Lawn Care: How Do You Know If You Have Grubs in Your Wappingers Falls, NY, Lawn?
When you look out over your Wappingers Falls, NY, lawn, all you want to see is thick, green grass. But if you’ve ever taken a hopeful look over your yard in the early summer and noticed brown patches, it’s possible that grubs were the culprit. How can you tell whether your lawn problem is due to grubs or something else? Professional lawn care service can zero in on exactly what is causing issues in your landscape and alert you to whether grubs are prevalent. Then a solution can be put into motion.
What Are Grubs?
Grubs are the larvae of those pesky beetles that arrive in early summer to consume your flowers, shrubs, and trees. The eggs of the beetles hatch in about 10 days, leaving larvae underneath the grass and soil. The small, C-shaped larvae that look like white worms live under the soil and feed on the roots of the grass. Eventually, they develop into beetles, only to mate and produce more larvae.
What Are the Signs of Grubs?
One sign of a grub infestation is brown patches in the lawn that were not there in early summer. Because the grubs eat the tender grass roots, the blade dies and the entire area turns brown as the larvae continue to feed in late summer.
A second sign is when you investigate the brown patch, and you can lift the grass like a carpet that has not been stapled to the floor. Underneath, you might see the white grubs in the dirt.
A third, and probably a more frustrating sign, is the digging that animals do in the yard to locate the grubs for food. Birds, skinks, moles, and raccoons are some of the animals that search out the grubs, and dig them up for food.
A fourth sign of grubs is a spongy lawn. Frequently, the lawn becomes spongy in an area before the grass turns brown.
Related: What Causes Brown Spots in a Lawn?
How to Remedy a Grub Problem
Grubs must be killed before they hatch into larvae. Applying a pesticide in late summer to early fall to kill the larvae just as they hatch is key to controlling grubs. There is a pesticide to apply when the grubs are present, and a longer term pesticide to apply in spring to prevent grubs. As with any chemical lawn care, the applications must be properly and carefully applied.
Related: 3 Things to Know About Organic Lawn Care in Hopewell Junction, NY
Other Things to Remember
Keep an eye out on your neighbors’ yards, because if they have grubs, you probably will, too.
Grubs thrive in lawns that are kept well-watered. The female beetles lay more eggs in the moist grass than in dry grass.
You need a multi-step treatment to eliminate grubs if you have them, and a preventative treatment to keep them away.
Grubs can certainly ruin a beautiful landscape with their random brown patches. Then, to make matters worse, the small animals that feed on the grubs can create ruts in the yard as they search for their food. If you think you have grubs, or have had them in the past, consult with a landscape professional for a treatment solution. With grubs, you want to stop the infestation before it ruins your lawn.