The grubs in your lawn have finished feeding. Killing them now would be like closing the barn doors after the horses have escaped. Nematodes now would kill them, but what's the point? The time to put out the nematodes is the very day you see the Japanese beetles. If they swarm your porch lights or where ever you see them, that's the time. Then you can get to the feeding maggots with the BN. If you want to be preventive about it, you can apply nematodes in late winter (which is Valentine's Day for us in San Antonio) and again in mid May. The best time to apply is during a persistent rain lasting several days. That way your soil is nice and wet for them.

As stated, I put down the nematodes as soon as the Japanese beetle problem was noticed.

Do I need to worry about the grubs / beetles coming back next year, or should the nematodes that were put down in July help to prevent them next year?

what about milky spore? i know it is no quick fix, but might help for next year? we've put it down a few times over the past 3 yrs, and this summer had no grub problem.

I've always seen the word "milky spores". What are they? I'm really curious to know.

Thanks,

Ron

check out www.milkyspore.com

I to have found these little larvae in my dead grass, but alas it is to late mid October now.So my questions now are... What do I need to do next because I can just pick up parts of my lawn like a rug.I have collected about 50 of these things (going fishing later this week might as well get some good from this)Do I seed in the late fall and re seed in the spring. Or do I need to get rid of them now,in the spring or not at all because it is to late?

Any help will be very appreciated.

I cannot believe it! Saw some grass yellowing and under further inspection found the grass coming up easily with many grubs. I got an old plastic butter "bucket" and put as many as I could find in it, the put some compost on the area with the grass back in place. Is there anything else I can do at this point seeing as how it will be cold in Michigan very soon. Uggghh. Overseeded this year and my grass was looking great. Any wisdom/guidance would be helpful.

Has anyone used milky spore In or around New York with any success.

Thank you

JJB JR

From what I recall reading here and elsewhere, milky spore seems to work well for folks in the north while beneficial nematodes do not. Vice versa for folks in the south.

Please, I need help. My lawn is dying from grubs. I just applied my 2nd application of liquid Grub Beater but I have huge bare spots that need to be fixed. We use organic on our lawn.

Is it too late to kill the grubs? What should I do for next year?

Can I overseed given that I still have active grubs on the lawn?

Thanks for any info you can provide!

I started my 2 year application of Milky Spore this year. So far I have put down 2 of the 3 first year applications. I need to do the same next year. Japanese Beetles/Grubs were not that bad this year. It does take time for the spore to set up shop in your soil so I am sure I won't know the true results for a couple years. I live in SE Mass.

There are several members of the Scarab Beetle family, japanese Beetles are one, that lay eggs in the soil that become these "C" shaped grubs we are all taught to hate with a passion. Research at several universities has found that if the population of the grubs is around 10 per square foot you can have a problem but that fewer then 5 per square foot are not. The adult beetles lay the eggs in July and August and they hatch and are then very susceptible to Milky Spore Disease, "Bacillus popilleae" which they must ingest as they feed. As the soil cools these grubs will move down further into the soil for the winter and they stop feeding, but in the spring, as the soil warms, they come back toward the surface to feed for a short time before they pupate to become the adult beeltes. Milky Spore Disease is effective, for a short time during the early stages of these grubs life, shortly after they hatch so it should be applied in early August, at the latest. Milky Spore Disease is also a very passive means of control. You put it down and then hope the grubs find it and ingest it, which is why those that need immediate gratification find it not vey effective.
Beneficial nematodes, which eat the grubs can be applied about the same time or a little later.
GrubX is not an acceptable organic solution because it is a broad spectrum poison that will kill many of the soil insects, both beneficial and harmful.

It seems like Milky Spores are a lot easier to apply....trying to get coverage with a watering can for the nemotodes was not very effective. If it's late May in Ontario can I still look at using Milky Spores? I'm afraid they have taken over a large part of our lawn already!!

The time to put Milky Spore Disease, "Bacillus popilleae", is in late July or early August just before the eggs that will become the grubs hatch. MSD is not very effective once the grubs grow some, like other similar diseases it is most effective very early in the life of the larva.

You could put down some MSD now but it will do nothing about the current crop of grubs, although it will have an adverse affect on those that hatch next August.

kimmq is kimmsr

For milky spore (Paenibacillus papillae) to be effective, it needs to be consumed by the grubs and they begin active feeding in late summer into fall.

"GrubX is...........a broad
spectrum poison that will kill many of the soil insects, both beneficial
and harmful."

This is not correct. GrubEx is very targeted insecticide that is only effective against certain insect orders, primarily Colepotera. The active ingredient, chlorantraniliprole, has an excellent profile of safety or non-effect against beneficial arthropods, pollinators and non-target organisms like predatory insects, earthworms and soil microorganisms.

I had good results using nematodes on about a 500sqft section of my lawn. Two years in a row, I had terrible grub damage in that area, I applied the nematodes last spring and had no grub damage last summer. I did not apply more nematodes this year, so I will have to see if they can still control the grubs year over year without reapplication.

You can't apply the nematodes with a pressure sprayer (it will kill them), but you can use a hose siphon to cover larger sq footage. I used the one below to cover my entire 7,500sq lawn with compost tea the past few years. I wish it mixed faster, but it gets the job done.

Jacks-Classic-70010-Hozon-Siphon

The active ingredient in Grub X is "Chlorantraniliprole" and the list of target insects is quite long indicating it can kill many non listed insects. The common means of action is by ingestion.

kimmq is kimmsr