Guest Columnist
Most individuals are well aware of the annual June bugs, especially those who've had one land in their hair or the back of their neck!!! Further, most are aware that the larval stage of this insect is the proverbial white bodied, white legged, brown headed, C-shaped grubs that are slightly larger than an inch long. There are other similar but larger grubs, but most of the literature seems to stay with the June bug larva.
June bugs mate immediately after emerging and lay eggs in portions of your lawn containing the most moisture. The eggs hatch some six weeks later and quickly grow from BB size to full size by late August or early September.
Stores offer plenty of chemicals to get rid of the larva, but at what additional cost. Moles like the grubs so if we get rid of grubs, we get rid of moles; right? Well, not exactly. It seems moles like worms just as much if not more than grubs. If we get rid of grubs, moles totally go after the worms. Somehow, that's just not a very good trade. On top of all this, chemicals to kill grubs usually have to catch them during their first few weeks of life. Afterwards, chemicals have little effect.
On the other hand, outside of public advertising stirring a person on, there's normally little reason to bother trying to get rid of them. Yes, grubs eat grass roots as well as roots of flowers, shrubs and even ground cover, but seldom cause enough damage to kill above ground plant parts, unless a heavy infestation of 5-6 grubs per square feet. Unless stems are being damaged, there's really no point in bothering with the time and cost of eradication, plus the chemicals that will wind up in our water supply.
No comments:
Post a Comment