Grub Worm Lawn Care Management
Many types of beetles can lay eggs in your lawn, producing grubs that feed on grass roots. If grubs infested your lawn last year, you have an 80% chance of seeing them again. They may be present in your soil right now, undetected until they start to cause damage.
Keep an eye out for these conditions:
- Excess moisture. A lawn that is getting more than its recommended allowance of water from rainfall is a perfect environment for females to lay eggs.
- Brown patches in your yard. Try to pull up a clump of grass. If it comes up easily and no roots are visible, it’s likely that grubs have been feeding there.
- Crowds of birds. If you notice an unusual number of birds hanging around, you may be unwittingly hosting an all-the-grubs-you-can-eat buffet.
- Any of these conditions in neighbors’ yards. If there are lots of beetles, brown patches, or birds next door, it’s likely that grubs will spread into your grass.
Here are two easy steps you can take to help control grubs in your lawn.
Water appropriately. We recommend 1” of water per week. Since wetter soil provides a great opportunity for egg-laying beetles, watering only when it’s needed can help control the population of grubs. Of course, you may need to water more than usual after overseeding to repair damaged areas of a lawn. In that case, we suggest extra vigilance to watch for signs of infestation.
Mow at a higher setting. If your grass is tall, beetles have to work harder to get to the soil to lay their eggs.
If you’d like some help tackling this problem, please give us a call. We have two ways of fighting grubs. If eggs are discovered early in the year, a preventative treatment can help destroy them. If damage appears in the fall, a fast-acting curative can be applied for grubs that have already hatched.
To request a free estimate, fill out the online form or call us at 334.466.0600.
