Before the Brown Spots

Come on, fess up - with that recent heat wave that hit the Lower Mainland, watering your lawn is the last thing on your mind right now! I mean, who wants to go outside in that heat! Even the local animals have taken a vacation from their nocturnal activities!

But, don’t fool yourselves they will be back! Why, you ask?

One word for you ….. GRUBS!

That’s right, chances are that White Grubs have invaded your lawn and are starting their yearly feast on your grass!

A little known first sign of a White Grub infestation are brown circles on the lawn. Many clients that we speak with here at Nutri-Lawn of Greater Vancouver think that the appearance of nightly animal visitors is a clear sign of White Grubs being present. Although their nightly exploring in your lawn can be a sign, it’s not one that you can count on 100% because they are simply looking for a meal, not knowing if there is one in your lawn.

The real true first concrete sign are those brown spots that often start out small and get bigger with time. If you were to pull on the grass, you would find that it comes out easily in your hand. This is the sign that grubs have invaded! The most frustrating part of this yearly invasion is that by the time you start to notice these brown circles, it is more often than not, too late for any control products to work.

As the eggs of the Chafer Beetle hatch, the grubs begin to chew on your grass roots from beneath the surface. This cuts the blade off from getting any food or water, which causes the browning you are seeing. Once the grubs are large enough for this, they are too large for most Grub Control products.

What does that mean for you?

Well, this means that it is time to schedule your Grub Reduction Application for this year, right now.

“But I had one last year” is often what we hear from new clients.

When it comes to protecting your lawn from the White Grubs, there are a few things that you can do to strengthen your lawn, but as the White Grub (European Chafer Beetle) has a one year life cycle (meaning the grubs you controlled last year have died and it is a new generation that is appearing this year), your lawn will need a Grub Reduction Application each year for the best protection.

“You say Grub Reduction, but I don’t want them reduced, I want a Grub Killer!”

Another comment that we hear quite often. Good news, bad news there. Good news is that there are steps that you can take to reduce the ability of the Grub to invade your lawn. Bad news is that here in the Lower Mainland there are no Grub Killer products that are allowed for use by any municipality.

“OK, I get it, I need to book this Grub Reduction, but what are these other things you keep mentioning?”

Great question! Lawn grubs, or White Grubs, or Chafer Beetle Grubs start off their life as eggs that are dropped by their mothers from above and land on the soil of your lawn. From there, the grubs hatch and go beneath the surface. Protection for your lawn, therefore, starts with making sure that those grubs cannot find the soil!

Strengthening the grass starts with a few simple steps:

1. Fertilizer: make sure that your lawn is being fed quality fertilizer at the right times of the year.

2. Water: Stronger roots = stronger grass. When you water deeply, you teach the roots to go deeper into the soil where they can find water in between waterings.

3. Mowing: We recommend that your grass is never shorter than 2.5” and not longer than 3”. The length of the grass blade is equal to the length of the roots (see above for root length).

4. Overseeding: the thicker the lawn is, the tougher time the Grubs will have trying to reach the soil. We recommend that new lawn seed should be added at minimum once every two years.

It’s not too late to protect your lawn! Nutri-Lawn of Greater Vancouver uses the newest products for our Grub Reduction service to ensure that you receive the best protection for your lawn. Our Grub Reduction product is a granular application and only requires a one-time watering of ½”! So you will not have to spend time every day moving sprinklers or getting a watering permit from your city!

If you act now and mention this article, you can save $45 off this year’s application!

Call or text us today!