Identifying And Treating Infestations
If you can easily pull up the sod from the topsoil and if you count five or more grubs per square foot beneath this lifted sod, you have a grub problem. Good practice is to check several square-foot sections of damaged lawn and average the number of beetles per square foot to allow for shifting activity.
The two primary goals you should have are to eliminate the grub infestation, preventing spread or recurrence, and to repair your lawn after grub damage is removed. Grubs in new sod are of particular concern and should be treated right away. Inspecting your lawn in the spring and catching a grub infestation early is the best way to avoid extensive damage to your lawn and to prevent a later infestation of fully grown beetles. Regardless of when you discover the problem, you can quickly address it in a variety of ways and at a variety of price points.
MSN explains that there are two basic types of insecticides that target grubs: granule and spray. Granule grub killer is best applied while the lawn is dry but if heavy rainfall or watering is expected within the next few days. Spray grub killer is best applied while the lawn is already wet and further rain or watering is expected shortly.
What Is Best For Grubs In Gardens
There are several products you can use to kills the grubs in your gardens but it is generally best to use organic solutions.
That way you are not spraying chemicals on your food.
- Nematodes seek out and kill grubs and other insects in the soil and are a good solution for gardens.
- They are not as immediate as a chemical application would be but they are effective.
How Do You Kill Lawn Grubs & Moths
Our approach is to break the lawn grub cycle. If you can stop those pesky larvae from settling down in the all-you-can-eat buffet that is your lawn, youll prevent it from becoming a permanent, repeating problem.
There are insecticides available that will kill lawn grubs however, we always prefer not to use these in our yard because of the effects they can have on other, more welcome animal life.
A home-made and less harmful spray can be made using soapy water. Mix liquid soap with water to create a spray that will effective smother the surface-dwelling grubs. Spray it on areas where there are signs of grub activity. Wait an hour or so then check the area. You may need to repeat it.
This may not be enough for a large infestation . So, the rule is to go in early, and go in hard. Apply lots of soapy water, as soon as you suspect there may be lawn grubs in your yard. The cycle tends to begin in early summer, so be vigilant from them.
If youve been researching killing lawn grubs, you may have come across neem oil. This is a natural insecticide thats extracted from the seeds of a South Asian tree, and is fatty like soap. It has to be used sparingly, because even though its used in cosmetic products as a nutritional antioxidant, it can be harmful and is banned in some countries. Wed suggest staying clear of this one.
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What To Do If You Have This Damage
If your lawn does suffer from this type of activity, there is not much you can do to deter animals from returning. I have read that some people try sprinkling cayenne pepper over the area, but this could result in the pepper getting into the eyes of the animal, causing extreme distress, and they may damage their eyes as they try to get the pepper out. I wouldnt suggest using that method. If the area is not too large, you can try covering it with chicken wire to frustrate them as they try to dig. Dont leave the chicken wire in place too long though, as it will become more difficult to remove as the turf grows through the holes.
Chafer Grub Lawn Damage
Chafer grubs are the larval forms of Chafer Beetle. A severe infestation of these larvae causes brown patches in the lawn.
Chafer grubs devour the roots of the grass and could go unnoticed for months. They are only outed by critters when they dig out the lawn.
The aforementioned methods work well to eliminate chafer grubs but the most efficient way to get rid of them is by using Provado.
Provado Lawn Grub killer
Provado lawn grub killer can eliminate Chafer grubs and Leatherjacket larvae efficiently. Imidacloprid thats present in the insecticide is the miracle behind such efficiency.
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When Is The Best Time To Treat For Grubs
There are two times to treat for grubs. There is usually a short window in early spring before the grubs get too big and pupate, but it is a narrow window and can be difficult to time properly. The best time to treat is at the end of July to the beginning of August. This is the time of year that the grubs emerge from their eggs and burrow up into the top layer of soil where they eat the roots of the grass. They are easiest to kill in this early stage of development because they are young and near the top of the soil. If you wait too long, in early fall they burrow four to eight inches into the soil to get away from the cold and the treatment cant reach them. They will return older and hardier in the spring and will cause more damage then. You want to get your grub treatment down by the end of July or early August to be the most effective.
