Hello again,
Now it is time for the 2nd issue that MAY have a detrimental effect on your lawn -
LAWN GRUBS !!!!
Lawn Grubs (Spodoptera spp.) – feed of the fresh, young, green leaf of your turf just above the ground. They drastically reduce the quality and growth of your turf. This photo below displays a typical lawn affected by Lawn Grub –
Common symptoms are - brown, dry and brittle turf. Closer inspection reveals the leaf blade of the turf to be eaten by something (as this photo displays). The actual lawn grub looks very similar to a caterpillar. (as this photo displays). They are range in colour from bright green to dark green / brown in colour with black dots down there back.
*NOTE – Lawn grubs are also known as ‘Armyworm’. This is because they start in one section of your lawn and work their way across the lawn along a set line, similar to soldiers in a battle.
Lifecycle – To best understand how to control and PREVENT lawn grubs it is best to understand there lifecycle. The lifecycle of the Lawn Grub is explained below –
The adult Lawn grub is actually a moth, brown in colour. Please see the photo below –
The adult female moth flies around at night and is attracted to well maintained lawns. She lays her eggs into soft cocoons on the awnings of your house, under side of leaves and even your clothes line. These cocoons look like this –
These cocoons then hatch into the caterpillars (or LARVAE). These caterpillars are the ones (lifecycle stage) that do the damage to your lawn. They will live for approx 3 weeks if allowed to. However it is best get rid of them ASAP.
So how do we get rid of Lawn grubs ?
Control Methods –
Chemical control: A range of insecticides are registered for the control of Lawn grub in turf. These are readily available from your local hardware or nursery. If possible spray late in the day as the Lawn Grub / Larvae are active at night.
Cultural Control : By breaking the lifecycle of the lawn grub you are able to PREVENT any lawn grubs getting into your lawn in the first place. This is best achieved by keeping an eye out for the soft cocoons on your awnings and gardens and either brushing or hosing them off. This will kill the eggs, hence not allowing the Lawn Grub / Larvae to eat your beautiful lush lawn.
Additional info – Lawn grubs are more likely to occur after rainfall. This is because the grass is lush and green. Therefore keep an eye out for the moths and cocoons after rain.
*Turf recovery – even if your lawn has been completely eaten by lawn grub (lawn looks brown, brittle and dead). Your lawn will recover. The best thing to do is –
1). apply a chemical insecticide to kill all of the existing lawn grubs (make sure that you do this first BEFORE fertilizing, as if you fertilize first you will only be ‘feeding’ the existing lawn grubs).
2). Fertilize your lawn with ‘Scotts Lawn Builder + Grub and Insect Control’. Found in Bunnings a
nd most local hardware stores. This product will fertilize your lawn to enable a quick recovery and will also ensure that NO lawn grubs survive.
3). Water / irrigate your turf for 2 – 3 days after applying fertilizer to ensure a quick recovery !
I hope that this info helped !
If you have any questions specifically about turf please feel free to email them to us at coastalturf@gmail.com
{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
Many thanks for this info .. your symptoms have been ‘spot on’. I am at stage 1 of “turf recovery”. As you suggest, (and from our second home, Bunnings), I have applied Yates Baythroid with the results being almost immediate ,(slow moving curly grubs), using a mix of 1 capfull to 9 litres in a watering can.
For your info, in this instance the grubs were inherited from my neighbour who has just had infected turf laid. He hasn’t undertaken to treat his lawn as yet, so in an attempt to halt the march, I have applied a double strength dose on both sides of our fence line. Hope it works. Again thanks.
Regards Jim A
What a find, your wesite was excellent in explaining the lifecyle of the lawn grub. I was searching for a site to explain to a client about the lawn grub and how it happens etc. Your site is very informative and easy to read. I have my own small garden care business and regularly search for info for clients. Thank you.
