what to do about grubs???

sockiescat · Joined: 21 Dec 2007 Posts: 1

my brother has grubs in his garden and is really
getting frustrated about it. he asked me if i would
post in this forum for him to ask what he can do to
get rid of them.
any information that would help him solve this
problem would be greatly appreciated.
i have googled a number of pages but to me i think
i would get more information here than i got doing
the google search. thanks for any help. cyaaaaa, sockiescat:).

--
sockiescat

Archived from group: rec>gardens>edible

Steve Young · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

"sockiescat" wrote

> my brother has grubs in his garden and is really
> getting frustrated about it. he asked me if i would
> post in this forum for him to ask what he can do to
> get rid of them.
> any information that would help him solve this
> problem would be greatly appreciated.
> i have googled a number of pages but to me i think
> i would get more information here than i got doing
> the google search. thanks for any help. cyaaaaa, sockiescat:).

2 non-chemical predator methods come to mind.
Nematodes or milky spore. Google each. Many who sell one may also sell the
other. I see you're in the UK, so my US sources would be of little help.

sockiescat · Joined: 25 Dec 2007 Posts: 1

Steve Young
sockiescat" sockiescat.1e0dcf7@gardenbanter.co.uk wrote
-
my brother has grubs in his garden and is really
getting frustrated about it. he asked me if i would
post in this forum for him to ask what he can do to
get rid of them.
any information that would help him solve this
problem would be greatly appreciated.
i have googled a number of pages but to me i think
i would get more information here than i got doing
the google search. thanks for any help. cyaaaaa, sockiescat:).-

2 non-chemical predator methods come to mind.
Nematodes or milky spore. Google each. Many who sell one may also sell
the
other. I see you're in the UK, so my US sources would be of little
help.

actually i am from ontario canada. so your help is a lot of help to me
Smile

thank you. i will google the info u gave me and hopefully i can find
something to help my brother. cyaaaaaaa, sockiescat Smile

.

--
sockiescat

z · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 26

On Dec 25, 1:53 am, sockiescat
wrote:
> Steve Young
> sockiescat" sockiescat.1e0d...@gardenbanter.co.uk wrote
> -
> my brother has grubs in his garden and is really
> getting frustrated about it. he asked me if i would
> post in this forum for him to ask what he can do to
> get rid of them.
> any information that would help him solve this
> problem would be greatly appreciated.
> i have googled a number of pages but to me i think
> i would get more information here than i got doing
> the google search. thanks for any help. cyaaaaa, sockiescat:).-
>
> 2 non-chemical predator methods come to mind.
> Nematodes or milky spore. Google each. Many who sell one may also sell
> the
> other. I see you're in the UK, so my US sources would be of little
> help.
>
> actually i am from ontario canada. so your help is a lot of help to me
> Smile

thank you. i will google the info u gave me and hopefully i can find
> something to help my brother. cyaaaaaaa, sockiescat Smile

.

I haven't had any success with nematodes, which I attribute to it
appearing to be a bit on the cold side for them; and I live in CT,
south of you. Plus, biological remedies can knock back a huge problem
but never really get it down to minimal nuisance, let alone eradicate
it.

So, here's my thinking/experience. Firstly, grub problems come and go,
sometimes. The best predictor seems to be the number of those damn
chafer beetles that I see on the screen with the outdoor lights on at
night, for obvious reasons. Years with not many beetles, I can ignore
the grub issue. You can't tell from the garden/lawn itself, until it's
too late in the spring, and that doesn't mean the grub problem will be
the same in the fall.

When I see a beetle problem shaping up, I have ended up resorting to
chemical warfare, reluctantly. This is the only "unnatural" thing I
put on the lawn/garden, fertilizers included. But the grubs are so
destructive when they're there, I make an exception for them. I don't
treat the vegetable garden, but I don't have problems there,
presumably because of the mulching with plastic and cultivating and
whatever. Actually, I don't have problems in the ornamental gardens
either, presumably for the same reason. Just the lawn.

