🪱 Grub (white grub)

How to identify

Fat, creamy-white, C-shaped larvae with brown heads and six stubby legs near the front, usually 1/2 to 1 inch long — found curled in the soil when you dig. Different species look nearly identical; the raster (rear bristle) pattern under a hand lens separates them, which is exactly as fun as it sounds.

Damage signs

Chews grassroots off just below the surface, so turf peels back like a bad toupee and garden plants wilt despite watering. Secondary damage comes from skunks, raccoons, and birds tearing up soil to eat the grubs.

Plants it attacks

Turfgrass, corn, potatoes, strawberries, vegetable seedlings, ornamentals

Non-chemical controls

• Apply beneficial nematodes (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora) to moist soil in late summer when grubs are small and near the surface — microscopic worms that hunt grubs underground.
• Spread milky spore powder (Paenibacillus popilliae) for Japanese beetle grubs — a naturally occurring bacterium that builds up in soil over seasons.
• Reduce lawn watering in midsummer when beetles lay eggs — dry soil discourages egg-laying.
• Handpick grubs while digging or tilling and toss them to the birds (robins consider this room service).
• Let chickens or ducks patrol the area — they scratch up and devour grubs with enthusiasm.
• Overseed damaged turf in fall; healthy dense grass tolerates moderate grub feeding.