What is your philosophy on lawn insect control, specifically controlling grubs? Do you wait until you have a grub problem, or head them off at the pass? Anything all natural for grub control?
Remember a thick healthy lawn can withstand 10, 12, 15 or so grubs per square foot without showing much if any turf damages. So a healthy lawn is your best defense. If you have had problems, or want to prevent problems, use a grub preventer in June. Rarely are other insects a major issue, especially with tall fescues, so rarely are general insecticides used on the lawn (type of grass will make that vary a bit). Nematodes are getting some attention for grub control but haven’t used them or seen a lot of research done using them in our area. Milky Spore has been around for a long time (bacteria) but only goes after Japanese beetle grubs, needs grubs to infect to be able to spread and survive in the soil, and have also been informed it’s not as potent as it once was. So not high on my list for recommendations – although some folks use it and say it does a good job – others have said just the opposite. If you do wait until the grub damages are visible, you can treat with a grub killer at that time (different than a grub preventer), and then re-seed or re-sod the damaged areas.
