grubs
On Mar 24, 11:35*am, wrote:
I have been trying for a few of years to get rid of the grubs in my yard. I
getting tire of seeding and reseeding to fix the lawn. The first year I got
rid of most of em, then I realized I wasn't putting the material in the
flower beds so I did that and they still seem to come back. I buy the right
material apply it very heavy and water it in but the grubs just keep coming
back. *One year I even tried beneficial nematodes if anyone understand what
they are.
I am open to any suggestions.
Please help
Jerry
i tend to stick to organic solutions, but the one place i make an
exception is grubs, because they are so destructive; my deadly
chemical of choice is imidacloprid, a Bayer product. i think it's in
Merit again; they took it out for a while but that was a licensing
thing not a safety issue. anyway, it's got a pretty good human safety
vs insect poison ratio (it's a modified nicotine, to which insects are
much more sensitive than other kinds of critters, even earthworms
aren't very sensitive to it) and if you apply it as directed, i.e. lay
down the granules and water them into the ground, insects other than
grubs, mole crickets, etc. that are feeding on roots aren't exposed.
it's the same stuff Bayer puts in its flea stuff that you spot on the
back of cats once a month, and cats are notoriously sensitive to
poisons.
anyway, the trick is to put it on in like late August, early sept
while the grubs are small and just starting to feed, before there are
any symptoms. i don't think it kills them outright, but it screws up
their nervous systems and they certainly stop feeding, and therefore
no damage to the roots. if you do like most folks and wait until you
see big dead patches with big fat grubs underneath, it's already too
late, obviously. me, i tend to judge whether there are a lot of those
stupid brown chafer beetles (that the grubs grow into) or not each
summer; if there are i figure it's going to be a grubby year and i
treat, if not then i let it slide.
there may well be other products as good; various modified nicotines
are popular bug poisons in general for the same reasons as above. i
just researched around until i found one i was happy with that was
widely findable. i did try the nematodes one year before i got into
the WMDs and they didn't do much; i'm in the northeast, i suspect they
may be happier in a warmer environment.
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