Lawn grubs are the adolescent phase of a variety of beetles and their voracious appetites can destroy a lawn quickly. Grubs infestation identification is crucial to preventing total lawn destruction.
Up to one-and-a-half inches long, and C-shaped with yellow or brown heads atop a white body, grubs are a common feature in any garden. The adolescent form of a variety of beetles, grubs pass their days not only munching on your garden's flowers and shrubs, but your lawn as well. Their voracious appetites easily infest lawns and could destroy the healthiest turf in a matter of months. Knowing how to identify a grub infestation before it spirals out of control is important in preventing massive destruction of your lawn or its full replacement.
Asiatic, Japanese and Oriental beetles, as well as May and June bugs lay their eggs in lawns in the summer. After a quick incubation period, the eggs hatch and the adolescent beetles - the worm-like grubs - immediately begin to feast on your lawn's roots. Some grubs take up to two years to mature into beetles, so when the weather turns cold, they bury themselves deep within the lawn's root system where they hibernate until spring ushers in warmer weather.
The first sign of grub infestation of your lawn will be the appearance of brown patches. Strips of dead grass will easily peel away as if rolling back a carpet. Brown patches can signify many types of lawn problems, however, so gardeners should test specifically for grubs by cutting out one square foot of their turf. If you see five to ten grubs hanging from the roots, the lawn is lightly infested. Thirty to fifty grubs indicate a heavily infested lawn.
Natural predators of grubs are few, but include skunks and moles. Their craving for grubs might aid in controlling your grub population, but their sharp claws will hardly preserve your perfectly, green turf. The milky spore disease powder and Neem are considered to be effective biological controls. Currently the insect parasitic nematodes show promise in attacking grubs, but it might be difficult to track down a supplier. If natural and biological controls fail to remedy the problem, chemicals may be your last resort. Chemical insecticides against grubs are available in any gardening store, and range from the highly toxic bendiocarb, to the less toxic and fast acting trichlorfon. Most are highly effective and easy to use on small plots. If your lawn is rather large, it might be more economical to hire lawn care professionals who have the proper equipment to administer the chemicals over a large area, and know when to return for follow-up applications.
Grubs multiply rapidly, feed voraciously, and are highly resistant to many pesticides. In high numbers they can attract destructive mammals such as moles and skunks, turning your picture perfect lawn into a biological battlefield. But quick identification of a possible grub infestation will allow you to take appropriate action and possibly prevent the complete destruction of all your hard work.