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH been trying to figure out what was wrong with my lawn all year finally I can do something about this. Thanks again
Just wondering should I do the turf recovery even though I have sod in its first year?
very helpful thank you. i am on a 5 acres block…after some earth moving work which effected 1/2 an acre i brought in top soil, turfed about 200sqm and used seeds on the rest. with the rains everything was beautiful within weeks; 2 weeks ago within matter of days the whole seeded area turned brown and now the turfed area as well gradually go brown. i spotted the lawn grubs now and did some reading. various products are suggested including both dry and liquid based…and i am not sure what to use. any suggestions ? also it is raining now almost daily and given this condition what’s the best procedures to apply ? would these grubs also attack other plants & trees ?
Nemadotes is another form of controlling the grubs…any comments on this ? thanks
hi
i have sprayed my lawn with grub destroyer.,and the next morning i noticed all these small brown moths. what does this mean
regards
terry (AUSTRALIA)
hi
i have sprayed my lawn with grub destroyer.,and the next morning i noticed all these small brown moths. what does this mean
regards
terry (AUSTRALIA
Hi,
Sorry it has taken so long for me to return your mail, but my foot has really slowed me down.
Ofter some consensus in the office this morning (without seeing your lawn) we believe that what may have happened is that either your lawn grub killer was rained out or the moths are from next door. Unfortunately lawn grubs need to be killed neighborhood wide or they keep returning to your treated lawn. Try to keep our lawn treated every 2 weeks as Lawn grubs have a life cycle of 2 weeks so knock them before they get to bad.
Thanks
Sarah
Some Nemadotes are indeed a form of pest control, but not that effective on army worm (due to its short life cycle, and the fact that they live in the lawn thatch rather than the soil). these micro organisms can have good and bad effects on your lawn and its environment. They are most effective in effective in the controlling of organisms such as curl grubs or African Black Beetle larvae.
Thanks
Sarah
Good Morning,
Sorry for the late delay but I broke my foot at the very wrong time of the year.
I have talked to our installation team as well as one of our recommended lawn contractors who believe ( now this is without seeing your property and we can’t really make an accurate diagnosis but can offer some advice) that drainage may part of the problem with your area. For the seeded area to go first and then the turfed lawn area the boys are bit wary of it just being lawn grub. Lawn grubs love thick lush warm grass to breed and eat so it was expected that the turfed area would go first with lawn grub. Where as lawn grasses dont like to have their feet too wet.
we usually recommend that people with children and animals especially use the granulated lawn grub treatment as these are less likley to come in contact with children and pets as they run across the yard. Please though make sure everyone stays off the treated grass as recommended by the products user manual.
Thankfully lawn grubs as their name suggests with effect Lawn and grasses not shrubs and tress, but keep watch on these for other water loving insects.
Thanks and we all hope that your lawn survives. the Installation team also recommends that you also treat any other turfed and lush lawn areas as the lawn grub moths can will attack these areas next.
Sarah
Hello
I’m on two acres and most of my lawn is full of small balls of mud. Is this from army worm and what would be the best way to control this?
Many Thanks
No Richard this most probably not from Lawn Grubs but from Ants trying to build their nests higher to get away from the rain. There are losrt of different types of ant controll, and really for such a large area I guess cost will become an issue for you. We usually recommend an ant sand that is activated by water. But this may prove to be costly over 2 acres. An Ant barrier could be used around your property. I suggest calling your local lawn consultant.
Thanks Sare
for some time I’ve wondered why my lawn would apprear to die after heavy rain. And I had never connected the dots till reading this… seeing all the moths, then all the eggs under the eaves, followed closely by the lawn progressively dying. Now i know how to break this cycle… thankyou….
We have new turf, that has been very well watered in lately by all the rain, and this morning have found caterpillars EVERYWHERE… throughout the lawn, and climbing the house, retaining walls etc. They look a lot like your picture of Armyworm- although the head isn’t brown but the green. Do you think it would still be Armyworm/Lawn Grub or something else? They are very active now, during the day. Not sure yet if they are still active at night too. If they aren’t Armyworm, but another species, do I use a different insecticide or will most cover me for any kind of caterpillar?
Many many thanks!
Hi there, my couch was completely eaten by lawn grub then the moved over to the sir walter across the drive and out the back which is still holding up a little, unlike the brown couch.
I sprayed baythroid last night and wondering how long before I see dead bugs and how long before I can fertilize and try to revive my lawn?