What Does Grub Damage Look Like
Grubs focus their feeding around the roots of your grass. If you begin to find that your grass is drying up and dying in patches, as if it’s been burned, you have grubs. You may also begin to find animals and birds come around more often in order to root around in your lawn. This is because they’re hunting for the pesky insects to complete their meal.
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Why Do Lawns Get Grubs
Lawn Grubs find a place in lawns that have suitable conditions for their growth. Lawn grubs proliferate if the lawns wet in June/July.
Lawn Grubs are also known to like Ryegrasses. They can attack any lawn, but they multiply only when the lawns suitable to them.
Identifying their presence is crucial if you want to have an upper hand on the pests. Lets see what the signs are.
Lawn Repair Grub Damage
How to fix and repair lawns that have grub damage. Dealing with heavy rains and when to apply lawn care products. Four weeks after discovering lawn grub damage on Barbs lawn and treating with the double kill and PGF complete the lawn has returned to normal. A thick green Bermuda lawn with no more damage.
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How To Repair Your Damaged Turf
Pushing the pulled up turf back into place can be a lesson in futility as the raccoons or skunks will come back again and again until the food source is exhausted and your lawn damage is extensive. From my experience, they will keep returning for about a week or so. Once they are done digging, you can start the repair process. This generally means smoothing the area as best as possible and then overseeding. In the more northern areas where cool-season grasses are grown, overseeding can be done until about the second week of October. Keeping the area watered will also help the grass to regrow as well.
Applying an insect control to the areas where the digging is occurring can be done, but these products are not going to eliminate the grubs overnight. The grubs have to ingest the material in order to be controlled and it takes several days if not weeks for this to occur. The better choice is to repair the area this fall and make sure you apply a preventative grub control application next summer.
If youre fed up with lawn damage from skunks and raccoons, leave the lawn and pest care to the experts. Enter your zip code to find the Spring-Green closest to you.
Quick Answer: How To Repair Grass Damaged By Grubs
Its a simple process. Remove the dead grass. Rake the dead patches into a garbage bag or wheelbarrow and dispose of it. Loosen the topsoil. Add fertilizer. Sprinkle the seed over the loosed soil. Keep the area watered. Once the grass has reached roughly 2 inches, water once daily. Be careful mowing.
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How Do You Prevent Lawn Grubs In The First Place
The easiest way is to not look after your lawn so well. Those lawn grub moths are like real estate brokers, going down the block to check out the best properties. They will choose the most attractive, greenest and best-watered garden they find, and then move into their perfect new residence.
So, one solution is to ease up on the lawn care, at least during the warmer months, which is the time when moths go house-hunting. Dont water your lawn during dry weather: sure it may get a little crispy, but it will spring back again, and it wont attract moisture-loving moth moms.
However, few of us like the idea of letting our lawns go brown and dormant over the summer, which is the time that we want to be out enjoying our yards. Instead of prevention, many gardeners go for the break the cycle approach, dealing rapidly with an infestation as soon as its spotted.
Try Using Milky Spore To Control Grubs
Milky Spore is another natural alternative for controlling grubs. I’m not a huge fan of Milky Spore for grub control because it only controls Japanese Beetle Grubs, and there are a plethora of other grub species that damage your lawn. Milky Spore is a good tool if you’re trying to reduce the levels of Japanese Beetles in your yard, but not the best product if you’re trying to control grubs in your lawn.
If you would like our help in controlling your grub populations, or preventing future grub damage, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We are here to help. To learn more, read about our Organic Grub Control services.
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How To Fix Grub Damage In A Lawn
Sometimes, skunks and raccoons will flip up chunks of sod looking for grubs. If you catch this in time and lay the sod back down then water it deeply, many times the lawn will recover. You can apply an organic animal repellent like Nature’s Defense, or call in an animal trapper to relocate the pesky critters who are ruining your lawn. I prefer to use the repellent however, because it’s difficult to control skunk and raccoon populations in an entire neighborhood.