Anyway, after a lot of study (I used to be a biochemist) I settled on
imidacloprid as the safest grub killer which actually works. It's a
Bayer product which goes under a bunch of names, in a bunch of
commercial products. it used to be in Grubex, then they took it out,
now they put it back in again, so you have to look at the ingredient
list. It's much more toxic to insects than other critters, including
even earthworms; and the application methods ensure it soaks into the
ground rather then getting onto flowers and stuff to keep it away from
bees and other non-underground insects, so as far as I can figure it's
the safest thing that still does the job. (They have a lot of trouble
in Europe, where apparently they just spray it on commercial crops and
the bees get killed) As i said, though, I still don't let it near the
food, just to be on the safe side. (It's a nicotine derivative, btw;
in the old days, people used to use nicotine as an insecticide, since
it's even more toxic to bugs than it is to humans).

But, whatever you use, the key is that you have to do it before you
know you have a problem; thus the emphasis on counting beetles. By the
time you see damage, it's way too late. Even by october, the grubs
have already damaged the roots of the lawn or whatever so much that
killing them then won't make any difference, and you still won't see
the damage until next spring. You need to kill the grubs in late
August or September, based entirely on your estimate of the beetle
population.

z · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 26

On Dec 26, 1:23 pm, z wrote:
> On Dec 25, 1:53 am, sockiescat
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Steve Young
> > sockiescat" sockiescat.1e0d...@gardenbanter.co.uk wrote
> > -
> > my brother has grubs in his garden and is really
> > getting frustrated about it. he asked me if i would
> > post in this forum for him to ask what he can do to
> > get rid of them.
> > any information that would help him solve this
> > problem would be greatly appreciated.
> > i have googled a number of pages but to me i think
> > i would get more information here than i got doing
> > the google search. thanks for any help. cyaaaaa, sockiescat:).-
>
> > 2 non-chemical predator methods come to mind.
> > Nematodes or milky spore. Google each. Many who sell one may also sell
> > the
> > other. I see you're in the UK, so my US sources would be of little
> > help.
>
> > actually i am from ontario canada. so your help is a lot of help to me
> > Smile

thank you. i will google the info u gave me and hopefully i can find
> > something to help my brother. cyaaaaaaa, sockiescat Smile

.
>
> I haven't had any success with nematodes, which I attribute to it
> appearing to be a bit on the cold side for them; and I live in CT,
> south of you. Plus, biological remedies can knock back a huge problem
> but never really get it down to minimal nuisance, let alone eradicate
> it.
>
> So, here's my thinking/experience. Firstly, grub problems come and go,
> sometimes. The best predictor seems to be the number of those damn
> chafer beetles that I see on the screen with the outdoor lights on at
> night, for obvious reasons. Years with not many beetles, I can ignore
> the grub issue. You can't tell from the garden/lawn itself, until it's
> too late in the spring, and that doesn't mean the grub problem will be
> the same in the fall.
>
> When I see a beetle problem shaping up, I have ended up resorting to
> chemical warfare, reluctantly. This is the only "unnatural" thing I
> put on the lawn/garden, fertilizers included. But the grubs are so
> destructive when they're there, I make an exception for them. I don't
> treat the vegetable garden, but I don't have problems there,
> presumably because of the mulching with plastic and cultivating and
> whatever. Actually, I don't have problems in the ornamental gardens
> either, presumably for the same reason. Just the lawn.
>
> Anyway, after a lot of study (I used to be a biochemist) I settled on
> imidacloprid as the safest grub killer which actually works. It's a
> Bayer product which goes under a bunch of names, in a bunch of
> commercial products. it used to be in Grubex, then they took it out,
> now they put it back in again, so you have to look at the ingredient
> list. It's much more toxic to insects than other critters, including
> even earthworms; and the application methods ensure it soaks into the
> ground rather then getting onto flowers and stuff to keep it away from
> bees and other non-underground insects, so as far as I can figure it's
> the safest thing that still does the job. (They have a lot of trouble
> in Europe, where apparently they just spray it on commercial crops and
> the bees get killed) As i said, though, I still don't let it near the
> food, just to be on the safe side. (It's a nicotine derivative, btw;
> in the old days, people used to use nicotine as an insecticide, since
> it's even more toxic to bugs than it is to humans).
>
> But, whatever you use, the key is that you have to do it before you
> know you have a problem; thus the emphasis on counting beetles. By the
> time you see damage, it's way too late. Even by october, the grubs
> have already damaged the roots of the lawn or whatever so much that
> killing them then won't make any difference, and you still won't see
> the damage until next spring. You need to kill the grubs in late
> August or September, based entirely on your estimate of the beetle
> population.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

