This week, we are spraying the golf course 'wall to wall' with an insecticide for white grub control. The term, wall to wall, means we spray every square inch of the golf course and campus.
A white grub is the larval stage of several species of beetles. The most common being Japanese Beetles. There are four stages of a beetles life: egg, pupa, larva, adult. In the world of turf, it is the larval stage that is most damaging because the small C-shaped organisms feed on turfgrass roots. If turf isn't treated, this can get ugly once the turf becomes compromised in late August, September and October. Animals like skunks, raccoons, bears and even wild hogs (yes we have them in Highlands) will dig for the grubs, creating a real mess.
The life of a beetle starts in late June/July when adult beetles lay their eggs in the grass. The eggs ultimately pupate and then form a white grub, which hangs out in the upper 2" of the soil, feeding on roots. When it gets cold in the fall, they'll go deeper in the soil. When spring comes around, they will rise back up in the soil feeding on turf roots again, before becoming an adult. From that point on, it all starts over again with the new generation of adults laying the eggs in grass.
The way to prevent all this from happening is to make an insecticide application to prevent egg hatch. When pests like this are treated on a preventative basis, we can use safer products at much lower use rates compared to what would be required to knock back a population of white grub larva once they become destructive.
So, if you have a lawn in Highlands, now is the time to have your landscape contractor address this pest. Animals will not dig up lawns where there isn't a food source. And if you ever had your lawn uprooted in September by an animal, you know first hand how destructive, not to mention costly, it can be. The best thing you can do is not take to risk, and treat now for white grub prevention.