ALso, should I repeat the treatment etc? so guess I need a process, a timeline of what to do when.
Sharon
I’m so glad we could help.
Hi, Without actually looking at the grub itself we do believe that it is a type of Lawn grub/army worm. And being so we believe that the same products will wipe them out – the nasty little pests. I prefer the sand granulated lawn grub killers because they are quick and you don’t have to mix them up. But if you choose to use a liquid chemical lawn grub killer as my Dad likes because he can see them die ( Dad really hates lawn grub with a vengeance) he suggests you use “loresban” mixed at 5% by volume and then add a wetting agent – this means something to make the chemical water mix stick to your grass/walls/etc. Dad uses ordinary washing up liquid. The cheaper the better he says. Both of these products can be bought at your hard ware store. Good Luck in your war against your invaders. May you rein supreme.
Hi there, I’m really sorry to hear about your lawn. Couches are a lovely sweet grass that lawn grubs think is delicious and will eat until there is no more. They will gorge themselves like its chocolate. Where as Buffalo’s are a courser grass that doesn’t taste as good, so lawn grubs really only eat their fill. And unfortunately lawn grubs can fly up to 5 ks to find a delicious lawn. So no real lawn is safe.
I am sorry but I am unaware of Baythroid. I like using a sand granulated lawn grub killer as it gets down into the roots, but Dad likes to use a liquid one because he likes to see them squirm and die. He hates them. At home I use Lawn Beetle and Grub Killa because I have kids and a husband (who’s job is to look after turf look all day so doesn’t want to do it at home), and I don’t need a spray kit to disperse it. It’s active ingredient is Bifenthrin. It works within 3 to 4 days.
Dads way is a mix “loresban” at a 5% rate in water with a wetting agent (ie cheap washing up liquid) and spray the lawn at dusk. This will also take 3-4 days to kill them, but the advantage to the liquid is that as soon as you spray a bug you can see it dire and you know you are getting them. Also you may not actually see the dead bugs, but you may see lots of birds sitting on your lawn eating dead bugs. Also satisfying.
As for Fertilization and top dressing, Autumn is really the best time to add all those wonderful nutrients to your lawn. This is the time the plant is really looking for food before its winter resting time. For right now though, I would wait until you are sure that tall the bugs are dead. This may mean spraying 2 times as I don’t know if the grubs have laid eggs that will hatch and attack your lawn or have moved onto the neighbors. It’s really a case of getting down into the lawn spreading the leaves and having a good look in there. When you are sure you can’t see any, and this may take weeks, go to your local Landscape yard and ask for an Organic boosted top dressing soil. It should smell horrid as it will have more than likely chicken poo in it. And spread it just before rain or water it in.
Sorry I can’t give you an exact time line, but something like that kinda needs to looked at to know. If you have any problems give us a try back or contact your local turf farm and ask them for their recommended lawn technician.
Thanks Sharon hope it all goes well. As always good luck in your war with the Lawn grub, may you divide and conquer!
Sare
Hi
We came home after 3 weeks of holiday to find our lawn dead and covered in worms that were identified as army worm. We sprayed them and now 2 weeks later the lawn seems to be recovering some what but I am worried we are getting them again. At dusk there are moths all over the lawn and ever morning there are new cocoons on our awnings. I brush the cocoons off every morning but is there anything else I can do?
I really don’t want to have to spray again because we have 2 dogs and had to keep them off the grass for 3 days and the back garden really stank but at the same time I don’t want armyworm again! Do the moths just die off eventually or will this be a constant battle? Should I use Scotts Lawn Builder + Grub and Insect Control? and Do you know if that is safe for pets?
Thanks
Sarah
Hi Sarah ( great name by the way)
Army worm has a very short life cycle so re treatment may be required. The unfortunate thing is that with lawn grub you have to wait for the lawn to be actually effected before treating. There is no precautionary spray etc that you can do to prevent re infestation. Your dogs should have no ill effects from treatment, if you are worried then maybe an Ant Sand is for you rather than a spray as it sits in the lawn rather than on top of the leaves of the grass. I think lawns are meant to be used, so you should find away to kill grubs and still be able to enjoy your outside grassed area. Also rotating spray types/ chemical type can prevent grub resistance for those really stubborn infestations. I prefer the Ant sand with Lawn grub killer in it because I know that my kids are safe. They have no patients to wait for the chemical to dry and I prefer them outside than under foot.
