I see this all the time on the West Coast. A middle-aged man who loves the lawn patch in front of his home wakes up one day and his lawn is all torn up by crows. I met one such gentleman today and, while I was on site to take care of one specific task, I listened patiently.
He was clearly distressed by the condition of his lawn. It was almost comical. I told him not to panic. Red Seal Vas to the rescue.
First, let’s not blame the crows for digging up the lawn looking for juicy chafer grubs. That’s just ecology. If you buried Nutella containers in your lawn I, too, would mess up your lawn while you slept.
Second, get used to it because the chafer beetle isn’t going anywhere. The idea is to contain it.
Step 1
Rake up the mess and lightly top-dress the damaged area with good quality lawn mix soil. Then over seed the lawn with good quality seed. This gentleman is lucky because I will hook him up with great commercial seed mix which germinates in seven days. Seeing some seedlings might calm the man down.
Some adventurous people buy anti-chafer seed mixes and seed mixed with micro-clover. So, feel free to experiment but watch your wallet. People will sell you all sorts of stuff, knowing that you’re desperate.
Step 2
Now baby your lawn. Don’t cut it too short, fertilize and water properly. But if summer watering restrictions come in then just let your lawn go dormant. It will recover when the rains return.
Step 3
If you like experiments, order nematodes from your garden store for late summer application. The European chafer beetle females emerge in late summer and fly into nearby trees to mate. Then they find suitable lawn to deposit their eggs in. If you’re lucky, they pick your neighbour’s property.
Nematodes should go in after the females insert their young grubs because once the grubs get big, the nematodes won’t be effective.
Also, remember, the nematodes are photo-sensitive so applications should be done in early morning or late afternoon, not in harsh mid-day sun.
In addition, your lawn will have to be soaked before and after application. If your municipality institutes watering restrictions, get ready to pay extra for watering permits.Step 4
If you’re not ready for nematode experiments then you can consider lawn alternatives or the same annual fixes. Whatever you do, don’t stress. A quick rake jobs, followed by over seeding will patch things up nicely. Remember, the European chafer beetles aren’t going anywhere.
We now have a new enemy in Vancouver: the Japanese beetle makes the chafers look like amateurs. The Japanese beetle eats everything, your lawn and shrubs and flowers. Pray it stays contained in Vancouver.
Good luck with your lawns this season.
