Grubs have made a mess of our lawn. Any advice on the best way to treat for grubs in the mid-Atlantic states?

Grubs have made a mess of our lawn. Any advice on the best way to treat for grubs in the mid-Atlantic states? Asked by coco205 50 months ago Similar questions: Grubs made mess lawn advice treat grubs mid Atlantic states Science.

Similar questions: Grubs made mess lawn advice treat grubs mid Atlantic states.

According to the National Park Service... ...white grubs are the larvae of many species of beetles, most of which belong to the family Scarabaeidae. Although the adults differ from one another in appearance and life cycles, the grub stage of all species are similar in appearance. .

Although numerous species of grubs cause turf damage, only a few key species are the most damaging: the Japanese beetle, and the northern and southern masked chafers. The life history patterns for these species are very similar, although the peak emergence period for adults varies somewhat and under drought conditions some species will delay adult emergence until rains or irrigation moisten the soil profile. The Japanese beetle life cycle is typical of the key species with annual cycles.

Milky Disease and parasitic nematodes are the least environmentally problematic solutions. They are safe for humans and animals. They remain effective over many years, but they may take time to build up to effective levels.

Chemical control is best left to a professional lawn company as many of the chemicals require precise timing to work and more and more effective ones are increasingly use-restricted. . If you are going to treat with a chemical, then Trichlorfon is a fast-acting, short-residual insecticide recommended for curative spot treatments.

All people and pets must be kept off the treated area for 24 hours after treatment. Trichlorfon is highly soluble and penetrates the thatch layer better than most products. It has an extremely short period of residual activity (7-10 days) and a reduced half-life in alkaline soils.

This product is recommended as a late-season curative and should be applied after the grubs have been located, up to as late as mid September. SOme forms are use-restricted but not all of them. In addition, the recovery of grub-damaged turf can be hastened with fall fertilization.

A high-nitrogen application in the spring, however, is detrimental because it weakens the grass by encouraging shoot development without a good root system. Counteract root loss with regular watering and counteract thinning of the stand with overseeding. Finally, the best long-term control is what type of grass you have growing in your lawn and whether it is healthy.

Kentucky bluegrass and creeping bentgrass, however, have a spreading growth habit that is beneficial in filling in bare patches caused by grubs. In addition, endophyte-enhanced grasses (e.g. Some perennial ryegrass and tall fescue) may be more tolerant of drought stress and recover more quickly from grub damage. Soil moisture and fertility affect the expression of damage by white grubs.

Actively growing turf with a good root system may tolerate populations up to 50% higher than treatment thresholds without showing signs of injury. --------------------------------------------------------BEST JAPANESE BEETLE CONTROL ACCORDING TO NPSMilky disease provides the first option in the mid-Atlantic states for low-to- moderate maintenance turf situations. This bacterial agent is long- living, species- specific, self-perpetuating, easily-applied, and best adopted to the mid-Atlantic region.

Success in New York and New England areas has been limited due to the average cooler soil temperatures and shorter grub season. This bacterial disease suppresses only the Japanese beetle grub and requires the presence of moderate grub populations in order to increase the soil spore counts and spread the disease to untreated areas. Spores can remain viable for 20-30 years once established in a lawn.

However, at the economical rates of application recommended by the manufacturer, effective control may require a two-to-four year establishment period. The granular formulations have not been proven effective to date. The spore dust product is recommended for newly-established turf areas.

Areas with ten or more years of turf coverage may already have naturally infected soils. This disease works most efficiently when grub populations are moderate to high. This situation usually occurs in new housing developments.

Some occasional damage can be expected regardless of the spore levels in the soil and age of the turf. Milky disease is not compatible with insecticides because they kill the grub population that is required to increase and maintain the soil spore counts. Fortunately the spores will remain viable after an insecticide treatment and continue to increase in later years when the grub populations return.

CONTROL FOR MASKED CHAFERSA new strain of milky disease specific for Cyclocephala species has been discovered and looks promising but commercial production may take several years. The Japanese beetle milky disease will not suppress this pest.. The parasitic nematodes used to control Japanese beetles will also suppress masked chafers. A commercial product with the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae is marketed under the trade names BioSafe, BioVector, and Exhibit.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------WAYS TO KNOW WHEN GRUBS ARE GETTING STARTED Blacklight traps. These systems can collect large numbers of sod webworm and white grub adults.To date there is no way of estimating the damage potential or the resulting larval population from these adult counts, but information on adult activity obtained from these traps is useful in determining when larvae will be active. The high cost of $200-$300 per trap often makes this option prohibitively expensive.

