How Do I Know If I Have Grub Worms?

Just this week I got an email from Jake in Iowa asking me “How do I know if the brown areas in my lawn are caused by grub worms?”

I think that is a really good question. The reason is because there are probably 10 or 11 reasons why lawns are turning brown right now and grub worms are only one of them. In fact, I have been on lawns that are being hit by multiple issues this year. Anyway, let’s look at the issue of identifying grub worms… but first, you MUST look at the time of year it is.

If it is the spring time and you are reading this, you need to chill out! Grubs you find in spring are NOT a concern.

But if it is later August, September or October or later, and you find grubs in your lawn, then read on!

The picture below is of a lawn in the Midwest (Indiana) that I recently road up on. The person called and said that their parkway (the area between the street and sidewalk) had turned brown within the last 3 weeks and they wanted to know what was going on. Below is a picture of that parkway:

Brown Areas In Lawn - What Caused These?

Now, at first glance, you might think that the lawn mowing company has done some sort of damage, or maybe there was a lawn disease (maybe dollar spot) that attacked or another insect like sod webworm. The truth is, the damage you see really doesn’t throw off anything typical. It’s just brown areas in the lawn. And the best way to identify the problem is to get down off your riding lawn mower and DIG DIG DIG!

Peeled Back Like Carpet - Look Closely!

Look what I found when I started to pull up the dead grass. Grub worms!

Grub Worms Caused The Lawn To Die In This Area

Now, if your brown spots done’ peel up like a carpet being rolled back, then it may be another issue., but in this case, the grass rolled right back and I found the grub worms beneath. I recommend you check several spots if you suspect grubs, Check the outside perimeter of the dead area, as well as right in the middle. You will probably find grubs in both spots. Here are what they look like in the pictures.

Want to know what to apply if you find Active Grubs in your Lawn? Use these products to KILL grubs on contact, there is nothing better on the market and these are very similar to what we use on our professionally treated lawns.

Bayer 700100S PowerForce Multi-Purpose Insect Killer - 10 lb.