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These short, fat, soil inhabiting white worms can cause severe damage to all of the varieties of lawn grasses found in our area. Although open, sunny lawns are the most likely to attract this pest, partially shaded areas have been exhibiting more damage in recent years.
The cause of this problem is the larval stage of a particular 'June Bug' whose life cycle is completed in one year. The adults are small, brown beetles that appear during the evenings in June and early July. Since the adults are attracted to light, they often converge on porch lights, patio lights or uncovered windows. You may hear them bumping into the glass panes of storm doors or windows as they seek the light source. In our area the peak of the adult activity usually occurs around the first week of July.
After mating, the female beetle flies over a lawn, selects the 'right' spot and deposits her eggs in the soil. Depending on soil conditions, these eggs hatch from late July through August. As they begin feeding on the roots of grass plants, the 'baby' grubs grow rapidly in size. Most damage becomes obvious during August and September when the full-sized grubs are feeding to store up reserves for winter survival. As the soil temperature drops during the fall, the grubs move deeper into the soil to wait out the winter below the frost line.
The following Spring brings rising soil temperatures; the grubs return to the root zone, feed briefly (causing very little, if any, additional damage), pupate and emerge as adult beetles in June to begin a new cycle.
Some nocturnal animals like skunks, opossum, etc, love to feed on grubs and will cause significant damage to lawns as they rip up the turf to get at the grubs. Moles, which feed on soil inhabitants such as earthworms and grubs, may be attracted to areas with high grub populations.
Fortunately, the White Grub problem is easily prevented by a timely application of the appropriate control agent. The newer controls are quite effective and require only one application per year.
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Billbug larvae are tiny white worms about the size of a large grain of rice and resemble small legless White Grubs. They are capable of causing serious damage to all the grasses grown in our area.
The adult Billbug, which is a black weevil with a long curved snout, walks through the turf and deposits tiny eggs inside the stems of grass plants. After hatching, a larva tunnels down the stem and exits the plant below the soil surface. The insect continues feeding on the roots as it increases in size. Finally, the larva ceases feeding, enters the pupation phase, and eventually emerges as a female adult (there are no males). The cycle starts over again with possibly two generations per year.
Although the adult may cause some damage to the turf, most of the destruction results from the larvae. These pests are controlled by most of the same specialized products that control White Grubs. Currently, one properly timed application provides season-long protection, if the lawn is adequately watered on a regular basis. Preventive applications are recommended because the larvae are much more difficult to control once they are full-grown.
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