PS Imidacloprid is also the active ingredient in the once a month flea
stuff i used to use on my cats, who are more sensitive to poisons than
people or dogs, because the other products didn't seem to work as
well; and they lived to ripe old ages with no evidence of nerve
damage, which is the toxic action of imidacloprid and the other
nicotine derivatives. oddly enough, it costs about the same to treat a
cat as an entire yard.

Omelet · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 254

In article
,
z wrote:

> On Dec 26, 1:23 pm, z wrote:
> > On Dec 25, 1:53 am, sockiescat
> > wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > Steve Young
> > > sockiescat" sockiescat.1e0d...@gardenbanter.co.uk wrote
> > > -
> > > my brother has grubs in his garden and is really
> > > getting frustrated about it. he asked me if i would
> > > post in this forum for him to ask what he can do to
> > > get rid of them.
> > > any information that would help him solve this
> > > problem would be greatly appreciated.
> > > i have googled a number of pages but to me i think
> > > i would get more information here than i got doing
> > > the google search. thanks for any help. cyaaaaa, sockiescat:).-
> >
> > > 2 non-chemical predator methods come to mind.
> > > Nematodes or milky spore. Google each. Many who sell one may also sell
> > > the
> > > other. I see you're in the UK, so my US sources would be of little
> > > help.
> >
> > > actually i am from ontario canada. so your help is a lot of help to me
> > > Smile

thank you. i will google the info u gave me and hopefully i can find
> > > something to help my brother. cyaaaaaaa, sockiescat Smile

.
> >
> > I haven't had any success with nematodes, which I attribute to it
> > appearing to be a bit on the cold side for them; and I live in CT,
> > south of you. Plus, biological remedies can knock back a huge problem
> > but never really get it down to minimal nuisance, let alone eradicate
> > it.
> >
> > So, here's my thinking/experience. Firstly, grub problems come and go,
> > sometimes. The best predictor seems to be the number of those damn
> > chafer beetles that I see on the screen with the outdoor lights on at
> > night, for obvious reasons. Years with not many beetles, I can ignore
> > the grub issue. You can't tell from the garden/lawn itself, until it's
> > too late in the spring, and that doesn't mean the grub problem will be
> > the same in the fall.
> >
> > When I see a beetle problem shaping up, I have ended up resorting to
> > chemical warfare, reluctantly. This is the only "unnatural" thing I
> > put on the lawn/garden, fertilizers included. But the grubs are so
> > destructive when they're there, I make an exception for them. I don't
> > treat the vegetable garden, but I don't have problems there,
> > presumably because of the mulching with plastic and cultivating and
> > whatever. Actually, I don't have problems in the ornamental gardens
> > either, presumably for the same reason. Just the lawn.
> >
> > Anyway, after a lot of study (I used to be a biochemist) I settled on
> > imidacloprid as the safest grub killer which actually works. It's a
> > Bayer product which goes under a bunch of names, in a bunch of
> > commercial products. it used to be in Grubex, then they took it out,
> > now they put it back in again, so you have to look at the ingredient
> > list. It's much more toxic to insects than other critters, including
> > even earthworms; and the application methods ensure it soaks into the
> > ground rather then getting onto flowers and stuff to keep it away from
> > bees and other non-underground insects, so as far as I can figure it's
> > the safest thing that still does the job. (They have a lot of trouble
> > in Europe, where apparently they just spray it on commercial crops and
> > the bees get killed) As i said, though, I still don't let it near the
> > food, just to be on the safe side. (It's a nicotine derivative, btw;
> > in the old days, people used to use nicotine as an insecticide, since
> > it's even more toxic to bugs than it is to humans).
> >
> > But, whatever you use, the key is that you have to do it before you
> > know you have a problem; thus the emphasis on counting beetles. By the
> > time you see damage, it's way too late. Even by october, the grubs
> > have already damaged the roots of the lawn or whatever so much that
> > killing them then won't make any difference, and you still won't see
> > the damage until next spring. You need to kill the grubs in late
> > August or September, based entirely on your estimate of the beetle
> > population.- Hide quoted text -
> >
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> PS Imidacloprid is also the active ingredient in the once a month flea
> stuff i used to use on my cats, who are more sensitive to poisons than
> people or dogs, because the other products didn't seem to work as
> well; and they lived to ripe old ages with no evidence of nerve
> damage, which is the toxic action of imidacloprid and the other
> nicotine derivatives. oddly enough, it costs about the same to treat a
> cat as an entire yard.

