Dow AgroSciences Offers Season-Long Grub Control

It's late summer and your once lush lawn may now be looking wilted and brown. While the solution could be as simple as a good watering to bring your lawn back to life, it could be that there are destructive insects feeding on your grass roots.

About an inch long and c-shaped with white bodies and brown or yellow heads, lawn grubs are the adolescent phase of a variety of beetles. Their voracious appetites can easily destroy the healthiest lawn in a matter of months. Identifying a grub infestation before it spirals out of control is critical in preventing the destruction of your lawn.

Preventing grub damage

Preventing grub damage starts with preventing grubs themselves. Closely monitor your lawn as summer advances. Watch for adult beetles flying about your yard. They are looking for a place to lay eggs and often choose full-sun green lawn areas with adequate to good soil moisture. Even if the weather has been dry, a watered lawn is a prime target for egg laying, but it doesn't have to be. Dow AgroSciences offers MACH 2^® specialty insecticide to homeowners and lawn care professionals as a valuable tool for the prevention of grubs. Look for insecticides with the active ingredient, halofenozide, at your local hardware store or lawn and garden center, or ask for MACH 2 from a lawn care professional. It should be applied before you see damage.

How do I know if I have grubs in my lawn?

The first sign of grub damage in your lawn will be the wilting of your turf. Your lawn may look as if it is in need of water. As the grubs continue to feed, you will begin to see irregular-shaped brown spots. Strips of dead grass will easily peel away as if rolling back a carpet. Another sign of grubs is damage from skunks and raccoons digging up lawns in search of grubs to eat - usually at night.

To detect whether you have grubs, cut out one square foot of turf. If you see five to 10 grubs hanging from the roots, the lawn is lightly infested. A heavily infested lawn will have 30 to 50 grubs in one square foot of turf.

If your lawn is infested you'll have to do some renovation work in early fall.

For more information about MACH 2:

• visit the MACH 2 product page

MACH 2 is not for sale or use in California, or Nassau and Suffolk counties, New York. State of New York requires that this product be used by professional applicators only. Always read and follow label directions.