Grub Treatment

grub2Grubs are a root-feeding headache for the turf pro. Grubs are the immature (larval) stage of beetles, which include the following:

Japanese Beetle European Chafer Masked Chafer Oriental Beetles Green June Beetle Asiatic Garden Beetle

 

 

 


The beetles lay their eggs 1 to 2 inches deep in the soil and the eggs hatch in 2 to 4 weeks. The young grubs begin feeding on grass roots immediately. They grow to full size within 3 to 4 weeks. This is their most damaging time to the turf. The grubs move deep in the soil for hibernation just before winter arrives. They come back to the root zone and start eating again in the spring.

Around May, depending on your location, the grub transforms into pupae and a few weeks later they emerge as adult beetles.

Their most visible damage can be seen in the late summer months when the turf is most stressed. Severe infestations may see numbers of up to 50 grubs per square foot.


 Easy to see signsgrub
 

1. The turf rolls back like carpet. This is because there are no roots left to anchor the turf. For this reason, there is no way for the turf to extract water. The turf will yellow and die quickly.

2. Digging holes appear over night. This is from skunks, raccoons, armadillos, moles, birds and other varmints. They all love the taste of the juicy little guys.

Adults are better known as the “June Beetle“. They are about a half inch in length and brown. The flight period last between 1 to 2 weeks. This is the time where males look for females to mate with. The egg laying period last 30 days and a female can lay 30 to 40 eggs.

The value of using a preventative grub control product is, you apply the product before you have a grub problem. Timing is no longer an issue and guess work is totally eliminated. The down side is you don’t know if you are going to have grubs or not. It’s very similar to insurance. If you have it, you won’t need it. If you don’t have it, you will need it. Bottom line is, preventative protection is much cheaper than replacing the turf.


grubchart