When To Apply Grub Control On Lawn

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.

How To Apply Grub Control

Having identified the most active months for grubs, its time to hit them hard with effective strategies to keep them at bay.

First, youll need to wait for visible signs. However, we all know that grubs are root feeders and wont be easily seen as they are below the ground surface.

Youll have to wait for signs of their feeding activity. This is usually seen when your lawn grass begins to look drought-stressed or brown patches begin to emerge.

To further confirm grub presence, you may have to tug at certain sections of your lawn grass.

If there are signs of slight movement, lifting or pulling the grass out will reveal grubs. Youll always find these destroyers lying in a C shape and looking innocent. You may want to also introduce a natural predator onto your lawn.

Common grub predators include birds and other small animals who will have a field day fishing out grubs from their hiding/feeding spots. Combating this problem can be achieved using a variety of ways.

Some of the common methods include the use of detergent solutions or Dawn dish wash soap among other natural techniques. If youre not specific about the strategy used in getting rid of grubs, consider using insecticides.

These are applied to the lawn following the use instructions which accompany the insecticide.

Conventional Ways To Get Rid Of Grubs

If youre looking for a convenient way to get rid of grubs, youre in luck.

There are two primary chemicals used to reduce lawn grub populations: carbaryl and trichlorfon.

Both effectively kill grubs and are generally considered the only options when high concentrations of grubs are found in the fall or early springbefore May.

Research indicates that these compounds will kill 20-80% of grubs when applied in September and 20-55% of grubs when applied in late October.

Heres a breakdown of each:

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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.

How Do You Get Rid Of Grubs Naturally

These include milky spore, neem oil, and nematodes available at most garden centers.

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Your Lawn Is A Buffet For Critters

Another sign of a potential grub infestation is holes in your lawn. These will be from small animals like moles digging in your lawn to get and eat the grubs.

If you think you have a grub infestation, you will need to find out how serious the infestation is. One way to do this is to pull back a bit of the turf and see how many grubs are in the ground.

You should do this in more than one area, to see if certain parts of the lawn have a worse problem than others. Make each space one square foot, and count how many grubs you see with each. If you see more than five of them in each square foot area you check, your lawn will benefit from treatment.

Scientific Plant Service Is Your Go

Scientific Plant Service, located in Baltimore, is a privately owned corporation, chartered in Maryland in 1957 by Frank J. Burke. We started as a full-service Arborists specializing in the care of shade trees and ornamental shrubs, but today we are a Lawn Care company that is a huge part of the community. From aquatic environments and snow management to deer and mole control, SPS has services tailored specifically for your lawn and landscape.

We offer services in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia, including: Harford, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Anne Arundel, Montgomery, Prince Georges, Talbot, Queen Annes, Calvert counties in MD, as well as Loudoun County, Fairfax County, Arlington, Alexandria, and Falls Church in VA. For more information, contact us online, or call us at 410-321-0970. Be sure to follow us on , , , and !

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Is Grub B Gon Effective

Answer your lawn, and control the culprit grubs with Scotts® Grub B Gon® Grub Killer. This pest control contains a live, soil-borne organism that is effective against a variety of beetle grubs, including June beetles and chafers. … Effective on beetle grubs found in a wide variety of turfgrass types.

The Best Time To Apply Grub Killer

The question of when to put down grub control can be answered only after defining the type of pesticide being used.

If you know your lawn already has a pest problem and this year, you want to nip it in the bud, and you might choose a grub preventer.

• Grub Preventer should be applied shortly before the grubs hatch you may have noticed in previous summers when this was, due to sudden brown patches and lawn damage. As a rule, this is usually early summer, but take a look at our chart below for a more accurate timeline.

However, if you find yourself well into the growing season and have started to notice damage to your lawn due to grubs, it is too late for a preventative. At this point, you will need to apply a regular grub killer.

