As the old saying goes “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This statement is spot on when it comes to preventing grubs and the damage associated with them.
Beetle Life Cycle
Before we get into the benefits of preventative grub control, we need to understand grubs and how they can impact your lawn. Grubs are the sub-surface larval stage of beetles. Although there are several types of beetles, most people are familiar with Japanese Beetles because they like to dine on our favorite trees and shrubs. Beetle species in our area typically lay eggs in the summer, sometime between June and early August depending on the species and environmental conditions.
The eggs hatch into grubs, which survive by eating plant roots, especially grass plants. Over time, as the larvae continue to feed, areas of the lawn turn brown and feel sponge like as you walk over it. An easy way to determine if grubs are the culprit is to pull on the actual grass plants. The grass pulls right up like a carpet and expose the feeding grubs underneath. The grubs are typically white and shaped like the letter C.
White grubs burrowing into the soil. The larva of a chafer beetle, sometimes known as the May beetle, June bug or June Beetle.
Grub Prevention
To avoid having this happen to your lawn, apply a preventative grub control to the lawn in the summer. The product moves into the soil prior to the eggs hatching, providing protection to your plants from feeding larvae. The application is very effective at controlling grubs and saves you lots of time and money compared to dealing with the issue after the fact.
Post-Emergent Grub Control
If you did apply a preventative grub control, and you find grubs damaging your lawn, there are still things you can do to help. You should treat the grubs, but keep in mind the treatment is less effective when compared to preventative treatments because the grubs are larger and more mature. Every person on the planet is not born on the same day, we all have different birthdays. The same can be said for grubs. They don’t all hatch from their eggs in the soil on the same day. The younger the grub the more effective the material is on it, the older (more mature) the grub, the less effective the material is on it. At this point it is safe to say that this material applied at this stage will produce about 60-70 percent control results on the actively feeding grubs. Typically, the treatments to control the grubs at this stage of their life cycle requires heavy watering after the application as well. This helps move the product to the root zone, where the grubs are feeding.
When grubs have caused damage to turf, the grass can be easily separated from the soil exposing the grubs underneath.
What is more cost effective?
One benefit to preventative grub control is saving money. Products used to preventatively treat grubs are typically much cheaper than the ones used to control them after they have matured. The results are also more effective when treating them preventatively, so you’re getting better control at a lower cost.
Because grubs feed on the root system, the damage they cause kills the plant and reseeding will be necessary to help those areas recover. Another benefit to preventatively controlling grubs is you won’t have to spend your time and money reseeding grub damaged areas of your turf, that is often very costly.
Conclusion
A little bit of prevention goes a long way when it comes to grub control. Save yourself the time and hassle associated with controlling mature grubs and reseeding damaged areas by getting a preventative grub control application this summer. Whether you do it yourself or have a lawn care professional apply the treatment, we highly recommend it. If you are in our service area and have any questions about grub control, feel free to contact us at 908-281-7888.