How to Prevent Chafer Grubs From Ruining Your Lawn

The Chafer grub is one of two insects that can cause damage to domestic lawns. This article seeks to address the problems of Chafer grubs, we do have a similar article on the second harmful insect the Leatherjacket that can be read HERE.

The damage caused can be minor, however some infestations can devastate a lawn within a couple of weeks or less. Protecting your lawn against Chafer grub infestations requires action BEFORE the damage is observed as by then it is too late to stop the initial stages of the damage.

It is particularly important to protect lawns that have suffered from chafer infestation in previous years as some species can have up to three year life cycles. An initial application is not sufficient to protect against future infestations.

The key to managing Chafer grub damage is to take preventative action BEFORE you see the damage to your lawn.

Chafer grubs are the larvae of chafer beetles, there are several Species of chafer, some feed on decaying plant material and other species feed on plant roots. The four species that tend to cause damage to lawns are:

The Welsh chafer (Hoplia philanthus)

The garden chafer (Phyllopertha horticola)

The brown chafer (Serica brunnea)

The summer chafer (Amphimallon solstitiale)

Chafers are approximately 9mm in length, they have a metallic green or black head and a thorax with light brown or reddish brown wing cases.

If you are unlucky enough for your lawn to be infested you will see the initial damage taking place between autumn and spring, this is when the grubs are reaching maturity satisfying their voracious appetites by eating through your lawn’s roots.

Patches of lawns will become straw-like as the grass starts to die. you may also see birds, badgers, and foxes tearing up the turf in order to find the grubs on which to feed.

It’s relatively easy to spot chafers within an infected lawn, in most cases the roots of the turf will have been eaten through and the grass will peel back like a carpet to reveal the chafers. They can easily be recognised by their C-shaped cream-coloured bodies.

As the infestation continues large areas of lawn can become dethatched from the soil as pictured below. At this stage a complete renovation of the lawn is required. additional topsoil may have to be added to the surface to level out the area before reseeding. We normally repair tens of lawns each year from this situation and the owners always regret not applying the preventative treatment.

Lawnscience Chafer grub treatments come with our 100% satisfaction guarantee, so you don’t need to worry.

If you are not completely satisfied with the results of a treatment, we will re-treat your lawn free of charge.

We are the only UK lawn care provider sufficiently confident in its services and professional applicators to offer such a comprehensive guarantee.