Grub Control

grub insectsOne of the most insidious insects to infest a lawn are the larva of the Japanese Beetle and Chafers, also known as Grubs. Grubs live in the top 3-4 inches of soil under your lawn and feed on the roots of all types of grasses. You can typically find these grubs during the late spring and early summer as well as in the fall, but they are also there hibernating in the winter, but doing no damage during this period.

Often you won't even know you have a problem with grubs until it is too late. Heavily infested turf first appears a gray-green off color and wilts in the hot sun. Such infestations typically appear in oddly shaped and sized patches among healthy plants, creating an unsightly contrast. Continued feeding will cause the turf to die in large irregular patches. The tunneling nature of the grubs causes the turf to feel spongy, and it is easily rolled back, since the deep roots are consumed first, exacerbating the plants' problems with drought in hot dry weather. Grub populations also attract predatory mammals such as skunks, raccoons, opossums and moles that can hear the grub activity and dig into the turf in search of a meal - causing further damage to the turf.

Lawn Treatment For Grubs

RSH grub damage lawn

Not all lawns with grubs need grub control. Once a lawn reaches a critical population, usually 10 per square foot or more, grubs can start to damage you lawn. The June beetles do most of their damage during the early summer, but the Japanese beetle damage you lawn in the fall.

Suburban landscaping uses three different chemicals in the control of the insects commonly know as Grubs.  All three are broad spectrum, systemic insecticides with long lasting residual effects, even at extremely low application rates.  These chemicals work both on contact and when ingested by the Grub larva.  The use of these chemicals is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, and are proven as the safest chemicals to the operator, the public, animals, fish, and birds.

When applications are followed with sufficient irrigation, either by natural rain fall or client watering, the chemical will move through the thatch layer quicker, providing optimal control.  The effectiveness of this application will be non-effective until water has been applied.  This application will not harm pets once the chemical is activated by rainfall or in small quantities.

During the month of August an insecticide application should be made for the pre-emergent control of White Grub Larva.  Soil checks should be made every two weeks during July and August for the presence of grubs.

More Detailed Information

Grubs are the larvae of Scarabs, a stout-bodied beetle with bright metallic colors. They have distinctive, clubbed antennae composed of plates called lamellae that can be compressed into a ball or fanned out like leaves to sense odors. The front legs of many species are broad and adapted for digging.

Grubs are white or yellowish and have fleshy, wrinkled, C-shaped bodies with tan or brown heads and six spiny legs. They are quite small upon hatching, but at maturity are from 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches, depending on the species. June beetle adults are shiny reddish brown, up to 1 inch long. The adult European Chafer is light brown or tan and is about 1/2 inch long. The adult Japanese beetle is metallic green and bronze and less than 1/2 inch long. 

If you have Japanese beetles in your lawn, you will have better luck treating them in the late summer or early fall. During the fall they molt and over the winter they slowly turn into adult beetles,  emerging in the spring time as adult Japanese beatles, ready to start the cycle all over again. Your optimal window for killing white grubs is when they are in the grub stage of development. Insect growth regulators used to control grubs should be applied right before they start to molt, preventing them from becoming adults and reproducing.

Some of the well-known beetles from the Scarabaeidae are Japanese beetles, dung beetles, June beetles, rose chafers (Australian, European and North American), rhinoceros beetles, Hercules beetles and Goliath beetles.

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