White grub

White grubs or Grubworms are the larvae of scarabs (beetles). Grubs commonly attack the roots of turfgrasses and ornamental plants. Damage first appears as drought stress such as wdy|wilting and drooping.

Heavily infested turf first appears off color, gray-green, and wilts in the hot sun and typically such infestations will appear in patches of oddly shaped size and shape amongst healthy plants creating an unsightly contrast. Continued feeding with insufficient watering will cause the turf to die in large irregular patches.

The tunneling nature of the grubs causes the turf to feel spongy and is easily rolled back since the deep roots are consumed first, exacerbating the plants problems with drought in hot dry weather. Grub populations also attract predatory mammals such as skunks, raccoons, possums and moles that can hear the grub activity and dig into the turf in search of a meal- causing further damage to the turf.

Remedies

Until very recently, the most common treatment in the United States was an application of an extermination chemical such as diazinon. However, diazinon use has been discouraged by EPA in favor of chemical preservatives which alter the taste of the roots and more specifically target grubs without affecting other insect species as does diazinon or other poisons.

External links

* [http://sankey.ws/grubs.html Non-toxic Control of White Grubs]
* [http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/field/white_grub.htm Phyllophaga spp.] on the UF/IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
* [http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/entml2/MF2635.pdf Annual White Grubs in Turf, Kansas State University]
*http://www.greendecade.org/download/white_grubs.pdf