I'm sure that most of the members that don't live on the west coast haven't heard of these little nasties but here in the Vancouver area they are causing real problems with the lawns. For those that haven't seen the damage, your lawn looks like it has been roto-tilled after the skunks, raccoons and crows have had their time pulling up the turf to find these grubs which feed on the grass roots. A natural predator (I guess you would call it) - nematodes are available as a control measure. I have been dealing with these pests for 3 years now and today when I was cleaning out some Hen and Chicks plants (sempervivum) I was astonished to find a bunch of the grubs under the plants. I held them in my hand as I scraped around in the garden to make sure I had gotten all of them. They were non-active when I picked them out of the dirt but I guess the warmth of my hand got them active. Boy, can those grubs bite!! They very quickly got put into a handy plant saucer and are now safely out in the garden as a tempting snack for the local birds! It's going to be nematodes in the flower garden for sure this year. European Chafer Grubs Anne
are you certain they were chafer grubs? there are other white grubs that may be similiar. if so, how many per square foot were you finding?
Yes they are chafer grubs. There are few in the lawn because I have used the nematodes but we have seen the adults when they emerge in June.
