Q. I found grubs in the soil with many established
plants. Are these just a seasonal thing? How do I get rid of them now and
prevent them in future? Are some plants more susceptible than others?
A. I will tell you is much as I know about them. Their
adult form is a large flying beetle called a chafer or June beetle that you see
in June and July. Their immature form is a white grub that feeds on dead
organic matter in the soil, but I think also will chew on tender roots of
plants like Lantana.
A few of
them munching away on some plant roots here and there causes little plant damage.
In fact, you won’t even know they are there. It’s when several feeding on the
roots of one small plant, or your landscape is inundated with them that you
start to see plants struggling or even dying. So, unless there is a problem I
would leave them alone.
There
are biological control pesticides such as bacteria (several commercial names of
products available such as Grub Control) and nematodes (mostly online sales)
that you can use in place of conventional insecticides like Sevin. They may
take a year or two to get fully established in the soil.