#271829
Mar 31st, 2009 at 08:14 PM
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,236
HandyMa'am
|
|
HandyMa'am
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,236 |
I know absolutely nothing about grubs. I found them this afternoon while I was digging out the soil in my cold frame. I took a guess as to what they were and googled a picture...I was right. I read that the grubs are larvae of beetles that lay eggs in lawns that are in full sun (which ours is). That is all I really know about these. I have also read that skunks and raccoons will search for them and tear up a lawn and I am wondering if that is what is happening in some parts of my front lawn. I just noticed the damage this afternoon and am not completely sure that is what is happening. So, I'm wondering what needs done here? I'm hoping to lay sod next year...tho I haven't completely convinced my husband that sodding will be easier and and most likely cheaper than sowing seed. So, I'm thinking that I don't really want to invest much $$ into getting rid of them, but I'd like to get rid of them to give the lawn at least a fighting chance for the summer and I'd like to have things better to either prepare for the sod or to have the lawn be OK in case we choose not to do anything with the lawn for the next year or so.
![[Linked Image]](//www.agardenersforum.com/images/graphics/buttons/jenn.gif)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,477
Deep Purple
|
|
Deep Purple
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,477 |
are they regular beetle larvae or japanese beetle larvae??? milky spore is the treatment for the jb's; there's another thing for regular grubs.
if they were the regular type grub and there aren't a ton of them, i wouldn't even worry about doing any kind of treatment. in other words, why spend money when there's not really all that much of an issue? generally, beetles aren't really bad things to have around.
if they are jb's doing treatment will only be partially effective at the moment...the standard treatment is to lay down the milky spore in spring and again in fall and sometimes the following spring. it takes a while for the spores to work their way through all the soil, so, if they are jb's then i WOULD recommend starting the treatment...those things are just plain nasty and eat more things than just roses!
what i do when i find the jb grubs is slice them in half with the edge of the spade. i did by the treatment the one year that they were really, really bad. never did put it down and they haven't been that bad since - which is just basically due to how they cycle and slicing the grubs up, as i find them, has helped it a bit, too.
Zone 6b
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,236
HandyMa'am
|
|
HandyMa'am
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,236 |
What do you consider bad? I dug up a 2'x5' area and found about 10 grubs. Is that bad or not so bad?
I will have to look for some pictures of those two different types of larvae to see what we have...all I know is they were creepy looking!!
I watched the front lawn a bit last night and didn't see anything digging around for the grubs, so I don't know if the damage to the front yard is just because those areas do not have actual grass, but has some other kind of growth instead and with the recent rain it just got yucky.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 19,138 Likes: 33
Patriot
|
|
Patriot
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 19,138 Likes: 33 |
10 grubs per square foot is what I've always heard but this is for grass. Will they eat the roots of vegetable plants? I've never heard that but I guess they could.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,477
Deep Purple
|
|
Deep Purple
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,477 |
10 grubs in a 2' x 5' area is bordering on being an issue. regular grubs will eat the grass roots - that's what causes patches of grass to just come loose.
where the grubs just all one color? or did they have a darker section at one end that was a little smaller in diameter than the rest of it? if you found the second kind, that's jb's. did you see a lot of the beetles around your yards last summer? if so, that would make perfect sense to find so many of the grubs now.
feel free to go on a killing spree - no one will fault you and no one will come after you either. so go ahead and kill 'em  and don't be ashamed to show the joy you feel when you squish them...such nasty things don't deserve to be here - even if they're god's creatures...this one was a mistake!
Zone 6b
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,236
HandyMa'am
|
|
HandyMa'am
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,236 |
I'm pretty sure they were jb's. and I was digging down pretty deep, so I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't see nearly all of them anyways. I'm using the soil that I dug up in my front bed where I'm transplanting my lilies. If they eat those roots then so be it. I'll look for milky spore. Does it come in a bag???? Might our local hardware store have it??...or Walmart???? Do I just sprinkle it around? And will it hurt my dogs because they use the back yard???
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,477
Deep Purple
|
|
Deep Purple
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,477 |
i don't think they like lilies, so they should be okay.
walmart may have it and a local mom-n-pop place might, also. i got it at lowe's. yes, get the bagged stuff - the little boxes won't cover nearly enough of your yards. it's usually applied with a spreader and you're going to have to do ALL of your lawn area - even if you don't see any grubs in a section, put the stuff down anyway.
i don't know if it's harmful to the dogs or not - take a look at the package info. even if it's okay, you may want to keep them away from the freshly treated area for a couple of days - just to be on the extra-safe side.
Zone 6b
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,236
HandyMa'am
|
|
HandyMa'am
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,236 |
Walmart doesn't have milky spore, but they do have something called Grub-Ex. It says it will take care of JP larvae. I haven't gotten down to the local mom -n- pop hardware store. I might be able to head over to Lowe's on Monday (it's next to wal-mart and I like to get the easter candy on discount).
|
|
|
|
Forums65
Topics14,331
Posts242,992
Average Daily Posts5
| |
Members16,001
Most Online142,934
May 16th, 2026
|
|
|
|
![[Linked Image]](http://www.agardenersforum.com/images/graphics/buttons/jenn.gif)