These traps will also provide notice of the first occurrence of a pest and delineate the species distribution over a large geographic area. Determining the relative abundance of species and risk assessment of damage from one year to another at the same sampling site is another important use of light traps. Pheromone traps.

Pheromones are chemicals which are emitted by an organism to communicate with other members of its species. The most widely used pheromone trap in turf integrated pest management programs is the Japanese beetle trap. This trap uses a floral lure and female sex pheromone.

The high price per trap and the excessive number required per acre to significantly reduce the adult beetle populations limits the use of trapping of beetles as a management tactic. Trapping can be used as a monitoring tool to detect the buildup of populations and to monitor variations in populations between geographic locations or from one year to the next. Most Japanese beetle traps utilize both the floral and sex pheromone lures.

The sex lure increases the number of male beetles collected by 10-40%. The traps should be used without the sex lure component when they are used for population monitoring so trap catches will more accurately reflect the normal 50:50 sex ratio. Monitoring the females is more important because they lay the eggs that give rise to the damaging grub population.

Additionally, some parasites that attack the adult beetle, such as the Winsome fly (Istocheta aldrichi), can be easily collected from trapped adult beetles and distributed into new communities or geographic locations. Daily beetle trap catches will be strongly influenced by temperature, rain, distance from host plants, soil type, groundwater levels, and natural enemies. Using several traps at each sampling location will help reduce the effect of this variability on population estimates.

Pheromones for several other species of annual white grubs are now being tested and should be on the market within a few years. Otherwise, lures for species such as black cutworm, true armyworm, and fall armyworm are now available for use. Unfortunately, little progress is being made on the sod webworm species other than the cranberry girdler, Chrysoteuchia topiaria (Zell).

This sampling tool will become more important in the near future when additional pheromone systems are marketed for turf insects. Sources: http://www.nature.nps.gov/biology/ipm/manual/turfpest.cfm AND http://ipmguidelines.org/turfgrass/content/CH05/default.asp#_Toc165436650 .

Best way to treat for Grubs... First some grubs are normal...say 0-5 per square foot treatment should not be necessary. But from the sound of your question you already have considerable damage. Grubs eat the grass roots...killing the grass...once the lawn is like that it will basically come up in sheets can kind of roll it like a carpet as there is nothing holding the dead grass to the earth.

Another problem is critters will usually come feed on the grubs...tearing up your grass in the process of finding the grubs. How I treat...I spread grub poison a few times a year...spring April-May... summer late July August (most important time as this is when eggs are layed)...fall Oct-Nov. A lot of people do not like to use poison...but after you have had your lawn destroyed once or twice it seems like a good option.

Organic ways to treat lawn: number one...have a healthy well watered lawn. Lawns prefer a deep soaking occasionally rather than regular light waterings. If the lawn is not stressed it can withstand the grubs better.

Predatory nematodes are available for use in Canada and the US as a biological control for white grub. The grubs usually lay their eggs in July and August...and they like moist lawns...so this is a good time not to water. Several pesticides are available for grub control.

Diazinon is very effective but takes 3 weeks to kill the grubs. The positive is the poison is rather long lasting and continues to kill for a time. Trichlorfon sold as Dylox is a poison that kills immediately but does not last very long and must be applied often.

Imidicloprid sold as Merit or Grubex is newer on the market and is similar in effectiveness to Diazinon. Read the instructions carefully...I believe all of the granule type poisons require a very heavy watering after application. Personally I use a mix of Diazinon and Dylox...dylox kills immediately the diazinon sticks around a little.

I apply ~4 times during the growing season. http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/lawnfaqs/grubs.html ChicagoTRS's Recommendations Destruction of lawns by the white grub, lachnosterna rugosa and fusca (Circular of information / Office of State Entomologist) White grubs and billbugs in home lawns (Entomology fact sheet) White grubs in lawns and golf courses (Circular / New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station) White grubs in lawns, parks and golf courses (Ontario. Dept.

Of Agriculture and Food Publication) .

Milky Spore Ask for this at a gardening center... Milky Spore is a type of bacteria that attacks the grubs in the ground and replicates in their bodies... the more grubs you have the more Milky Spore is born. Just put it on with a drop spreader and wet it in with water. Sources: Personal Knowledge .

I am in the process of overseeding for the fall and I noticed grubs in the soil. Should treat for grubs and seed late" "what are grubs on my lawn? " "Are there any products that kill lawn grubs but are safe for pets to be around?" "whats the best insecticide for lawn grubs.

I am in the process of overseeding for the fall and I noticed grubs in the soil. Should treat for grubs and seed late.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.