• Grub control, when applied correctly, will get rid of the pests it comes in contact with and therefore, can be applied anytime you notice the grubs are active. This usually coincides with your lawns growing season.

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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®.

Will Grubs Go Away On Their Own

Typically, no, grubs will not go away naturally or on their own. While there are some DIY treatments in order to prevent killing your garden, it can up to three years to completely eliminate a grub problem. Three years is much too long and will only cause more permanent damage, which is why we recommend getting a professional to treat your infestation as soon as you notice the signs.

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How Frequent Should I Apply Grub Killer

The frequency of your application of your grub killer depends on the severity of grub damage. Do you see a lot of dead patches of dead grass in your turf?

Well, let us give you a secret. Healthy turfs can support around five grubs per square foot without visible damage.

This means that if you can already see visible dead patches, you must deal with turf damage quickly.

A healthy turf would only need insecticide every other year, but if you see new grubs or you found grubs feasting on your green turf, then its time to use a grub killer immediately.

Grub killers must be applied to your lawn two to three seasons in a row to kill grubs and prevent their eggs from hatching completely.

We recommend applying a grub killer when you see some dead patches in your lawn and then a second application of a grub preventer around June to July.

This would stop the cycle of grubworm infestation and make moist soil conditions unsuitable for the life cycle of grubs.

Grubs Cause Devastating Lawn Damage

Grub damage can be devastating to your lawn.

One day youre looking out at your healthy lawn, maybe planning where to hang the hammock, and two days later its wiped out entire patches will be brown, dry, and wilted.

They essentially eat the roots right out from under the grass. Its not coming back once you find these little buggers were active for the last few months.

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When To Apply Curative Treatments

If youve already noticed grub activity in your lawn, its too late to apply preventative treatments. The treatments you need fall into the curative category. The best time to apply curative grub treatments is during the months of August through October. This is when they are most likely to be feeding and the most active in your yard. While its best to prevent an infestation from happening, these curative treatments are great for getting rid of existing grubs.

White Grub Control In Lawns

University of Minnesota Extension, Stearns County NewsAugust 19, 2020

Katie Drewitz, Extension Educator-Horticulture, Small Farms and Local FoodsUniversity of Minnesota ExtensionStearns, Benton and Morrison counties

White Grub Control in Lawns

ST. CLOUD, Minn. If you are seeing unsightly brown patches in your lawn, you might be having a problem with white grubs. White grubs are soil-dwelling larvae of beetles. The adult beetles emerge in late June and lay eggs in the turf during July. The eggs hatch in 2 to 3 weeks and tiny white grub larvae begin to eat the grass roots. The grubs grow rapidly and are fully grown at by late August or September. Feeding by the grubs prunes the roots from the plants and causes the grass to wilt and fade. Extreme feeding by populations of 10 or more annual white grubs per square foot will cause the grass to die. White grubs move several inches deep in the soil to spend the winter. They move back near the surface in the spring time but cause little additional damage as they wait to pupate in June, emerge as adults and start the cycle over.

Damage from white grubs in lawns can show up any time after mid-August, though damage may not become obvious until September or even into October. Damage from white grubs is usually localized, and it is typical to have severe damage in irregular and isolated spots.

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What Should You Do After Grub Control Pesticide Application

Once you have put down grub control pesticide on your grass, there are some other things you should do.

These include immediate wearing and then keeping an eye on the area, to make sure there isnt any grub activity.

You should apply water to your lawn right after applying grub control. This is especially important if you are using a granular type of grub preventer or grub killer.

If you are using a granular formula, apply a minimum of an inch of water. If you dont do this, a granular formulation wont be effective.

Remember to keep an eye on your lawn after, to make sure the grub control is working. You might still see some grubs right after, as some products will take as long as a week to work.

If you still see a problem after that, the treatment wasnt effective. You possibly didnt use the correct amount, or you need to try something else.

You can calculate your lawns square footage right here to be sure you apply the perfect amount of product to the impacted area of your yard.