I haven’t had much to do with the Scotts Lawn builder, but the reason your lawn was attacked in the first place was because it was lush, so I would be a little worried about making my lawn really lush and delicious for the worms while trying to kill them. Maybe as a last meal or something? The best time to fertilize and boost your lawn is the end of February or beginning of March. This when your lawn needs that energy boost. I would at least wait and be certain that all your evil little grass nibblers are dead before you boost and fertilize your lawn. Top dressing your lawn with really smelly organic top soil mix (needs to be smelly like chicken poo because that means its fresh and has all the great nutrients ready for the grass) is a great way to bring it back. Try to do this before rain so the soil can be pushed down to the roots where the plant needs it and also the smell doesn’t stay around you too long. Quick tip though always ALWAYS close all your windows and mention to your neighbors you are going to do it or they may call the council to stay a sewerage line has burst at your house. That actually happened to a friend of mine. Embarrassing for the installer and neighbor a like. Good luck,
Sarah
Is there any way of stopping the moth making the cocoons all over my house?
Hi,
Unfortunately I have seen the moths building cocoons on wooden houses, brick homes as well as rendered homes. They just love the comfort of eaves. I don’t know of any spray or wipe you can put on your house to stop them. And if the “natural” place they really are meant to build them is under leaves on trees, we can’t even make it too uncomfortable for them. You can knock them down as soon as you see them. That’s really the best advice I can give.
WE TOO ARE SUFFERING FROM THE LAWN GRUB INVASION AT PRESENT – CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME IF THERE IS ANY CONNECTION WITH THE LAWN WASPS HANGING AROUND ON THE GRASS AND THE LAWN GRUB CYCLE?
PS: OUR FRIENDLY BIRDS ARE ENJOYING THE FEAST I MIGHT ADD!
Yep there sure is a connection between the two nasty blighters. The wasp actually eat the grubs. But not enough as far as I’m concerned. There should be more feasting and less making nasty cocoons on my walls. And birds area a great way to know if you have lawn grub or not. Once they start to hang around your lawn a little too much you can see the grubs around. I have tried to be proactive at our house and feed the magpies and will wag tails so I can keep them around to eat any that should arise, but I only succeeded in attracting Scrub Turkeys and Ibis. So I stopped throwing out day old bread for the birds and sprayed the lawn and wash down the walls regularly. When I say regularly I mean when I can bribe my kids to do it. Good luck and spray quickly.
Sare
Thanks for the info. It was extremely helpful.
For lawn grub treatment and considering a pet dog who loves foraging in lawn, our local produce store suggested using Fortune 500 with a treatmen dosage of 20 to 40 ml /100 L water (as per product instructions). Results – very successful and will follow up in 2 weeks. As for the dog, smell kept her off the lawn for a few days,now back to foraging lizards in lawn.
So glad that it worked on your Lawn. There is nothing worse that Lawn grubs! Ahhh, well at least to a turf farmer…. Glad you are going to have a healthy lawn and a healthy dog, and it seams not so healthy lizards if your dog gets their way
Cheers
Can anyone tell me the correct application rate of Fortune 500 for the treatment of army worms?
Cheers
Have lots of lawn grubs at the moment but also lots of birds feeding on them.
My concern is, are the products mentioned here harmfull to the birds and if so can you name others that are not.
Thanks
Hi & Thank you I have just been reading all the advice, It’s Great!!!!! just wondering if anyone knows where I can buy bulk slow release fertilizer & bug killer like the scotts one or even that one as I have quite a large area that needs to be done and the small bags from bunning’s don’t go far and gets a bit expensive but it works a treat… thank you
Hi Brian,
we don’t use Fortune 500 or have a lot of knowledge about it, but we do use Loresbane, which after a bit of research think that it may be similar. We use Lorsbane at a 5% by volume ate with water with about 30mls of dish washing detergent as a wetting agent. But when you are using these products we really advise you to keep all small animals and kids off the lawn for at least a week.
