Live in NJ and spring seems to be here. At the end of last summer, we noticed a grub problem where a big patch of our lawn was dead...had to rake it all out (grubs were abundant) and reseed the area. Any suggestions on how to prevent this from occuring again? Are there any prevention treatments that work well?
Merit is a great product to prevent a grub infestation... unfortunately it does not affect a mature grub. I my experience there has been nothing on the market that is very effective against mature grubs when applied according to the label, which I would never recommend exceeding. There is another way to get rid of the mature ones though and you may have accidentally done it... you starve 'em to death. Once they've taken all the roots there are to eat they will have nothing left to feed on.
Peter H
There are different types of grubs with different lifecycles. They eventually pupate into a Junebug ( or something similar ) and fly off to bother someone else. Some only survive one year as a grub and some live for up to 3 years. The winter is very unlikely to affect them. Some studies have shown that they burrow down below the frost line, others have shown that they can freeze over the winter and come alive again in the spring.
They feed almost exclusively on the roots of grass plants. I've heard of them dining on the roots of a few other plants, but never a tree.
Merit should be laid down just prior to the new grubs hatching. They hatch from eggs dropped on the lawn from adult junebugs etc. This date varies depending on where you live and the type of grub bothering you. Here in Canada only licensed technicians can purchase this product. I believe that the States are more liberal.
Peter H
I agree with Peter H. Merit works very well. It's very important to apply the product at the right stage, or instar, of the grubs' life cycle. See your coop extension agent or read up on Merit from its manufacturer. A combination of nematodes and pesticide works, too, according to
-- Tom
my whole front yard in NJ (which I have seeded many times) is dead from grubs and then moles. It was a nightmare last fall. I laid a flashlight on the ground at night and have a major network of moles going in every direction. The molehills this spring are big, like 6" across. The rain exposes the hole, which is 3" It amazes me how they go for the only patches of grass left.
I thinking of the electrocution method. Flooding their hiways with the hose, and then zapping 'em. If they come above ground, my dog will get them.
Anybody know how a CURRENT to CUBIC FT ratio? Maybe use my car battery with a couple of jumper cables / with ribar stakes? Moving along a few feet at a time, flushing them in one direction with electric current. Or possibly rounding them up by circling in on them?
I have tried Merit, Scotts Grub Mix, Home Depot Grub mix, Mole poison, mole traps, my Shephard goes after them, but he is not always successful. After he is done, it is a real mess. When he catches one, he regurgitates it at my feet. (good boy)
I have very little grass left. mostly dust.
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