When To Put Grub Killer On Lawn

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.

Bayer Advanced 7002808 Complete Insect Killer

This insect killer is very easy to apply as it comes in a ready-to-spray container. It is fast acting and will kill insects within 24 hours of application and will remain effective for up to 3 months. It is effective against both surface and soil insects.

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Pros

• Kills a wide range of insects
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Cons

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How Do I Know If I Have A Problem

Affected areas will feel soft and spongy to walk on, and turf in these spots can be lifted up with ease. Carefully fold back the turf and note the number of grubs exposed. Eight to 10 grubs per square foot can damage a lawn.

Damage is most severe in the spring and fall when moisture levels in the soil are high. During drier periods, the eggs may be killed and surviving larvae can be found deeper in the soil. Extremely dry summers destroy many eggs and newly hatched grubs. Mature grubs can be found near the surface in late summer and early fall.

Often, skunks and other small mammals will pull back the turf to feed on grubs in the spring or fall. This secondary damage to your lawn, as well as flocks of starlings and blackbirds feeding on your lawn, are signs of a grub infestation. If you have any of these natural predators digging at your grass, check for white grubs. Many people notice these indicators first.

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Curative Products For Grub Control

There are two chemicals, carbaryl and trichlorfon, that are considered curative treatments. They are short-lived compounds that kill all life stages of grubs. These two insecticides are the only options if high numbers of grubs are found in the fall and in spring before early May. MSU research indicates they will kill 20-80 percent of grubs when applied in September or 20-55 percent when applied in late October.

Sevin Lawn Insect Granules Granular carbaryl 2.0% Apply in spring or fall to active grubs.

Bayer Advanced 24 hr Grub Killer Plus Granular trichlorfon 9.3% Apply in spring or fall to active grubs.

Products that will NOT kill grubs

This product will not kill grubs at any rate. This product was tested by MSU for grub control in 2006 and gave identical results as the untreated plots.

Spectracide Triazicide Insect Killer for Lawns Granular gamma-cyhalothrin 0.05%

This above information was published by Michigan State University Extension.

Damage from grubs in lawns usually shows up mid July to August. However, my experience has been that grub damage sometimes does not become obvious until September or even into October. Damage may appear as drought stress like brown coloring or wilting.

Grub control isnt like killing other insects like ants or spiders.; It is a continual process and usually requires yearly applications.

Whats The Best Time To Apply Grub Control

The best time to apply grub control depends on whether youre preventing them or killing the ones already damaging your lawn. It is usually best to put down grub preventers in June and July just when the grubs are about to hatch. This will provide the best preventative control of grubs for the next season.

If you want to stop grub damage immediately, the best time to apply grub killer insecticide in your lawn is as soon as you see signs of damage. This is usually any time between early spring to early August when the grub worms are most active eating and damaging grass in your lawn.

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How Should Grubex Be Applied

Its best to use a rotary or drop spreader to apply the pesticide evenly over the surface of your yard at a rate of 2.87 pounds per 1000 square feet.;

• Follow up by giving your lawn a good watering to activate the product.;
• Water for about half an hour or to a depth of about half an inch.;
• Keep pets and kids off the turf until the water has soaked in completely, and the grass is dry.;

What To Do After Putting Down Grub Control

After figuring out when to put down grub control, the question is what to do next. If it rains just after you applied the pesticide, you dont have to do anything. But it is not always simple to know when it is going to rain and plan to apply grub control accordingly. So, after you finished spraying, you need to water the lawn and the garden to make sure that the product penetrated the soil. Then, after it gets dry, you can again play with your kids and pets or have a BBQ with your friends.

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Who Long To Water In Grub Killer

The Right time to water before and after use of grub killer, Lawn owners do not think much in such purpose because watering lawn before grub killer makes visible way for the solution of application.

If we think positively To Water in Grub Killer after usage then its work full because it solves and meets with soil excellently and no bad impact occurs in your lawns pets or children.

Water Your Lawn Half an Hour After Grub Killer Appilcation.

Average lawn owners need to water before, medium or large size lawn owners need more attention and if they water before and after use of Grub ex or Grub Killer this will not bad for their yard and giving good results in a better way.

• Sign Grub Killer Not Working | Sing Grub Ex Not Working Much

Not Everywhere but when your lawn soil getting harder much harder its means you need to soften the hardened soil, first in case if the soil is hardened they do not accept grub killer visibly even the rate of grub killer decreases, and soil damages more aggressively but grubs worms.

To Defends, such conditions make small holes or soften your soil, with small effort as more they meet with soil your land become safe.

Watering your lawn in such conditions is much effective good and moon lightening results in long term this will helps you in better growth your lawn grass.

• What I Do For Lawn Grubs

Lawn Grubs & How They Feed

In spring, lawn grubs wake up from winter hibernation. They dig their way up from deep in the soil to just beneath the grass surface and begin to feed on your lawns root system. However, because the grass is vigorously growing in the spring, its unlikely that youll see damage.Then, in late spring the larvae pupate in the ground and emerge in mid-summer as flying beetles. Some species like Japanese Beetles feed during the day and are obvious. However, some others only feed at night. Its entirely possible to have a large infestation and not see them feeding on the leaves of your roses and crepe myrtles and other valued plants. As the flying adults feed, they also mate and deposit eggs in lawn areas and even landscape beds. In late summer and early fall, their newly hatched grubs begin to feed on root systems. This is where major damage occurs as lawns cannot keep up with the damage as the hot, dry summer weather has already weakened it.These suckers are hungry. A best-case scenario is there are a minimal amount of grubs that have been eating your lawn roots and your lawn may bounce back if it gets enough water. Think of a newly-laid piece of sod with no root system growing new roots and knitting itself to the soil again. However, the worst-case scenario is you have dead patches of grass and once you try to control the grubs, you also have to aerate and overseed your lawn in the fall to boost its health and fill in the dead patches.

