The Green View

Grub Prevention

Pests come in many forms. One of them is the White Grub. It can affect all types of grass and turf.  Greenview helps manage this pest.

These grubs are plump, C-shaped insects. They are light in color with dark areas near the rear. They have a distinct brown head. The adults are beetles commonly referred to as May-beetles, June-beetles, and Japanese beetles.  Adult female beetles lay their eggs in the soil.

The grubs hatch and spend most of their life beneath the soil feeding on roots.  Most have rather long life cycles with the grub stage lasting from several months to two to three years.  In heavy infestations; roots are pruned off to the extent that the turf can be rolled back like a carpet, resulting in brown spots of dead turf.  At this point, you will need to kill the the grubs and then reseed the damaged areas.

Because white grubs are soil inhabiting insects, the best solution for control is to apply a granular form insecticide that is watered into the soil.  Greenview offers two products for controlling grubs:

• Greenview Grub Preventer and Killer (with Mach 2) is applied in mid summer and provides season long control of grubs.
• Greenview Grub Control (with Dylox) is applied in late summer and kills grubs within 48 hours.

Controlling Grubs in your Lawn

What are Grubs

Insects like the Japanese Beetle lay eggs in the lawn that pupate into white and beige grubs in the spring.  The grubs eat the roots of the lawn, as well as the grass blade.  Grub control is dependant on the time of year and the size of the grub.  The ideal time to control grubs is when they are are small in size, or in the egg stage.  Unfortunately, most homeowners do not recognize they have a problem until the damage is visible.

Assessing the Damage

One of the best ways to decide if you have a grub problem is to look under the sod.  Carefully cut an area of the grass about 12 inches square.  Lift this patch of grass and look underneath.  If the roots are long and healthy you have no problems, but if they look shorn off and blunt, then you may have something eating them.  Grubs will usually be found in the top three inches of the soil, so check the area for plump, half coiled grubs that are about 1/2 to 3/4 inch long.  If you find several, then you probably have a grub problem.

Treatment for Grubs

If the grubs are still small, and close to the surface, then Greenview's Grub Control and Preventer with Mach 2 is an ideal product.  The long lasting effect of the Mach 2 will give season long control from grubs.  If the grubs are large and creating havoc with your lawn, then you might need to retaliate with Greenview Grub Control with Dylox.  This product will kill grubs within 24 to 48 hours.  Product details can be found on The Greenview Fertilizer Website under Disease and Grub Control Products.

Whichever treatment you use, try to control grubs before damage is apparent.   And of course, when using any pesticides, read the complete label and all the cautions before applying.

Author Kate Copsey can be reached at www.katecopsey.com

De-Thatching (Yin and Yang of Lawn Care)

What is De-thatching?

De-thatching is one of the most overlooked tasks in lawn care and lawn maintenance. The thatch layer is made up of brown decaying plant matter just above the soil which builds up and prevents nutrients and moisture from reaching turf roots. This layer is also a friendly environment for fungus to grow. Even though thatch is regarded as a detriment to a healthy lawn it also has positive qualities in that thatch can prevent weeds from geminating, hold in moisture and protect grass from frost damage. There is a general rule that more than ½ inch of thatch is not beneficial so keeping an eye on thatch thickness is very important.

De-thatching - A Timely Task

The best time to de-thatch a lawn is in late spring and early fall when grass growth is most active as it can bounce back from stress more quickly.  As mentioned above a thin layer of thatch can protect against frost damage so if you see frost, it is better to refrain from de-thatching your lawn.  If you forget to de-thatch your lawn in late spring do not do so during mid summer because you are removing the protective layer that is often needed for soil water retention during times when mild drought conditions are present.  You also want to avoid de-thatching when weeds are germinating, this can cause an explosion of weeds you didn’t even know existed.  De-thatching is a timely task and is at the root of most issues for lawn care and maintenance.

De-thatching is a timely task and is at the root of most issues for lawn care and maintenance.

To determine the depth of thatch you can cut a small square of sod out of your lawn and measure the depth of the thatch, but most people just pull aside their grass and estimate the thatch thickness.  Some lawn care experts can determine how much thatch is underfoot by the feel of the bounce of their step on a lawn. 

How to De-thatch

The best way to de-thatch a small lawn is with a thatching rake which has thick blades designed to pull thatch out of turf without pulling up the grass itself.  For larger lawns rent or buy a vertical mower (a.k.a. de-thatcher) which has rotating blades that scrape, cut and remove thatch from turf.

DO NOT de-thatch a lawn and leave it bare, follow up with lawn aeration, fertilizing and watering to support the lawn during its growth cycle.

I see thatch as the yin and yang of lawn care and lawn maintenance.  If you have too little thatch at the wrong time of year, weeds will germinate and lawns can either burn or freeze depending on the conditions.  It is smart to write down de-thatching times and take this task very seriously, if you do so you are going to be rewarded with balance in the form of a greatly improved turf.

Article provided by Aaron Pratt who has his own website dedicated to the subject of

  Lawn Care and Lawn Maintenance.

Having Trouble With Grubs This Year?

If you are noticing a large number of Japanese Beetles this summer, chances are their offspring (grubs and larvae), may be the cause of irregular patches of brown and dying grass.

A combination of a long, cool, wet spring and hot weather this summer was the perfect combination to produce a bumper crop of Japanese beetles.  The adult beetle causes damage to lawns, ornamental plants, trees and vegetables.  After the Japanese beetles mate, their grubs and larvae survive under your lawn by feeding on the tender roots of your turf, killing the grass in the areas where grubs are present.

As grubs start feeding below ground, waiting to apply curative solutions when the symptoms of root damage show up, may be too late. Birds feeding or skunks digging can be early indicators of grubs.  Waiting too long to take action may result in being able to roll up your turf like a carpet where the grubs have been most active underground.  Where this kind of damage exists, you will need to reseed those areas of your lawn.

If you have grubs, Lebanon Seaboard Corporation, the maker of GreenView products, has a solution called Grub-Control (Dylox). For more information Contact GreenView and visit our website to Find a Store near your home.