunks: Get Rid Of The Grubs
Youve nurtured your lawn all summer long, and the effort shows. Its in glorious condition, so obviously now after all your hard work you can get lawn damage from skunks and raccoons. This is the time of year when skunks and raccoons are busy tearing up lawns looking for a grubs. The damage that they can cause to a lawn can be extensive as they search for a tasty meal. I am not sure how they know that grubs are present, but it may be that they can smell the grubs themselves or the fecal matter that they produce yum. To get rid of skunks and raccoons, you need to get rid of grubs.
How To Prevent Grubs From Coming Back
Grubs can happen to any lawn and appear numerous times during the year. Here are a few helpful tips to make sure you wont see grub worms soon.
- Water properly
- Dont mow your lawn often
- Overseed your lawn in spring and early fall
- Fertilize your lawn
When left untreated, grubs will continue the destructive process, wrecking the roots of your turf.
Having a professional lawn care company can help you get rid of active grubs for good, and make sure you have a beautiful and healthy lawn for years to come.
Recommended Reading: All Wheel Drive Push Mower Reviews
Preventive Insecticides That Will Prevent Grub Damage Next Fall And Following Spring
These products are used to prevent future grub problems, not to control the grubs present in the lawn in the spring. They will not work on grubs found in the lawn from the middle of October through the middle of May. However, when applied in June or July they provide excellent protection against the next generation of grubs. So, if you need to apply the preventive insecticide BEFORE the grubs are there, how do you know if you need to use an insecticide or not? If you confirmed grub damage the previous fall or spring, meaning you found lots of grubs, then you may want to use a preventive insecticide for one or two years to build a more dense turf that will be tolerant of grubs. If you have treated for several years and you do not see evidence of grubs in your lawn or in the neighbors lawn, it may be time to stop treating. There is an erroneous philosophy being perpetuated that because we have European chafers and Japanese beetles in the area, it is necessary to treat every year or your lawn will be damaged by grubs. This is not true.
In addition, grub control products that contain the active ingredient chlorantraniliprole are safe for bees, even when weed flowers are sprayed. Finally, avoid spray drift or granular spreader drift to flower beds when applying thiamethoxam, imidacloprid, clothianidin or any insecticide for grubs other than chlorantraniliprole
Natural Ways To Get Rid Of Grubs In Garden
Many gardeners have dealt with the irritation of finding grubs in the soil among their plants. These critters are voracious root-eating worms that turn into leaf-eating adult beetles .
Its not a pretty sight, seeing fat white worms crawling around, eating the roots of your crops, and damaging your lawn.
If youre reading this article, then its a good bet youre seeking natural, harmless ways of getting rid of grubs once and for all.
Fortunately for you, there are plenty of methods you can use to rid your garden of grub bugs without harming your plants, pets, or the useful insects you want to keep.
Don’t Miss: How To Eliminate Creeping Charlie
How To Get Rid Of Grubs In Your Lawn
Although most homeowners expect to find some worms in their soil, no one expects the severe damage that one particular worm can inflict. Yes, we mean the peculiar damage left by the white grub worm. Grub worms feed on roots, and with a large enough population and some time, they can actually detach your grass from its roots in some areas.
What does that look like, you may wonder? These severed areas of grass will literally roll up like a cheap rug. So if you think you have a grub problem and youd like your grass to stay put, then its time to snub those grubs from your lawn.
How Natural Predators Kill Lawn Grubs
Biological predators, like birds, raccoons, moles and more, are an option when it comes to grub control for lawns. You can choose to leave your soil exposed to welcome animals to devour the pests. For example, you can use bird feeders to attract birds to your yard to feast on the grubs. But do keep in mind, animals will dig holes in your lawn, which can cause further damage to your yard.
Read Also: Can You Hydroseed Over Grass
Water Irregularly But Deeply
High soil moisture during the summer can attract adult beetles to a lawn to lay their eggs. You cant do much about rainfall patterns, but you can avoid overwatering your lawn. Instead of watering by a set schedule, check the dampness of your soil and only irrigate when its dry. Then, water to a depth of 6 to 8 inches, which will encourage grass roots to grow deeper and stronger in search of water.
Use Dish Soap On The Lawn
Another natural remedy is dish soap to get rid of grubs on the lawn. Although this remedy is not a hundred percent effective, it can help the affective areas control moderately.Need the below ingredients to apply this remedy
- Water
- Liquid Dish Soap
- Sprayer.
Mix the dish soap in water and spray directly to the grubs affected areas. Apply this mixture immediately after preparing it. This mixture works in the process. Dish soap solution will kill the adult beetles and prevent larvae from laying eggs on the lawn and the garden.
Recommended Reading: How Often Should I Water My Lawn In North Texas
How To Get Rid Of Grubs In Lawn
Okay so youve done your own investigation and you now know you have a grub infestation, now what?
There are many ways in which you can tackle your grub problem and get to the root of the problem.
When treating grubs, you can either treat them when theyre still young or when theyre adults to prevent them from laying eggs and continuing the cycle.
There are various chemical natural methods that are tried and true in providing you with an effective route to a grub-free lawn, all of which Ive prepared for you!
What Are Lawn Grubs
Lawn grubs are the wriggly, worm-like larvae of different types of beetles, like Japanese Beetles and June Bugs, that hatch in the spring and summer. These pests are roughly an inch long, curl up into a C-shape when disturbed, burrow into your lawn, and feed on your grassroots. In small quantities, theyre fine, but if large populations are left unchecked, they can do serious damage.
