What are chafer grubs?
Chafer grubs are the larvae of chafer beetles and the problems they cause are as nasty as their appearance!
Despite being unsightly, they can seem fairly innocuous, at first – but this is certainly not the case.
A chafer grub infestation is damaging to lawns for various reasons:
They consume grass roots. Killing grass by the root causes it to thin and the lawn will appear patchy, brown and damaged.
- They attract wildlife. Animals such as rodents, birds and foxes will damage the lawn as they search for them, as they are a food source.
- Weed growth. As the lawn is damaged, weed seeds can easily take advantage of the damaged turf.
- Lawn recovery impacted. Lawns with a chafer grub infestation can struggle to recover even in the optimal growing conditions.
For all intents and purposes, if you love your lawn, this is an infestation you want to stop from spreading at all costs.
How can I spot chafer grubs?
Chafer grubs are fortunately easily identifiable, in appearance and in spotting the effects of them early on.
They can be found under loose or clearly impacted turf. If you spot any turf changing colours or thinning then it is worth checking for chafer grubs.
The larvae themselves are easy to identify, they are small with cream coloured C-shaped bodies, brown heads and six legs.
What can I do to get rid of them?
There is a way to save your lawn! Managing and eliminating a chafer grub infestation has never been easier. There is a specialist insecticide that has been approved for use on personal outdoor spaces. But it can only be handled by professionals, which is why you should reach out to your local Greensleeves lawn care expert.
We have a few points for you to consider before you book a treatment for chafer grubs in with us:
- June/July is the best time of year for application.
- We recommend mowing the lawn before we apply the treatment for you.
- If possible, avoid mowing until your lawn has been rained on following treatment.
- Leave your lawn for as long as possible before mowing it, after it has been treated.
- Booking insecticide treatments and spiking treatments together can save you money.
Before you get to booking, we also want to add: tests have shown the treatment is not harmful to household pets or humans!
Don’t chance it with a chafer grub infestation.
We can manage it for you.