# Grubs destroyed newly seeded back yard...when to reseed?



## cleveille21 (Oct 2, 2018)

Hello all,

This is my first post here and I'm looking for some help on dealing with grubs. I bought my house 2 years ago and completely re-worked the landscaping. Last August I had someone come and rototil the entire back yard (1/2 acre). I put down some seed and everything came up pretty well (for not having any irrigation).

This year I switched to an organic fertilizer (milo) and everything was looking good up until 6-8 weeks ago. I am in Massachusetts we had a very wet July and the lawn was a deep lush green. We barely got any rain in August and I started to get brown spots. I thought the grass was going dormant since it was also very hot. Well now the grass is completely brown and rolls up in sheets. I took a peek under there and saw a ton of grubs. I'll do a preventative grub treatment next year, but when should I re-seed? Should I rake up the bigger dead spots and re-seed now? The grubs are still alive right now but I know it's best to grow grass in the fall (ok mid-September but I didn't know grubs were the issue then).

Any advice on when to re-seed is greatly appreciated!!

Thank you!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Welcome to TLF

Go to Lowe's(or someone) and get a grub 24hr control and apply it (active ingredient: dylox). Apply and water it tonight. This will kill the grubs and stop the spread.

You will need to remove the dead grass and either seed or sod. Yes we are out of the ideal time for seeding. I would use something with perrenial ryegrass since it is the fastest to establish.


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## jessehurlburt (Oct 18, 2017)

See if you can find lesco brand "Double Eagle". Home Depot sells it in CT.


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## cleveille21 (Oct 2, 2018)

Should I just put down the grub control now and then wait until spring to re-seed? I'd imagine if I put the grub control down then I can't rake up the dead grass? The dog is already tearing up the grass since it folds/rolls up very easily.

Sorry for any stupid questions. This is my first time dealing with grubs. We have sandy soil here whereas my parents house has a lot of clay.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Grub control now and grub prevention next year.

I would try seeds now. Growing grass in spring and it surviving is really hard.


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## cleveille21 (Oct 2, 2018)

Great thanks! How long after I do the grub control can I rake up the dead grass? AKA I don't want to rake up the grass if the grass is what contains the chemicals killing the grubs.


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## jessehurlburt (Oct 18, 2017)

cleveille21 said:


> Great thanks! How long after I do the grub control can I rake up the dead grass? AKA I don't want to rake up the grass if the grass is what contains the chemicals killing the grubs.


Check the label. You'll need to water it in. Once you do and it dries, you should be good to rake and seed.


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## Khy (Jul 27, 2018)

Being that the area is completely dead anyway, I'd almost say just drop your mower deck completely down and scalp the area and bag it up. Should save you some cleanup after the fact. Then I'd go out there with a nice metal rake and try to get as much of the dead stuff off the ground as possible and try to make sure you see soil in that area. It'll help ensure that the grub killer granules don't get trapped in the dead grass clippings and such so that it penetrates deeper and faster.

You should be good to throw down the grub killer, water the hell out of it and then seed the next day though. The grub killer won't harm the seed.


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## cleveille21 (Oct 2, 2018)

I put it down Tuesday afternoon and I've seen a few grubs dead up on the surface and when I peel it back I see some dead ones on top of the soil. There are some that are still alive but there are quite a few who don't look too good. In one area I counted 15 grubs in about a 1x1 foot area....so it was pretty bad. Apparently the area I'm in is prone to grubs....I wish someone told me that 4 months ago. I'm going to prep everything and seed it on Saturday...it's gonna be a long day.

I'm going to put down grub control over the entire yard (I only put it down where the grass was already dead) within the next week or so as well. I need to sync it up with whenever we get rain next.

I was thinking next spring (late april) I would do another full pass with the grub control to kill any that came up to the surface and then in the beginning of June next year I'll put down the grub prevention. Does that seem like a solid plan or will that be too much dylox?


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