Grubs

Up to one-and-a-half inches long, C-shaped, with yellow or brown heads atop a white body, grubs are a common feature in any yard. The adolescent form of a variety of beetles, grubs pass their days munching on your grass’s roots. With voracious appetites they easily infest lawns and can 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 cause the need for 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; 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, so you should test specifically for grubs by cutting out one square foot of turf. If you see five to ten grubs hanging from the roots, the lawn is lightly infested. Thirty to fifty grubs is indicative of a heavily infested lawn. In high numbers they can attract destructive mammals such as moles and skunks, turning your lawn into a biological battlefield.

Requirements for Grub Treatments

Our method of grub control involves applying beneficial nematodes to your lawn any time throughout the summer. Nematodes are microscopic worms that will also feed on flea larvae, occasionally termites, and other insects that live in the soil. They seek out grubs, burrow into them, feed, multiply, and move on, killing the grubs. As long as the soil remains relatively moist, these nematodes have the potential to live as long as 18 months before dying. Nematodes are harmless to pets, people, plants, and anything except grubs.

• Soil must be moist. If you are not irrigating regularly, we require the lawn be watered prior to scheduled arrival.
• Nematodes die in sunlight. Applications are done either early morning or early evening.
• We spray the nematodes using water. However, they must make soil contact. Immediately following application, the lawn has to be lightly watered to rinse them into the ground (10 minutes or so).
• Soil must be kept moist for about a week (normal watering will accomplish this).

For more information on nematodes, follow this link.

For guidelines on chemical grub control, follow this link.

Insect Controls

In a healthy lawn, insect damage from sod webworms, cutworms, billbugs, chinch bugs, etc. is nominal. Properly maintained turf will outgrow damage from adult insects. We use a natural extract of Neem oil, enhanced with natural pyrethrin, to control adult insect damage.