Read Also: How Much Peat Moss For Lawn
When To Treat For Grubs
When planning to remove grubs from your lawn, timing is key youll want to catch them before they can cause damage to your lawn. The best time to implement your grub control plan is before or while the grubs are hatching, generally thats during mid-June and mid-August. Another good time to treat your yard is in early July amid peak beetle season. This will help prevent the beetles from laying their eggs in the first place, cutting off the problem at the source.
How To Repair Minor Damage From Grub Worms
If you can spot only a few grubs in your lawn, the situation is far from serious and can be handled easily. Here is what you need to do to salvage your turf without a complete restoration.
Use a Garden Rake
Use your garden rake to get rid of the brown, affected spots and remove the dead grass. Make sure to rake the damaged area a bit more to remove the extra thatch and loose soil.
Sprinkle Grass Seeds
The next thing you can do is sprinkle new grass seeds over the raked area. We recommend sprinkling 10-15 seeds per square inch for a completely bald area and 5-10 seeds per square inch for a semi-bald area. Sprinkle less if the surrounding turf is healthy
Tamp the Seeds
Once youve sprinkled enough grass seeds, tamp them with your foot. Next, it is good to sprinkle topsoil over the grass seeds.
Water Your Lawn
Lightly water your lawn every day until the grass is a few inches tall. It is recommendable to water every day for two-three weeks.
Don’t Miss: Renting A Rototiller At Lowes
Identifying Lawn Grubs Activity
So how do you know that you have grubs in your garden? Well, there a few ways to find out:
Irregular patches of brown grass since the grass eaten by these pests dies, it then turns brown and it is visible from above. Since the grubs are living underground, they would have been hard to discover otherwise, but luckily they leave clues
Teared up the lawn by magpies or crows these two animals might be helpful because they feed on the grubs, but they also destroy your lawn in the meantime. So you cant rely on them to fix the problem, and you need to take action right away
Beetles in your garden some of the species of beetles who create grubs are active during the night , while others can be seen flying through the day . Their presence is a good indicator of future grubs in the ground
Grubs in the soil the only way to actually see the grubs is to make a cut in the soil and look for them. If you find more than 10 grubs per square foot, then you have a serious issue and you need to call a specialist
Do Grubs Die In The Winter
Every living creature has birth and death. As the grubs are born, so these will die in time naturally. Some questions knock to the mind of every lawn owner like how larvae are born, when these grubs get birth when they will die, do grubs die in winter, etc. However, in this section, we will give you more information about Do Grubs Die in the Winter?
The straight answer is NO, grubs do not die just it is winter.
To get the precise concept regarding the above issue, you have to learn about the whole life cycle of the grubs. Lets begin to know about them below.
First, this procedure of the life cycle of the white grub larva starts with the Japanese beetles. The grubs collect their feeds from the soil by destroying grasses and lawns and staying alive during summer, winter, and spring.
In Jun or early July, the Japanese beetles fly around to mate each other. After mating, they lay about 60 eggs in the grass at your lawn. When they complete laying their eggs, the beetles stop to fly, and finally, they die naturally.
In the very first of August, eggs turn into larvae through the hatching system. These larvae are known as white grubs. The white grubs are C-shaped in position. During the season, caterpillars grow up to ¼ to ½ inches long. They live under the soil to keep them safe from the cold weather. These white grubs grow day by day under the ground and start feeding grassroots in your lawn. In this time, the garden is affected more by the cause of larvae.
Also Check: How To Start Your Own Lawn Mowing Business
Is It Ok To Have Grubs In Compost
While you might be grossed out by their sight, the grubs can be beneficial to your compost because they consume organic material which hastens the composting process and they pass out castings which increase the nutrients in your compost. However, you might want to get rid of the grubs when they become problematic.
In The Late Summer Or Early Fall:
Lawn grub damage is usually visible from late summer and peaking in the early fall. If you have irregular patches of grass that are brown and dry, check to see if a patch easily peels away from the soil. If a patch of grass lifts up like a carpet with no roots holding it down, you likely have an infestation of lawn grubs.
You May Like: How To Reverse Over Fertilization Lawn
Will Grass Grow Back After Grub Damage
The grubs eat the roots of your grass which then hinders the absorption of nutrients.
In the worst-case scenario, your grass will be so badly eaten up that it can actually be peeled up easily, in this situation it is best to reseed the area once youve solved the grub issue and wait for new healthy grass to sprout.
However, if caught early the roots may still be salvageable and will require some root building fertilizer and proper watering.
How To Identify Them
So how do you know you have grubs? Your first signs are likely going to be problems with your grass and other plants. Odd patches of grass will start to die off and turn brown, without any apparent cause. If you do have a grub problem, the damaged grass should pull up easily since the grubs have been eating away the roots underneath.
Once you can see the dirt, you should have a clear view of any grubs. They dont burrow too deeply Depending on the specific species , theyll be an inch or so in length, cream-colored with a dark brown head, and usually curl up in a C shape when the sod is pulled off.
Another tip-off that you have a grub problem is the increased activity around your yard from raccoons, skunks or birds. These animals love to eat grubs, and will come in droves for the easy snacks. So finding patches of sod all torn up and dug through can mean you have grubs, even if theyre not the ones who directly did the damage.
For more specific species identification, it gets a little tougher. Well discuss the different kinds of grubs in the next section.
Don’t Miss: How To Get Commercial Lawn Care Jobs
Is It Too Late To Treat For Grubs
Monitor lawns starting in mid-August continuing into September for signs of grubs. Damage from the grubs can continue into October. As temperatures cool in the fall the grubs tunnel down to overwinter. In my opinion, it is now too late in the season to treat for grubs so youre better off waiting until next year.