When To Apply Grubex

Q: Why use Grubex?

A: Its quick-acting formula kills all of these pests within 24 hours of application.

Q: How long does it take for Grubex to work?

A: Within 24 hours of application, Grubex will start killing grubs on contact with direct contact with treated areas.

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Is It Right To Apply Grub Control Yearly

Part of the many questions that arise includes the frequency of applying grub control.

Its best to apply grub control only when the resulting damage is visible. Grub presence is never mistaken as patches of your lawn will naturally turn brown. Only when signs are seen should you proceed with treatment.

As discussed to this point, weve seen that timing is everything when it comes to grub control. Application is mainly determined by WHEN such treatments should be made.

Dead Patches Of Grass In The Spring

While grubs start tearing your lawn apart in the late summer and fall, theres a good chance you wont realize you have a problem until the following spring. Thats when the rest of your lawn will start to turn green and luscious, but youll start to notice you have dead patches that wont come back.

These are areas where grubs have torn up the roots to the point that the grass wont grow back. If you have a grub infestation in your yard, theres a good chance that youll have more than just one dead patch.

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Can You Apply Grub Control Too Early

If you want to prevent grub damage next season, there is a commercial product that allows you to go out in early spring. Most big box stores have consumer products with Imidacloprid which need to be applied from June through July before the grub eggs hatch.

Insecticides are best used in ways that let them be in high concentration at the root zone while the eggs are hatching, and young grubs are present. If the timing is right, you can control about 80 percent of the grubworm infestation for next season.

How Do I Know If I Have Grubs

Many lawn issues that resemble grub damage can be caused by something else, including disease, drought stress, hairy chinch bugs, sod webworms, shade, compaction, and more. In the early spring, for example, many homeowners suspect grub damage because of the condition of their lawn after snow melt.

The only way to be sure that you have grubs is to scout for them in your lawn.

Depending on the size of your lawn, you may want to scout for grubs in several places in the lawn. Just because there are a lot of grubs, or not a lot of grubs, in a particular square foot doesnt mean that the entire lawn either does or doesnt have a grub infestation. You can focus your scouting on areas of the lawn that are showing symptoms of grub feeding.

As youre scouting for grubs in your lawn, take notes so you remember which areas of your lawn have high counts and which dont. This is important if and when you decide to treat the lawn.

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After Treating For Grubs

After you apply any kind of grub insecticides to the lawn, its important that you monitor things carefully to make sure youre staying on top of the situation. The grubs should be eradicated within a few days or a week. If you still see signs of major grub problems after that, you might want to try a different product.

Is Grub Control Necessary Every Year

Although it is theoretically possible to eradicate all of the Japanese beetle grubs from your lawn one year and not have them come back the next, its not very likely.

It just takes one or two Japanese beetles to lay lots of eggs and produce lots of grubs.

GrubEx does not have a repellent effect on the beetles, so your best bet is to make the application of this product part of your annual lawn care routine.

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Cautions While Applying Gurbex

• Windy Days: The manufacturer recommends not applying Grubex on windy days or when it rains or snows.
• Avoid Rainy Days: If rain is expected within 24 hours of application, do not apply Grubex, as this will wash the product away before it has time to work. Additionally, avoid applying Grubex in areas where children play or walk, as even small amounts could be poisonous if ingested by children or pets.
• Dont Left on Top of The Ground: Grubex is effective for up to six months after application, but it will lose its effectiveness if left on top of the ground, where it can dry out or wash away. To ensure that your lawn remains free from pests, apply Grubex each year prior to their mating season.
• Protective Clothes and Gloves: Homeowners can use Grubex on their lawns, but it is also approved for use by professional applicators. When using Grubex, it is important to follow the directions carefully and wear protective clothing and gloves.
• Suitable Temperature: Grubex should not be applied when temperatures exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit or below 45 degrees. This product should not be used during active rain or if rain is expected within 24 hours after application.