White grubs

Almost every gardener has seen grub larvae in the soil while installing new plants or tilling the vegetable garden.  The term "white grub" actually encompasses the larval stage of several scarab beetles, the most common and most damaging, being the June beetle/masked chafer and the Japanese beetle.  Less well-known, are the May/June beetle and green June beetle.  All have a grub larval stage that can cause damage to turfgrass.  The grubs are off white, with six legs located just behind their reddish-brown head and are usually found curled into a "C" shape in the soil.  

After waiting all winter for a new growing season to start, when spring finally does arrive it seems to hit us hard and fast. Then before we know it, spring is gone and we’re in the middle of summer.

There are many tasks to accomplish in the spring landscape. To help you develop a plan and not get behind or miss your “window of opportunity”, here’s a quick rundown of common landscape projects listed in order of attack.

One of the most easily recognized insects in the home landscape is the white grub. Almost every gardener has seen white grub larvae in the soil, while installing new plants or tilling the vegetable garden. The term "white grub" actually encompasses the larval stage of several scarab beetles, the most common, and most damaging, being the June beetle or masked chafer, and the Japanese beetle. Less well-known are the May/June beetle and green June beetle. All have a white grub larval stage that can cause damage to turfgrass.

One of the most easily recognized insects in the home landscape is the white grub. Almost every gardener has seen white grub larvae in the soil, while installing new plants or tilling the vegetable garden. The term "white grub" actually encompasses the larval stage of several scarab beetles, the most common, and most damaging, being the June beetle or masked chafer, and the Japanese beetle. Less well-known are the May/June beetle and green June beetle. All have a white grub larval stage that can cause damage to turfgrass.

What are grubs?

This spring, some of our lawns look beautiful and others are showing some winter damage. The dry conditions we experienced from September through March have caused patchy grass death in some locations, especially south or west facing sites exposed to wind. Here in eastern Nebraska, cool season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue should be fully green now. So if your cool season lawn has some brown patches – and it’s not zoysia grass - the lawn may have experienced some winter desiccation injury. What should be done?