I hesitate to suggest this, but...

Once per year, when flea season is just getting started, I treat all the
pets with "Revolution" and dust the entire yard with 5% Sevin on the
same day.

I don't really like to do this, but fleas can bleed a pet to death...
and at least Sevin biodegrades in about a week so I get to mostly keep
my insect predator population that I value so much!

Each time I do this, the next morning finds dozens of grubs dead on top
of the soil...

And it works VERY well to control fleas as long as I do the sevin and
the revolution on the same day...

Later in the season, during the rains, I also use beneficial nematodes,
but I do that more to control the fire ants. It appears to be effective.
--
Peace, Om

Remove - (dash) to validate gmail.

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Steve Rothstein

Dan L. · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 17

In article ,
Omelet wrote:

> In article
> ,
> z wrote:
>
> > On Dec 26, 1:23 pm, z wrote:
> > > On Dec 25, 1:53 am, sockiescat
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > Steve Young
> > > > sockiescat" sockiescat.1e0d...@gardenbanter.co.uk wrote
> > > > -
> > > > my brother has grubs in his garden and is really
> > > > getting frustrated about it. he asked me if i would
> > > > post in this forum for him to ask what he can do to
> > > > get rid of them.
> > > > any information that would help him solve this
> > > > problem would be greatly appreciated.
> > > > i have googled a number of pages but to me i think
> > > > i would get more information here than i got doing
> > > > the google search. thanks for any help. cyaaaaa, sockiescat:).-
> > >
> > > > 2 non-chemical predator methods come to mind.
> > > > Nematodes or milky spore. Google each. Many who sell one may also sell
> > > > the
> > > > other. I see you're in the UK, so my US sources would be of little
> > > > help.
> > >
> > > > actually i am from ontario canada. so your help is a lot of help to me
> > > > Smile

thank you. i will google the info u gave me and hopefully i can find
> > > > something to help my brother. cyaaaaaaa, sockiescat Smile

