Chafer Grubs in Lawns. The Larvae of the Chafer Beetle.

Chafer Grubs in lawns. The larvae - grub - of the chafer beetle can do considerable damage to lawns, as it lives it's life under the turf - eating away at the grass roots.

The Chafer grub feed on the roots of the lawn turf during spring and summer. Whilst not as much of a problem as Leatherjackets, they can still leave the lawn with several dead patches.

Small brown patches of turf, which can easily be pulled away are the tell-tale signs of the chafer grubs in lawns, together with birds pecking down into the lawn. Starlings, crows and magpies in the main, together with a few animals such as foxes and moles which scratch into the lawn in search of this juicy morsel!

In light soil areas, the chafer grubs can be controlled by rolling the lawn in spring - this crushes them. However, this should not be carried out in heavy soil areas.

Nemasys - is a biological control - will kill the grubs, but they can also be killed off with Provado Lawn pest treatment which will be avaiable from any good garden centre.

Image of chafer grub - the larvae of the chafer beetle. This grub spends it's life under lawns - eating the roots of the grass.

More damage is done by predators scratching at the lawn than by the grub itself. However, the yellow spots in the lawn are unsightly in well maintained lawns. Isolated spots can be dug up with a daisy grubber in order to find the grubs, then carefully eased back after disposing of the grub - which is normally a few inches under the turf.

The Chafer grub in the image is well advanced. Younger grubs will not have the legs formed as in this image.