Grubs can cause significant damage to your lawn here in the North Shore. Late summer is when you may start to notice grubs in the ground as they feed on your lawn's root system but now is the time to take action. It is always best to try and prevent a problem before it starts and that is absolutely true with grubs. Stopping them before they can do that damage is vital to not only your lawn's overall health but to your wallet as well!
Ever notice the Japanese and Chafer Beetles that are buzzing around and feeding on your roses, Cherry and Japanese Maple trees, and other plants during the summer? Well, they lay eggs in the soil of your lawn and planting beds starting in mid-July. Those eggs eventually hatch into the plump, C-shaped beetle larvae you may see at the end of summer. You can learn more about grubs in Massachusetts here.
Just because you've never noticed them before doesn't mean they're not there. Most lawns in the North Shore actually have grubs but many times the population is so low that they don't cause damage. Also, you may still have grubs in your lawn because these adult beetles fly around and lay their eggs wherever they feel like it. You may have never had a grub problem in the past but that doesn’t mean they didn’t decide to lay their eggs in your soil this year or that your lawn will have a large enough population to cause significant damage.
Beetles emerge from the soil in the spring and mate during the summer. They lay their eggs in the summer and a new generation of grubs are born. They feed on your root system creating dead patches of grass and attract rodents like skunks who start digging up your yard looking for these tasty treats. The grubs that survive dig deeper in the soil to hibernate during winter and come back in the spring, starting the cycle all over again.
Controlling grubs by preventing them from causing damage to your lawn in the first place is always the best option. If you or your lawn care company put down a preventative grub treatment in the summer, those young grubs that will be feeding on your lawn at the end of summer should start to die off as they ingest that insecticide. If you have a lawn care company apply preventative and you see breakthrough grub damage, contact them to see what their policy is for follow up curative applications.
Applying a curative treatment for active grubs is great but that may not solve the problem since not all the eggs hatch at the same time so you may have multiple generations of grubs appearing even after you treated the active grubs. So you may need to put down multiple products and/or treatments to ensure you have gotten rid of each generation. This is why putting down a preventative treatment is so important.
Looking for more information on grub control or just ready to let the professionals take over your lawn care needs? The Grassmaster Plus team is ready and willing to answer any questions you have and so simply call our office at 978-769-3595 or click HERE!