Hav-A-Lawn and Garden - for lawn care and lawn service in Frederick, Hagerstown, and surrounding areas.

What You Can’t See Can Hurt Your Lawn.

White grubs are the soil-dwelling larvae of various species of hard-shelled beetles. These grubs which commonly feed on turfgrass roots include Japanese Beetles, May or June Beetles, European Chafers, and Northern/Southern Masked Chafers. Damage from grub feeding can range from mild to severe and first appears as brown patches of dead grass, usually in sunny or exposed locations. If feeding is heavy, the roots are almost completely severed and the sod can be rolled up like a carpet.

Grubs can be found underneath the dead turf and a few inches deeper. They are ½ to 1″ long, often curl into a “C” shape, are white to off-white in color, have brown heads, and three pairs of legs near the head.

There also are some simple but effective ways to identify white grubs without digging in your lawn. Look for the following symptoms:

• A general thinning and weakening of the lawn
• A wilted or dried-out look to your grass, even when soil is moist
• Large, brown, irregular patches of grass
• Large patches of dead turf that can easily be pulled up in one piece, much like a piece of carpet
• Moles, birds or raccoons digging in your grass; these animals love to feed on grubs, so frequent visits could be a sign of white grubs.