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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.

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.

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What Can I Do About Grub Damage On My Lawn

To restore your grub-damaged lawn to its former beauty, fix it in the autumn or early spring.

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Lawn Grubs: How And When To Kill Them

* Editorial Note: LawnStarter may receive a commission if you purchase certain products mentioned in this article.

Is there anything more damaging than grubs in your lawn?

Few admire their looks. But, before dismissing them as nothing but gross menaces, grubs the larval stage of certain adult;beetles are common in lawns and do play a role in the natural order of things .

David Shetlar is a professor emeritus with a doctoral degree in entomology at The Ohio State University. Hes also co-author of the comprehensive guide Garden Insects of North America,;plus other pest management tomes including Managing Turfgrass Pests.

Shetlar chuckled brightly when asked if lawn grubs, commonly called white grubs, play a positive part in a lawns ecosystem. Everybody says grubs eat the grass roots, he said, but theres more to them than that. White grubs are eating the accumulated thatch and organic matter thats in the top inch of the soil profile.

Theyre sort of natures de-thatchers, he added. But the problem is, theyre eating that thatch, they do eat the roots and the crowns , which kills the plant.

Its when these de-thatcher populations grow out of control that the dreaded lawn damage takes place.

Short on time and just want to kill some grubs?; Here are our picks for the best grub killers.

Lawn Grubs Life Cycle

While there are variations depending on which species of beetle they come from, the larvae tend to be stout, white-to-grayish with brown heads, about 3/4 of an inch to 2 inches in length. These lawn pests tend to curl up in a C shape at rest.

The grubs get their start when the adult beetles lay eggs in your turf, usually in spring. After the eggs hatch, the grubs evolve in three stages, with grub damage greatest in late summer, when you will see areas of your lawn thinning and yellowing. Later, irregular brown patches appear in your turf.

There are two major white grub species that cause problems in Ohio. Thats the Japanese beetle and the masked chafer, said Shetlar about his home turf.

Japanese beetle;grubs are widespread invasive insects, and their white grub larvae are bound to be found in lawns all over the country too, not just Ohio. Other chafer species besides the masked;chafer;beetles also lead to white grub;infestations and can establish in lawns beyond the states borders.

Other types of common lawn grubs around the United States include the larvae of the May and June beetles, green June beetle and the black turfgrass ataenius.

Its irrelevant which species it is, advised Shetlar. They cause the same kind of damage.

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Management And Control Practices

Cultural Control: Maintaining a healthy turf is important to culturally manage pest problems in any situation. This will involve proper soil preparation prior to turfgrass establishment, proper turfgrass selection for the site, proper installation, and using recommended management practices to assure a healthy lawn. However, grubs can damage the best-maintained turf.

Biological Control: There are several products available that fall into the category of biological control. These types of pesticides will reduce pest populations using other organic or biological processes. The most common and widely used biological control of grub worms is milky spore disease. Milky spore disease is a soil inhabiting bacterium that is ingested by the grub during normal feeding. The bacterium then kills the grub and upon desiccation, the grub will release more bacterial spores into the soil. Milky spore disease is nontoxic to non-target species in the lawn. As with all biological controls, efficacy can be highly variable depending on the site and the environmental conditions at that site.

Finally, there has been some research done on using the microbial biological control agent, Bacillus thuringiensis . Although there are several commercially available products of Bt for grub control, research has shown control to be marginal.

Table 1. Insecticides for Residential Lawn Grub Control.

If this document didnt answer your questions, please contact HGIC at or 1-888-656-9988.

How Can I Control Grubs While Protecting Bees And Other Pollinators

Before applying any insecticides, the lawn should be mowed prior to application so there arent weeds flowering in the lawn while the product is being applied.

Also be conscious of drift. If its windy and you spray an area of your lawn, theres a chance the product could drift onto flowering plants nearby. Likewise, if youre using a spreader for a granular product, ensure you limit your application to lawn areas that have been mowed and do have a grub infestation.

Theres little reason to apply any of these products to your entire lawn if only a section of the lawn has a grub infestation. Only use chemicals to control grubs if necessary, and always follow all instructions on the label.

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Gabriel Organics Milky Spore Lawn Spreader Mix

Get rid of those pesky little grubs that are damaging your lawn this year. This is an organic method of keeping your grass pest-free without cruel synthetic chemicals or byproducts. Theres no dangerous toxins here, just a mixture with a cozy all natural ingredient list to make sure you have the best possible lawn and avoid pesticides on your produce!

Japanese beetles can be a problem for lawns across America, but not with Gabriel Organics Milky Spore Lawn Spreader Mix! This 20 pound bag covers 7,000 square feet and is organic. It is harmless to all other living things such as birds, bees, beneficial insects, fish and animals.

Its effects are safe for people too so you dont have to worry about ingesting harmful chemicals! Not only does this product eradicate Japanese beetle larvae on your lawn but it also kills those pesky grasshoppers before they suck the nutrition out of your precious blades of green. Best of all? The best part of using this product? No harsh smells like chemical pesticides often emanate or any danger when pets walk through the area after application.