They start as beetles munching away at your plants and shrubs in the spring. Then they lay eggs in your lawn making your grass brown out and die in the summer. As if that’s not bad enough, the eggs survive the winter and start their lifecycle over again, stronger than ever. If you want to keep up your home’s curb appeal, you have to start in the spring with preventative action on your lawn and treat it with grub control.

Early Signs

If you have dead patches this summer then chances are you have grubs. Grubs are the larvae of Japanese Beetles, June Beetles, chafers and others. They’re white and shaped like the letter “C” and they feast on the roots of grass. Here are easy-to-spot signs to help you spot a grub problem before the dead patches appear:

• Raccoons, skunks, and birds are hanging out in your yard and digging up your grass. These animals love to dine on mature grubs.
• Before the dead patches appear, your turf has spots that feel spongey under foot as if it’s newly laid sod.
• You can pull back large chunks of turf and underneath are the c-shaped culprits snacking away.

Controlling Grubs with Preventative Action

The damage happens in late summer and fall but your lawn needs to be treated in the spring. The fall is too late. Damage happens especially when it’s dry. The grubs eat roots and the turf dries out and underneath you’ll find the grubs.

Beetles appear in the early summer and can be seen on trees, shrubs and plant leaves where they find their dinner. Then they head for your lawn to lay their eggs. They continue to eat and grow until mid-fall when they burro more deeply into the soil to survive through winter. When the weather warms up again, mature grubs move back up through the soil and become adult beetles that emerge in the spring and early summer to start the cycle over again.

The key to controlling grubs is to kill them before they hatch again in the spring and summer. Hillside applies a one-time application which protects your turf all summer. A properly maintained lawn can handle more grubs per square foot than a stressed lawn. Hillside’s Essential and Deluxe programs keep your lawn healthy, lush and green for tough protection against grubs.