You work hard on your lawn. We appreciate that. Your family appreciates that. Your neighbors appreciate that. So, when brown spots appear, it’s upsetting. We totally get that. What’s the deal? Most likely grubs.

Grubs, the larvae of Japanese, June, or Masked Chafer Beetles, are your lawn’s absolute worst enemy, as they destroy it from beneath the surface by eating the root system. And even if they don’t do a great deal of damage, grubs attract other pests such as moles, skunks, and raccoons who will destroy your grass in an effort to reach an easy meal. In short, the grubs have to go.

The quickest and most certain way to eliminate grubs is to use a systemic (water soluble) grub control containing a pesticide which targets the newly-hatched grubs that emerge in mid-August from eggs laid by beetles in late July. At this early stage in their development, grubs are most vulnerable to systemic pesticides. You should plan on applying a systemic grub control to your lawn in late-June and July which gives it time to be absorbed into the soil where the grubs hatch, but no later than the mid-August.

For those looking for an environmentally sustainable grub solution, we carry Milky Spore, an organic compound containing bacteria that causes a natural disease in beetle grubs. Milky spore also controls Japanese Beetles, but it takes 3-5 years for the bacteria to build up a high enough population in the soil to consistently kill grubs and several applications must be made over this time. Once the milky spore population is high enough, however, the residual effects last for almost ten years without further application.

K&B True Value carries a variety of grub solutions both conventional and more environmentally friendly. Ask our in-house expert which solution will work best for your lawn. Remember, if you can rid your lawn of the grubs that hatch this summer, you will not have a grub problem in your lawn next spring. But timing is critical! The time to act is now.