Good luck Brian, and I hope your lawn blooms soon
Sare
Hi Tony,
Lawn grubs are killed with pestacides. And there in lies the problem. There are sand granulated lawn grub killers are safe to use around wildlife. So go and ask your local nursery for their expert advice. Explain to them your lawn type (ie if its couch or buffalo or zoysia as this will let them know the gaps between leaves) and they can put you onto something that is right for you. But like hairdressers, your Local Nursery should be one that you feel comfortable at.
Good Luck
Sare
Hi Annette,
I know! Bunnings sells little tiny bags for what we at Coastal Turf consider to be an exorbitant price! We had customers he other day who came to buy organic booster from us (similar to Dynamic Lifter without the fancy name and packaging) and Water crystals from us. We charged her about $90 for everything to cover a 300sqm plus. At Bunnings they quoted her roughly $1000 for the same area. So when you are getting your turf ask us for the Booster and Water crystals at the same time. But if you aren’t anywhere near us ( we are on Cabarita Beach on the Tweed Coast) go to your Local Rural Buying Store and See what they have – Places like Norco. Be careful with Lawn builder and bug killer in one. I am just hesitant recommend them because i feel that if you don’t kill all the bugs you have just feed the grass to make it yummier and then the bugs have more to eat.to They usually have a much better deal for you, and being a local company they are keen to help locals. All about reputation! But definitely fertilizing your lawn now is a great idea because Autumn means plants are getting ready to rest and need food to “stock up over winter”. Kinda like a bear my brother describes it as. Its also a great time to top dress your lawn to give ot warmth and nutrients over winter. Head off to your local Soil supplier and ask for their best organic top soil and watch your grass grow?
Hi Sarah, We have lawn grubs and are trying to keep them in control. Thanks for all the info on them. We have learnt so much but were a little down hearted when we read we will have to keep it up every 2 weeks! There were magpies and butcher birds hanging around but not for the last week or two. We were thinking of getting some hens. Do you know if they eat the grubs? very frustrating as we are only renting this place and keeping the grubs in control has become ridiculous both time and cost. thanks
Hi Tina, I have heard that Lawn grubs are a tasty treat for Hens, but in order to get to the grubs, hens do try to rip up the grass. Very Very frustrating. I guess its kinda like a kid with nits, if you can get all of them the first time with vigilance and patience, the follow up treatment 14 days later is just precautionary. But if your neighbors aren’t getting rid of the grubs in their lawn they can return. Look around t your eaves and windows roofs and the leaves of your higher plants for the egg sacks. They look like a mossy brown fungus growing. If you can kill them, by wiping them down with a cloth from your washing up, then you can really help stomp on the problem. Although Lawn Grub season is nearly over. Hopefully the cooler times are coming and the rains should start to wain, so the perfect hot humid weather for the grubs is gone, so your lawn will be safe, for the winter anyway.
Thanks Sare
I have been away from home for three weeks and on return i found my lawn had an attack of the GRUB, the turf is PALMETTO, on inspection of the house roof eaves i had numerous cuckoons which i wiped ou tplus my passion fruit vine had quite a lot of wasps buzzing around and they still are today, could they be hunting the moths? i immediately sprayed the lawn with BAYTHROID.My main question which i hope u can answer is.
Why does a section of the turf where the main attack was about 40m2 have runners on the surface, has the grub caused this to happen? if so can u please help with how i can fix it (shouldnt the runners be below the surface)? the rest of the lawn is normal. Regards
Hi, there sure is alot of information here about the dreaded lawn grub. I have empire turf that is supposedly resistant to the grub, yet i am experiencing similar symptoms. The lawn is very patchy and in some places it looks almost as though it’s been bleached. I’ve also noticed alot of little mounds of dirt that look like the signs of earthworm but they are appearing in the dead patches of lawn. There aren’t any signs of the grass leaves being eaten that i can see, but the lawn seems to be dying from the roots up i.e. there are still some bits of green on the top but the roots have all gone brown or white.
