Grub Worm Control for a Healthy Lawn
Many insect larvae are lumped into a group and called grubs. The most destructive lawn grub in Texas is called the June bug (Phyllophaga longispina), also known in some areas as June beetles or May beetles. These May or June bugs are the same, and are members of the Scarab beetle family.
The big white grubs that you sometimes see in your garden soil are the larvae or grub stage of this beetle, which are seen flying around in late spring into early summer.
The larvae cause damage underground to the root systems of plants and grasses, while the adult feeds above ground on plants.
June bugs cause extensive damage to lawns if left unchecked as they progressively eat through the root systems of the grass, causing it to weaken and ultimately die. As the grass weakens, it is more vulnerable to attack by other diseases and insects as it is less capable of recovering.
YardDoc provides pest control services, using organic pesticide applications, to help prevent further damage. Take a look at our satisified customer reviews.
How to Tell if You Have a Problem
Visible Small Holes in Lawn - The first sign is often if you see something has been rooting in your lawn overnight, leaving small holes behind. These holes are made by armadillos or skunks which are looking for grubs that they can smell and enjoy as a food source.
Dead Patches - You have dead patches in your lawn (a sure sign that it is grubs killing the lawn is to pull gently on the leaves of the dead grass, if they peel off like a carpet then this is a sign that the roots have been chewed off by grubs).
Mole Hills - If you see molehills developing on your lawn, this could indicate grubs, as moles also feed on grubs.
White Larvae - When you are digging in the soil, you may well see the thick white larvae of the June bugs.
Grubs Surfacing on Lawn - If you flood a plant bed or a section of your lawn and you see thick white grubs emerging out of the soil. This can also happen after heavy rains when the soil is waterlogged and they need to surface to get air. Having proper yard drainage is critical.
Chewed Vegetation - If you see holes that have been chewed in the leaves of some of your plants or vegetables being chewed on overnight. Take a flashlight out at night and see if June bugs are the culprits.
Grub Worm Control
Grub worms won’t go away on their own until they have depleted their food source—which sometimes will be your entire lawn—so it is better to treat them sooner than later.
Take a look at our blog for some DIY pest control tips!
The female June beetle lays her eggs in the lawn (or elsewhere) in mid-summer, with the eggs hatching out soon thereafter and staying near the soil surface and feeding until fall. When the soil cools, they burrow deeper into the ground, only to emerge the following spring as adult beetles in search of a mate.
Controlling grub worms is quite achievable, but treating the adult beetles is more complicated than treating the grubs. And treating the grubs is more easily done when they are closer to the surface, so timing is key in getting rid of this pest.
The grub worm population in your lawn will increase year after year until treated or until the food source runs out, so it really makes sense to manage this problem as soon as possible.
We can help with your other pest control needs, for ants (carpenter ants), asian beetles, termites (drywood and subterranean), scorpions, millipedes, bed bugs, spiders, wasps and cockroaches. We set mosquito traps for mosquitoes, and keep rodents at bay with critter control.
If you have grub worms or suspect you do, let one of the YardDoc pest control technicians have a look to confirm this and implement a solution to get rid of the problem. Call us to get a free quote today!
Texas Pest Control License #: 0752604
Get a Free Quote