Grubs are white “C” shaped beetle larvae about ½ an inch in length. They have soft bodies with legs near their head. A grub could be the larvae of a masked chafer, European chafer, Japanese beetle or other beetle species. They like to feed on grass roots and organic matter in the soil causing sections of the lawn to die. Eventually they turn into adult beetles and emerge from the soil to mate and lay eggs. Those eggs hatch into more grubs and continue the cycle.
If you can pull sod away from the ground, the root system may have been eaten by grubs. If you cut into the soil and look for their presence, and if there are more than 10 grubs per square foot, that is a red flag. Grub damage can appear in two ways: small irregular patches of lawn will appear brown, dry and wilted, as well as raccoons and crows tearing up the lawn to feed on grubs.
Beetles lay their eggs in moist, irrigated soil. Healthy soil and integrated pest management will give you the upper hand in grub defense. Beetles emerge in early summer, feed on plants in the garden and lay their eggs in the soil in the lawn. Later in the summer the grubs hatch and immediately begin to feed. They will continue to eat and grow until mid-fall, then they move deeper into the soil so they can survive through winter. When the soil warms up again in the spring, the large, mature grubs move back into the upper soil levels where they transform into adult beetles. These beetles then emerge in the early summer and start the whole process over again.
They key to controlling grubs is to kill them before they hatch and begin to cause damage to your lawn. If you suspect your lawn is being taken over by grubs, make sure to choose the best, Palm Coast Pest!
