Overview
Prevent Grubs During Their Early Life Stages
It can be difficult to completely prevent the adult beetles from laying eggs in your lawn. When it comes to white grub prevention it is more about preventing damage rather than preventing any grubs at all. However, preventative products can be applied to your lawn to kill the larvae in the very early stages before the grubs are able to cause damage.
You can also work to control adult beetles in your yard, which will reduce egg-laying adult beetles, thereby reducing potential grubs.
Step
1
Control Adult Beetles
You can reduce the possibility of a lot of adult beetles laying eggs in your lawn by controlling the adult beetle populations. Control measures may differ depending on the type of beetle.
A synthetic pyrethroid product, such as Talstar P Professional Insecticide, is great for adult beetle control. Apply every 3-4 weeks during peak beetle seasons to maintain control.
Products needed for Step 1
Step
2
Apply Preventative Treatments
Preventative treatments should be applied before grub eggs have hatched. This will allow the product to kill the grubs when they are in their early stages, before they can do damage. While there are some advantages to doing this type of treatment, including more flexible application timing and less reliance on sampling, it has to be applied before you truly understand the extent of the damage and where the concentrated areas of damage will be.
- Since most grubs hatch in July and early August, it is best to apply your preventative product in mid-June to mid-July, so it can be in the soil before the eggs hatch.
- Products labeled for white grub control containing imidacloprid, like Merit, are great for preventative control.
If you miss the timing for preventative applications, curative grub treatment products should be applied from mid-July to mid-August when grubs are hatching and active in the soil. See our Grub Treatment Guide for curative grub killer product recommendations and application details.
