How To Get Rid Of Lawn Grubs in Australia
Lawn grubs Australia are real problem pests for people wanting to have nice healthy lush looking lawns. The grubs are attracted to the best lawns in the neighbourhood; this means the ones with the nicest lush green grass are usually the ones they prefer.
They can ruin the look of a lawn in a very short time, leaving areas of brown dead grass, not exactly what you want when you’ve just forked out thousands, on new turf.
I have seen beautiful lawns ruined because of lawn grubs, with customers trying everything to try and get rid of them, and in some cases, they need regular treatments to be done, especially during the hotter summer months.
Their Preferred Grass
Lawn grubs seem to like Couch, Fescue or Kikuyu lawns; if you have these types of grass, then the chances are that you’ll be looking for ways on how to get rid of lawn grubs at some point down the track.
They seem not to be too interested in buffalo lawns; such as Sir Walter, and if they do attack this type of grass it seems to be very localised and short-lived, and the grass seems to recover very quickly.
From the lawns that I have personally treated; they seem to always be on newly laid turf, why this is I don’t know, maybe they have come with the turf.
The suppliers of the turf don’t seem to hold any liability when it comes to these little pests, I have spoken to customers about this, and they have told me that they have contacted the supplier, but they refuse to do anything about it.
Signs That You Have Lawn Grubs
The obvious tell-tale sign of having a problem with lawn grubs is the grass goes brown in patches, but another sign is an increase in bird activity around the lawn.
Birds love to eat lawn grubs as they make a very notorious meal for them, and when a lawn becomes overrun with them, well the parties on, and when there’s a fee and easy meal to be had, why wouldn’t you.
Another sign is if the lawn is spongy, this is a sign there are grubs right beneath your feet feeding on the grass.
What Do Lawn Grubs Look Like & Life Cycle
The moth is small, and their colour is greyish brown, and are mostly seen during the warmer months of the year between October and March.
The moth tends to be out flying around during the even time around dusk; they fly just above the grass looking for an area of grass to lay their eggs.
The way the cycle goes is like this; the moth flies around looking for some nice green grass to lay their eggs, once this occurs the eggs take between 2-5 days to become grub larvae, it’s at this point that they attack the lawn.
The grub is around for between 18-24 days feeding on the grass, and causing the damage before becoming pupae, after a further 5-8 days they become a moth, and then it all starts over again and again, or until you kill them all that is.
Getting Rid Of Lawn Grubs
There are two ways that you can get rid of lawn grubs in Australia. Firstly do it yourself (DIY), or you hire the services of a local pest control company to deal with them.
To DIY you go down to the local hardware store like Bunnings or maybe a local garden centre, and ask them for a spray that will kill lawn grubs, the active ingredient you want in the spray would be (Bifenthrin) this works well on lawn grubs.
The problem with doing it yourself is applying the product, and more getting the right amount into the lawn and making sure that none of it is missed, so if you have a large area to spray this can be a big job, but it can be done.
Using a professional pest controller to do the job is obviously easier, but going to cost you a bit more, when we do these types of jobs we apply the solution through a high powered sprayer, driven by a petrol engine.
This is why it’s easier for a company to do it, rather than having to consistently refill small spray bottles.
A follow-up inspection and treatment where necessary will have to be arranged, especially in the case of a big infestation of the grubs, sometimes it can take two or so treatments to bring them under control.
The deeper into the soil you can get the product on the first treatment the better the end treatment will be, this is why professional pest controllers use a high pressured sprayer to apply the solution, as it gets further down into the soil where it needs to be.
After any treatment it’s a good idea to lightly water the areas that have been treated, this will help to push the treatment down into the soil where the grub is.
The Good News & Conclusion
After all the headache and hassle of having and then getting rid of lawn grubs, the good news is that the grass will eventually come back and be as green as ever, with a little tender loving care that is.
If you want lush lawns, you must understand it takes a lot of time and patience and a fair amount of fertilizer. Good luck and may your grass stay green and strong :h