.
> > >
> > > I haven't had any success with nematodes, which I attribute to it
> > > appearing to be a bit on the cold side for them; and I live in CT,
> > > south of you. Plus, biological remedies can knock back a huge problem
> > > but never really get it down to minimal nuisance, let alone eradicate
> > > it.
> > >
> > > So, here's my thinking/experience. Firstly, grub problems come and go,
> > > sometimes. The best predictor seems to be the number of those damn
> > > chafer beetles that I see on the screen with the outdoor lights on at
> > > night, for obvious reasons. Years with not many beetles, I can ignore
> > > the grub issue. You can't tell from the garden/lawn itself, until it's
> > > too late in the spring, and that doesn't mean the grub problem will be
> > > the same in the fall.
> > >
> > > When I see a beetle problem shaping up, I have ended up resorting to
> > > chemical warfare, reluctantly. This is the only "unnatural" thing I
> > > put on the lawn/garden, fertilizers included. But the grubs are so
> > > destructive when they're there, I make an exception for them. I don't
> > > treat the vegetable garden, but I don't have problems there,
> > > presumably because of the mulching with plastic and cultivating and
> > > whatever. Actually, I don't have problems in the ornamental gardens
> > > either, presumably for the same reason. Just the lawn.
> > >
> > > Anyway, after a lot of study (I used to be a biochemist) I settled on
> > > imidacloprid as the safest grub killer which actually works. It's a
> > > Bayer product which goes under a bunch of names, in a bunch of
> > > commercial products. it used to be in Grubex, then they took it out,
> > > now they put it back in again, so you have to look at the ingredient
> > > list. It's much more toxic to insects than other critters, including
> > > even earthworms; and the application methods ensure it soaks into the
> > > ground rather then getting onto flowers and stuff to keep it away from
> > > bees and other non-underground insects, so as far as I can figure it's
> > > the safest thing that still does the job. (They have a lot of trouble
> > > in Europe, where apparently they just spray it on commercial crops and
> > > the bees get killed) As i said, though, I still don't let it near the
> > > food, just to be on the safe side. (It's a nicotine derivative, btw;
> > > in the old days, people used to use nicotine as an insecticide, since
> > > it's even more toxic to bugs than it is to humans).
> > >
> > > But, whatever you use, the key is that you have to do it before you
> > > know you have a problem; thus the emphasis on counting beetles. By the
> > > time you see damage, it's way too late. Even by october, the grubs
> > > have already damaged the roots of the lawn or whatever so much that
> > > killing them then won't make any difference, and you still won't see
> > > the damage until next spring. You need to kill the grubs in late
> > > August or September, based entirely on your estimate of the beetle
> > > population.- Hide quoted text -
> > >
> > > - Show quoted text -
> >
> > PS Imidacloprid is also the active ingredient in the once a month flea
> > stuff i used to use on my cats, who are more sensitive to poisons than
> > people or dogs, because the other products didn't seem to work as
> > well; and they lived to ripe old ages with no evidence of nerve
> > damage, which is the toxic action of imidacloprid and the other
> > nicotine derivatives. oddly enough, it costs about the same to treat a
> > cat as an entire yard.
>
> I hesitate to suggest this, but...
>
> Once per year, when flea season is just getting started, I treat all the
> pets with "Revolution" and dust the entire yard with 5% Sevin on the
> same day.
>
> I don't really like to do this, but fleas can bleed a pet to death...
> and at least Sevin biodegrades in about a week so I get to mostly keep
> my insect predator population that I value so much!
>
> Each time I do this, the next morning finds dozens of grubs dead on top
> of the soil...
>
> And it works VERY well to control fleas as long as I do the sevin and
> the revolution on the same day...
>
> Later in the season, during the rains, I also use beneficial nematodes,
> but I do that more to control the fire ants. It appears to be effective.
My two cents added

I spray sevin as well on the yard. I also do not like to use sevin or
any chemicals. I lost half of my garden last year to grubs.
Grubs/Japanese beatles ate all of my green beans and leaves off my
pepper plants and my ... roses ... arghhhh Sad

I have thought about and have not tried it yet is "Milky Spore", it is
very expensive and needs several treatments to get rid of grubs.

I believe, I compounded my problem by solving another. Worried about
mosquitos and the West Nile Disease and I sprayed my yard for bugs;
mosquitos, ticks and fleas. I now believe that stuff whatever I used
aslo kill the good bugs that in turned ate or killed the grubs. The
Grubs are worse than ever.

I sometimes have these corporate conspiracy theories. It seems that the
general bugs formulas are separate from the grub formulas. Use one and
forced to buy the other. A vicious circle. Kill the bad bugs along with
the good bugs.

I use frontline on the dog. Hmmm Spray the garden or the dog?
So far, the bugs are winning in my world.

Enjoy Life ... Dan

--
Email "dan lehr at comcast dot net". Text only or goes to trash automatically.

Omelet · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 254

In article
,
"Dan L." wrote:

> In article ,
> Omelet wrote:
>
> > In article
> > ,
> > z wrote:
> >
> > > On Dec 26, 1:23 pm, z wrote:
> > > > On Dec 25, 1:53 am, sockiescat
> > > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > > Steve Young
> > > > > sockiescat" sockiescat.1e0d...@gardenbanter.co.uk wrote
> > > > > -
> > > > > my brother has grubs in his garden and is really
> > > > > getting frustrated about it. he asked me if i would
> > > > > post in this forum for him to ask what he can do to
> > > > > get rid of them.
> > > > > any information that would help him solve this
> > > > > problem would be greatly appreciated.
> > > > > i have googled a number of pages but to me i think
> > > > > i would get more information here than i got doing
> > > > > the google search. thanks for any help. cyaaaaa, sockiescat:).-
> > > >
> > > > > 2 non-chemical predator methods come to mind.
> > > > > Nematodes or milky spore. Google each. Many who sell one may also
> > > > > sell
> > > > > the
> > > > > other. I see you're in the UK, so my US sources would be of little
> > > > > help.
> > > >
> > > > > actually i am from ontario canada. so your help is a lot of help to
> > > > > me
> > > > > Smile

thank you. i will google the info u gave me and hopefully i can
> > > > > :find
> > > > > something to help my brother. cyaaaaaaa, sockiescat Smile