If the lawn is just brown and dead looking, you’ll probably need to reseed. The key to successful seeding is seed to soil contact. One labor intensive way to achieve this is to physically remove all the dead grass and haul it to your compost pile, then scrape up the soil with a garden weasel, seed the area, and mulch it with straw, 1 bale per 1,000 square feet.
Another way might be to order topsoil and cover the entire area of dead grass with a very thin layer of soil, around 1/2 inch. 1 yard of soil should cover about 500 square feet with a light layer of topsoil. To accomplish this, you would cover the dead areas with dirt, distribute seed, and mulch with straw. We recommend seeding with Good Nature Tuff Turf, which is a premium blend of Turf Type Tall Fescues and Kentucky Bluegrass . Turf Type Tall Fescue has a deep root system and seems to be less likely to get damaged by grubs or animal digging. I wouldn’t call it grub-proof, but it’s a lot more resistant to grubs than shallow rooted grasses like Bentgrass.
Can You Put Down Grub Killer And Grass Seed At The Same Time
Luckily, there is no active ingredient in grub killer that will impact the growth and health of newly seeded grass.
Grubs cause most of the trauma to your grass in spring, however in fall as well, therefore I would skip on the reseeding during spring and focus on preventing an infestation, and then once your grass is free, or in limited supply, of grubs, I would apply and nurture the grass seeds.
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How To Tell If You Have Lawn Grubs
The first sign of lawn grubs is often irregular brown patches in your lawn. These could be caused by many different factors, but if you can pull up the grass easily, its a clear indicatorthe grubs will have chewed through the roots, making it easy to separate from the soil.
Increased animal activity is another sign. Grubs make up a large part of the diets of skunks, raccoons, and birds. If you notice a lot more holes in your lawn from digging or pecking, these critters might be after abundant grubs.
Recommended Practices As You Use Pesticides
- If you decide to use a pesticide to kill the grubs, it will probably be toxic to good insects like bees and other pollinators as well.
- To protect them from harm, mow your lawn before you apply the chemical to get rid of flowers that may attract them.
- Water your lawn after you apply the pesticide to avoid burning your plants and to enable the soil to absorb it.
- Dont apply too much pesticides as it will run off your lawn and into the environment. Use only the recommended usage on the back of the bottle.
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Is It Too Late To Treat For White Grubs
Damage from white grubs in lawns can show up anytime after mid-August. However, our experience in the recent past has been that grub damage does not become obvious until September or even into October. Damage from white grubs is usually localized. It is typical to have severe damage in irregular and isolated spots where there were enough soil-dwelling larvae to eat the grass plant roots.
White grub damage may first appear as drought stress . More severe damage causes the turf to die in large irregular patches that can be rolled back like a loose carpet. High populations of grubs may go unnoticed until discovery by raccoons or skunks. Raccoons, skunks and crows will turn over large patches of loose turf, eat the grubs and leave behind a torn-up mess.
Rainfall and soil moisture are critical factors affecting the extent of grub damage. Adequate moisture in mid-summer will favor beetle activity and grub development. If plentiful rainfall or irrigation continues through August and September damage may not be noticeable because the grass continues to grow and masks the root injury symptoms. Healthy turf can sometimes tolerate 20 or more grubs per square foot before showing signs of injury. The onset of dry weather can lead to sudden” appearance of grub damage symptoms.
Apply Corrective Grub Control
No matter what your lawn looks like, if you are finding lots of grub activity youll want to apply a corrective grub control application. This is not the same material used earlier in the year for prevention. This granular material is a quick-control material with little to no residual activity. You will need to water it in thoroughly. Remember, those grubs are down a couple inches below the grass, so youll want to dissolve the granular material and get it down there to work. Water it in as soon as possible. Some materials start to lose their effectiveness if not watered in within 24-48 hours.
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When To Apply A Lawn Grub Treatment
Grubs are larger and no longer feeding in the spring, therefore they are less susceptible to treatment. In addition, spring rains can easily wash away a treatment.
Midsummer to early fall is the best time to treat lawn grubs because at this point, grubs are small, immature and closer to the surface.
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