What Are Grubs?
Grubs are the larvae form of a beetle, sometimes called a white grub, june bug, or other kind of beetle. The c-shaped pale insects feed on the roots of grass and can cause the grass to die. The brown dead patches can be large or small, depending upon how big the grub population is.
Lawn care experts say that the best way to determine if a lawn needs grub control treatment is to check a one foot square area of the yard. Digging two inches down, a simple count of the number of grubs in the one foot square area will indicate if the yard needs to be treated. If, for example, more than ten grubs are found there, the yard needs a grub control treatment.
How Do I Know If My Yard Has Grubs?
Even before dead brown patches appear in a yard, another indicator can signal the infestation of grubs. Moles, and other small burrowing animals, often feed on a yard with grubs. These furry animals may be an indicator of a problem below the grass.
In addition to looking for animals that feed on grubs, lawn service companies also recommend checking the yard as it greens up in the spring. A small brown patch could be an indicator of a grub problem that began the previous fall. If the sod rolls up like a piece of carpet, it is likely that the yard has grubs and should be treated.
What Is the Best Way to Prevent Grubs?
For many home owners, the best way to prevent any lawn problem is by applying scheduled lawn treatments. Though some home owners do this on their own, some of the best lawns are a product of professional lawn fertilization services. These professional companies make it their business to know what is the best time, often based on temperature and rainfall, to treat a yard. Scheduled applications of fertilizers, grub control, and other services will produce a lush, thick lawn.
In addition to looking great, a thick green yard can also prevent run off of water, possibly reducing the needed amount of irrigation and sprinkler services necessary. In fact, the thickest yard can absorb nearly six times as much rainfall as a wheat field and four times as much as a field of hay. A yard that absorbs water is a healthy lawn.
Even if you are not planning a backyard graduation party, it should come as no surprise that most home owners think of a yard as a valuable extension of their home. For instance, a lush yard combined with well designed and maintained landscaping can add as much as 15% to 20% of value to a property. For these reasons, Americans as a whole spend as much as $40 billion a year maintaining their yards and landscaping.