.
> > > >
> > > > I haven't had any success with nematodes, which I attribute to it
> > > > appearing to be a bit on the cold side for them; and I live in CT,
> > > > south of you. Plus, biological remedies can knock back a huge problem
> > > > but never really get it down to minimal nuisance, let alone eradicate
> > > > it.
> > > >
> > > > So, here's my thinking/experience. Firstly, grub problems come and go,
> > > > sometimes. The best predictor seems to be the number of those damn
> > > > chafer beetles that I see on the screen with the outdoor lights on at
> > > > night, for obvious reasons. Years with not many beetles, I can ignore
> > > > the grub issue. You can't tell from the garden/lawn itself, until it's
> > > > too late in the spring, and that doesn't mean the grub problem will be
> > > > the same in the fall.
> > > >
> > > > When I see a beetle problem shaping up, I have ended up resorting to
> > > > chemical warfare, reluctantly. This is the only "unnatural" thing I
> > > > put on the lawn/garden, fertilizers included. But the grubs are so
> > > > destructive when they're there, I make an exception for them. I don't
> > > > treat the vegetable garden, but I don't have problems there,
> > > > presumably because of the mulching with plastic and cultivating and
> > > > whatever. Actually, I don't have problems in the ornamental gardens
> > > > either, presumably for the same reason. Just the lawn.
> > > >
> > > > Anyway, after a lot of study (I used to be a biochemist) I settled on
> > > > imidacloprid as the safest grub killer which actually works. It's a
> > > > Bayer product which goes under a bunch of names, in a bunch of
> > > > commercial products. it used to be in Grubex, then they took it out,
> > > > now they put it back in again, so you have to look at the ingredient
> > > > list. It's much more toxic to insects than other critters, including
> > > > even earthworms; and the application methods ensure it soaks into the
> > > > ground rather then getting onto flowers and stuff to keep it away from
> > > > bees and other non-underground insects, so as far as I can figure it's
> > > > the safest thing that still does the job. (They have a lot of trouble
> > > > in Europe, where apparently they just spray it on commercial crops and
> > > > the bees get killed) As i said, though, I still don't let it near the
> > > > food, just to be on the safe side. (It's a nicotine derivative, btw;
> > > > in the old days, people used to use nicotine as an insecticide, since
> > > > it's even more toxic to bugs than it is to humans).
> > > >
> > > > But, whatever you use, the key is that you have to do it before you
> > > > know you have a problem; thus the emphasis on counting beetles. By the
> > > > time you see damage, it's way too late. Even by october, the grubs
> > > > have already damaged the roots of the lawn or whatever so much that
> > > > killing them then won't make any difference, and you still won't see
> > > > the damage until next spring. You need to kill the grubs in late
> > > > August or September, based entirely on your estimate of the beetle
> > > > population.- Hide quoted text -
> > > >
> > > > - Show quoted text -
> > >
> > > PS Imidacloprid is also the active ingredient in the once a month flea
> > > stuff i used to use on my cats, who are more sensitive to poisons than
> > > people or dogs, because the other products didn't seem to work as
> > > well; and they lived to ripe old ages with no evidence of nerve
> > > damage, which is the toxic action of imidacloprid and the other
> > > nicotine derivatives. oddly enough, it costs about the same to treat a
> > > cat as an entire yard.
> >
> > I hesitate to suggest this, but...
> >
> > Once per year, when flea season is just getting started, I treat all the
> > pets with "Revolution" and dust the entire yard with 5% Sevin on the
> > same day.
> >
> > I don't really like to do this, but fleas can bleed a pet to death...
> > and at least Sevin biodegrades in about a week so I get to mostly keep
> > my insect predator population that I value so much!
> >
> > Each time I do this, the next morning finds dozens of grubs dead on top
> > of the soil...
> >
> > And it works VERY well to control fleas as long as I do the sevin and
> > the revolution on the same day...
> >
> > Later in the season, during the rains, I also use beneficial nematodes,
> > but I do that more to control the fire ants. It appears to be effective.
> My two cents added
>
> I spray sevin as well on the yard. I also do not like to use sevin or
> any chemicals. I lost half of my garden last year to grubs.
> Grubs/Japanese beatles ate all of my green beans and leaves off my
> pepper plants and my ... roses ... arghhhh Sad

