West Bend, Wi – It’s a little difficult to tell what’s simply a brownish lawn in Spring and what’s a lawn damaged by grubs. In West Bend, Wi, grubs are flourishing and destroying lawns in the area making it look like brown turf. The major problem is the grub damage is spreading quickly and there’s a short window of time to prevent an infestation in your lawn.
Darryl Zellmer is owner of Turf & Tree Worx in West Bend, Wi. In business since 1992, Zellmer said this year is horrible for grubs. “In the 33 years I’ve been in business, we have never experienced the level of grub damage we’re seeing,” he said.
Grubs are like a small worm and dirty white in appearance. They look like a letter ‘C’ and they cause huge damage by feeding on the roots of the lawn.
“You’ll mostly find the grubs where the brown grass slowly starts taking over the green grass,” he said. “The areas with brown grass that’s torn up by animals, like racoons and skunks, and birds… then you really know you have a problem.”
Zellmer said the grubs are taking over neighborhoods and subdivisions. “We had a cold winter and several feet of frost, but we encountered a significant increase in late season grub activity last fall,” he said. “Sandy soils also are ripe for grubs.”
There are several ways to combat the problem, however Zellmer said people have to be in it for the long haul. “We recommend an application of Duocide, followed by an application of Acelapryn, about 3 to 4 weeks later. Both products are applied at the highest application rate allowed.”
Zellmer said, “If you do nothing the problem will keep spreading through your lawn and your neighbor’s lawn and it will not leave the area,” he said. “The public has to really understand this and start treating their lawns more diligently. It is hard to get people to spend money on something they don’t see so the preventative maintenance is always better.”
Three to four weeks is a good start at solving the issue with “systemic insect control” and then Zellmer said there’s a prevention level needed for the remainder of the season.
