white grubs

[sgkent]

Informational post: Live in a suburb of Sacramento. Put down new 360 sq ft of sod Friday. Went to cut out a drain grate the landscaper missed, and when I lifted the sod put down 3 days ago, white grubs (probably billbug and/or scarab beetle larvae) were plentiful. After research, came to the conclusion that California blocks the only pesticide that works this time of the year (trichlorfon - Bayer Advanced 24 Hour Grub Killer Plus Granules, or Dylox) that kills them in this stage of growth, this late in the year so we ordered some beneficial nematodes (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora) that helps manage them, and pulled up pieces of sod to hand pick them this morning. They were only in one corner of the yard, which had always had a brown cast to it all this summer. Now I know why it was always struggling. Just can't figure how they survived me scarifying the old lawn about two inches deep with a 8hp power lawn comber before laying sod. At any rate, GrubEx (chlorantraniliprole) works in the spring and early summer when they are higher in the grass and eating more, so we will use that next spring. The beneficial nematodes came from Evergreen Growers Supply in Oregon, and work all year round here, and the stuff we can't get but you probably can, Bayer Advanced 24 Hour Grub Killer Plus Granules, or Dylox works in the fall. We use a lot of beneficials on problems when they occur here, and while I am not endorsing the folks at Evergreen, they appear to be a one stop shop for beneficials of many kinds. I released lady bugs 30 years ago in mass and now they are everywhere when we have aphids. Not a cure all this summer due to the constant heat, but they help. So do the preying mantis that are plentiful here.

Here is a great article if you get these grubs in your lawn. Keep in mind that raccoons, skunks, all sorts of critters dig up lawns to get at this food source. https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/billbugs-and-white-grubs-5-516/