>
> I have thought about and have not tried it yet is "Milky Spore", it is
> very expensive and needs several treatments to get rid of grubs.
>
> I believe, I compounded my problem by solving another. Worried about
> mosquitos and the West Nile Disease and I sprayed my yard for bugs;
> mosquitos, ticks and fleas. I now believe that stuff whatever I used
> aslo kill the good bugs that in turned ate or killed the grubs. The
> Grubs are worse than ever.
>
> I sometimes have these corporate conspiracy theories. It seems that the
> general bugs formulas are separate from the grub formulas. Use one and
> forced to buy the other. A vicious circle. Kill the bad bugs along with
> the good bugs.
>
> I use frontline on the dog. Hmmm Spray the garden or the dog?
> So far, the bugs are winning in my world.
>
> Enjoy Life ... Dan

What about BT? It works for Mosquito larvae and just about any
caterpillars, and it's organic. Won't kill the predatory insects.

Anyone ever tried BT for the grubs? I don't see why it would not work?
--
Peace, Om

Remove - (dash) to validate gmail.

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Steve Rothstein

sockiescat · Joined: 29 Dec 2007 Posts: 1

Omelet;767675]In article
doesnotwork-E46867.17433028122007@comcast.dca.giganews.com,
"Dan L." doesnotwork@goesnowhere145.net wrote:
-
In article omp_omelet-2B3FF5.13110827122007@news.giganews.com,
Omelet omp_omelet@gmail.com wrote:
-
In article
df3226c1-93c0-4eec-8da3-19d86094366d@e6g2000prf.googlegroups.com,
z gzuckier@snail-mail.net wrote:
-
On Dec 26, 1:23*pm, z gzuck...@snail-mail.net wrote:
On Dec 25, 1:53*am, sockiescat
sockiescat.1e67...@gardenbanter.co.uk
wrote:

Steve Young
sockiescat" sockiescat.1e0d...@gardenbanter.co.uk wrote
-
my brother has grubs in his garden and is really
getting frustrated about it. he asked me if i would
post in this forum for him to ask what he can do to
get rid of them.
any information that would help him solve this
problem would be greatly appreciated.
i have googled a number of pages but to me i think
i would get more information here than i got doing
the google search. thanks for any help. cyaaaaa, sockiescat:).-

2 non-chemical predator methods come to mind.
Nematodes or milky spore. Google each. Many who sell one may also

sell
the
other. I see you're in the UK, so my US sources would be of
little
help.

actually i am from ontario canada. so your help is a lot of help
to
me
Smile

thank you. i will google the info u gave me and hopefully i can

:find
something to help my brother. cyaaaaaaa, sockiescat Smile

.

I haven't had any success with nematodes, which I attribute to it
appearing to be a bit on the cold side for them; and I live in CT,
south of you. Plus, biological remedies can knock back a huge
problem
but never really get it down to minimal nuisance, let alone
eradicate
it.

So, here's my thinking/experience. Firstly, grub problems come and
go,
sometimes. The best predictor seems to be the number of those damn
chafer beetles that I see on the screen with the outdoor lights on
at
night, for obvious reasons. Years with not many beetles, I can
ignore
the grub issue. You can't tell from the garden/lawn itself, until
it's
too late in the spring, and that doesn't mean the grub problem will
be
the same in the fall.