I’ve sprayed fungicide and i’ve tried grub destroyer but the lawn still looks disgraceful. Any recommendations?
HI,
I think you may have Funnel or Tunnel Ants. Go down to your local Nursery and get some Brigade. It is a sand granulated evil ant killer. It works really well on Green Ants. Put is on before rain or drench it when you apply it and the ants will rise to the surface dead, and bird food. These ants will eat the roots and that is whats causing your lifelessness in your grass. Give it a couple of rounds though to make sure you get them all. By killing these ants you will be giving your soil extra health becuase the earth worms and other “good” grubs will come back.
thanks
Sare
Thank-you so much for your hasty reply and you recommendations. I can’t wait to see my lawn back up to it’s usual standard.
Kind regards
Jim
We moved into a new home in December of last year and a month later saw us fighting lawn grubs. With new houses (and turf) going in around us its been a battle. Now we are once again starting to see the signs of lawn grub infestation but now we have a puppy and we are not sure what to use to kill the grubs that is safe for the pup. Before we used “Lawn grub destroyer” that we purchased at Bunnings..but cant locate any info advising if its safe to use around dogs. Do you have any suggestions?
Kind regards
Ronda
Hi Rhonda,
I’m sorry I am not sure what the active ingredient is for the Lawn Grub Destroyer that you have purchased so I can’t say whether it is safe or not. On the farm we have 3 beautiful wonderful kelpie dogs that mostly keep us company than actually protect anything. Goodness knows that they would be hopeless t actually rounding up anything other than machinery. We use a product that is called Lawsband on the farm. This is great for eliminating lawngrub, but also it is safe for the dogs to be around. In the past we have used a Chlorpyrifos but it has a horrible smell residue. I always tend to recommend a sand based product for killing lawn grubs around the home because it is water active and get right down into the soil near the grubs rather than on the leaf, near where kids and animals can get to it. But as always prevention is better than cure, so try to always make sure that your eaves and walls are free from the cocoons, and when you discover them wash the area down with your left over dishwashing water.
Good Luck
Sare
Hi
We are also looking for something that is safe to use with our dogs. Where do you buy Lawsband from? I googled it but nothing came up.
Thanks
Kate
Hi Kate,
We get our Lawsband from our local Norco or Rural Buying Supplies shop. I’m not sure of your area, but both of these are on the Tweed Heads/Northern Rivers area.
Good Luck, I hope all goes well with your lawn.
Thanks
Sare
Thank you for all the excellent information. It is very enlightening. Like most people we too have suffered lawn grubs. We now notice a number of moths at dark when we water, I imagine the little pests are about to relay their eggs. We have Sir Walter Buffalo which has not been infested as much as the kikuyu. Is it safe to use the chemical sprays on the Sir Walter.
Thanks
Toni
Hi Toni, As long as you are only using the bug killer and not a herbicide on your lawn it should be safe. Just give the back of the container a quick read though. Good luck getting the nastiness.
Sare
Hi there,
We treated our lawn for grubs on the weekend. We got rid of all the eggs from the eves but the moths have already started to lay there eggs on the eves again. Obviously we should get rid of the eggs straight away to break the life cycle but i also have 2 more questions:
1. When should we spray the lawn again?
2. How do we know once the grubs have gone and can start to rebuild lawn using fertiliser? We dont want to do this too early as we dont want to ‘feed’the grubs.
Sorry just one more question: i just read the comments about the use chemicals with pets. How long before putting down the pellets, and watering them in, is it safe for my dog to go onto the lawn again?
Hi,
Ok from your first comment,
You should spray the lawn at dusk to get as this when the grubs are coming out. I beleive that most products take 24 hours to work, so if your see more grubs coming out over the next couple of days or weeks give it another hit.
For the night that you spray your lawn, bring your pets away from the area. This is more for your welbeing as the smell of most sprays is although disgusting to people is very attractive to dogs. I know our 3 dogs love the smell and roll it.
And I would give your lawn a lovely feed with the next rain after you have sprayed.
Good Luck
Sare