When I see a beetle problem shaping up, I have ended up resorting
to
chemical warfare, reluctantly. This is the only "unnatural" thing
I
put on the lawn/garden, fertilizers included. But the grubs are so
destructive when they're there, I make an exception for them. I
don't
treat the vegetable garden, but I don't have problems there,
presumably because of the mulching with plastic and cultivating
and
whatever. Actually, I don't have problems in the ornamental
gardens
either, presumably for the same reason. Just the lawn.

Anyway, after a lot of study (I used to be a biochemist) I settled
on
imidacloprid as the safest grub killer which actually works. It's
a
Bayer product which goes under a bunch of names, in a bunch of
commercial products. it used to be in Grubex, then they took it
out,
now they put it back in again, so you have to look at the
ingredient
list. It's much more toxic to insects than other critters,
including
even earthworms; and the application methods ensure it soaks into
the
ground rather then getting onto flowers and stuff to keep it away
from
bees and other non-underground insects, so as far as I can figure
it's
the safest thing that still does the job. (They have a lot of
trouble
in Europe, where apparently they just spray it on commercial crops
and
the bees get killed) *As i said, though, I still don't let it near
the
food, just to be on the safe side. (It's a nicotine derivative,
btw;
in the old days, people used to use nicotine as an insecticide,
since
it's even more toxic to bugs than it is to humans).

But, whatever you use, the key is that you have to do it before
you
know you have a problem; thus the emphasis on counting beetles. By
the
time you see damage, it's way too late. Even by october, the grubs
have already damaged the roots of the lawn or whatever so much
that
killing them then won't make any difference, and you still won't
see
the damage until next spring. You need to kill the grubs in late
August or September, based entirely on your estimate of the beetle
population.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

PS Imidacloprid is also the active ingredient in the once a month
flea
stuff i used to use on my cats, who are more sensitive to poisons
than
people or dogs, because the other products didn't seem to work as
well; and they lived to ripe old ages with no evidence of nerve
damage, which is the toxic action of imidacloprid and the other
nicotine derivatives. oddly enough, it costs about the same to treat
a
cat as an entire yard.-

I hesitate to suggest this, but...

Once per year, when flea season is just getting started, I treat all
the
pets with "Revolution" and dust the entire yard with 5% Sevin on the

same day.

I don't really like to do this, but fleas can bleed a pet to death...

and at least Sevin biodegrades in about a week so I get to mostly
keep
my insect predator population that I value so much!

Each time I do this, the next morning finds dozens of grubs dead on
top
of the soil...

And it works VERY well to control fleas as long as I do the sevin and

the revolution on the same day...

Later in the season, during the rains, I also use beneficial
nematodes,
but I do that more to control the fire ants. It appears to be
effective.-
My two cents added

I spray sevin as well on the yard. I also do not like to use sevin or

any chemicals. I lost half of my garden last year to grubs.
Grubs/Japanese beatles ate all of my green beans and leaves off my
pepper plants and my ... roses ... arghhhh Sad

I have thought about and have not tried it yet is "Milky Spore", it is

very expensive and needs several treatments to get rid of grubs.

I believe, I compounded my problem by solving another. Worried about
mosquitos and the West Nile Disease and I sprayed my yard for bugs;
mosquitos, ticks and fleas. I now believe that stuff whatever I used
aslo kill the good bugs that in turned ate or killed the grubs. The
Grubs are worse than ever.

I sometimes have these corporate conspiracy theories. It seems that
the
general bugs formulas are separate from the grub formulas. Use one and

forced to buy the other. A vicious circle. Kill the bad bugs along
with
the good bugs.

I use frontline on the dog. Hmmm Spray the garden or the dog?
So far, the bugs are winning in my world.

Enjoy Life ... Dan-

What about BT? It works for Mosquito larvae and just about any
caterpillars, and it's organic. Won't kill the predatory insects.

Anyone ever tried BT for the grubs? I don't see why it would not work?
--
Peace, Om

Remove - (dash) to validate gmail.

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their
foot down." -- Steve Rothstein

thanks everyone for your input i will forward the information to my
brother
and hopefully something will help him get control of the grubs.
he loves working in his garden its his only relief from the work that
he does as a hard rock miner. it can be very stressful for him at work
and this is his one release from it. again thanks for all the input.
cyaaaaaa, sockiescat Smile

.

--
sockiescat

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