We're happy to provide you with some additional info and guidance regarding our work to ensure your landscape reaches it's maximum potential!
Top Dressing & Seeding
With an abundance of annual lawn repair needed thanks to ongoing chaffer grub infestations we would like to provide you with the best possible info to maximize your results. In my 25 years of landscaping germinating grass seed has been an ongoing issue and truthfully only ten percent of jobs reach their maximum potential. We use ample amounts of seed and ensure your lawn has everything it needs for success, the only thing we can't do for you is water it (the magic ingredient).
*Before & After Slideshow of proper care below
Here are some key points that must be followed for success
*Keep soil damp at all times (during the day)
*Frequent waterings for shorter duration are best (prolonged watering can cause pooling or seed run-off)
*Germination times depend on temperature, warmer weather has quicker germination times but may need more frequent waterings
*Once seed has developed slowly taper off to less frequent deeper waterings, prolonged excessive daily waterings on established grass blades may result in fungal disease.
*Once the seed has germinated and long enough to be cut it can be done so carefully, new lawns will generally come in thin but will thicken with weekly mowings. Stick with the rule of thumb that you generally want to be cutting no more than one third of growth.
*For topdressing and seeding over existing established grass we recommend keeping the old lawn trimmed down with a weedeater during the germination process. This prevents the already established lawn from over growth and will blend the two together, it can be done without the risk of seed getting mowed up. If left too long before cutting, the old grass can have a thicker coarse appearance which does not blend with the newer seed.
*If weeds are a concern they should be killed off before any seeding is done, spraying weeds amongst new grass will be sure to kill it. Weeds often get overlooked until our work is complete, if they are in an existing lawn they will be the first to appear and grow through the soil at a faster rate than grass. Once the new grass has grown and thickened the weeds won't be noticed. We have helpful information regarding weed control further along this page.
*Please ensure the seeded areas are watered enough throughout the summer to stay green, newly seeded grass will not go dormant and come back to life in fall, with each year passing your lawn should develop a higher tolerance to drought.
*We can't stress enough that water is the final magic ingredient and following this program will be your key to success!
Below is an example of perfectly followed instructions in slideshow format. It was the finishing touch to this patio install & path to hot tub. It was less cost than turf and does a far better job of blending with existing grass (as long as the watering is taken care of).
Additional Info
*Be leary of large and costly re-turf or lawn replacement projects in spring, new lawns will not survive prolonged drought and we have had odd Summers with complete water bans where watering permits expire and cannot be renewed
*Fall is a superior time to top dress and seed lawns as well as re-turf, however this may not be ideal if you've had grub damage that needs repair.
Watering tips for grub control using Acelepryn
We are fully licensed and use the best products available! If we have treated your lawn with Acelepryn proper watering will increase your chances of success and maximize it's effectiveness. We target our treatments during the egg laying period where grubs will be most susceptible, we recommend watering the day of treatment for about 10-15 min. We have continually monitored all of our results and strive to give the best advice possible.
Here are some key points to consider and factors that can reduce or increase your success rate.
*Egg laying period & treatment time are early Summer months many weeks after water restrictions have been in place, if you do not water your lawn coming up to this period and it has seen prolonged drought, the surface may become hydrophobic and lower the ability of our products to reach their target zone. Keeping up with a regular watering routine (enough to keep green grass) before and after treatment would be ideal.
*Keeping a healthy lush lawn will lower your risk of problems and letting your lawn dry up and go dormant will increase your risk (I know water regulations and restrictions do not make this easy)
*After treatments are done you may apply for a watering permit if necessarry with proof of treatment (our service card). Although Acelepryn has a treatment window that spans many months I feel there are factors that can have an impact. Keep in mind excessive watering may cause products to wash through the soil at a quicker rate, clay soils hold onto products and treatments longer than sandy soils. Ideally we want the product to remain in the top layer of soil as well as have some moisture in the lawn which will encourage newly hatched grubs to feed at the surface.
*Please do not mow grass until product is watered in & dry
Watering tips for grub control using Grub Terminator
Grub terminator is a bacterial biological treatment which can still be used to combat grubs further along in their cycle. Although both treatments have no adverse effects on beneficial insects, birds and mammals, this one is non-chemical. We usually use this product at the very first sign of potential damages (which often gets overlooked as drought damage). If you know what to look for you may be able to pick up on damages from grubs as early as September before the physical digging up of the lawn occurs.
Key notes regarding applications below
*Water requirements are stated at 0.5" of irrigation upon treatment and to provide adequate watering
*Weather in September can be rainy or dry, if the lawns are still dry from Summer it may be beneficial for multiple waterings at shorter duration to allow penetration into the soil.
*Although rainfall will inevitably take over, watering products into the root zone as soon as possible will give best results.
*Although this product is rated for all stages of grub development it will be less successful for late Fall treatments.
*Please do not mow grass until product is watered in & dry
*Learn how to spot potential grub damages in early stages and increase your success rate (see article below).
Become an expert on grubs & make informed decisions
Lets take a quick look at our situation, come October you don't need to travel very far to see an abundance of upside down lawns (don't forget there's back yards too). If you haven't had a problem yet and haven't been proactive regarding grubs you can count yourself extremely lucky! We've spotted one of the first encounters in our service area back in 2014 and they are still successful in that same neighbourhood. Lets do some quick math and take a modest approach, I would estimate somewhere around 1000 grubs for the damages we saw in 2014. Each female lays 20-50 eggs, lets say half are male and half are female, maybe 500 female beetles lay 30 eggs. We can take this formula, repeat it 11years in a row and watch it exponentially grow to to somewhere around 579 trillion grubs in our 15min radius service area. Some of these numbers will have been taken back through feeding frenzies and grub treatments but it is no comparison to the power of multiples. The outlook for the future will be an ongoing battle as we continue to repair lawns and provide these invasive pests with an unlimited food source. With enhanced water restrictions, potential watering bans and reduced selection of chemical treatment options all becoming prevelant with passing years, our job has become an uphill battle. We believe in honesty and integrity and will provide you with our monitoring results and key factors to consider below.
*Our first and only permanent solution to grubs is to remove the lawn completely and landscape in another way, many front lawns are not used or serve a purpose, pollinator friendly gardens are an environmentally long term sustainable solution. We have examples of some of our"LAWN FREE" landscapes in our photo gallery and a rough idea of cost associated in our pricing section
*If keeping lawn please consider tall fescue as a superior grass type, it has a higher drought tolerance rating and better ability to recover, add clover for a natural nitrogen fix and added protection against grubs
*Keep your lawn green and healthy through out the month of July and reduce the chance of eggs being laid in the lawn, dead and dormant grass is easy access for those beetles to lay eggs
*Treat your lawn for grubs at the appropriate time and follow proper instructions regarding watering. Remember if you're treatment is during the egg laying period it will appear that there is no current problem with grubs. Whether you buy a domestic product locally or get us to apply one of our products with a higher effectiveness rating, anything done will be far better than nothing.
*Combine the above practices for enhanced success rates.
*Please remember grubs are not spread through our machinery, they multiply after mating as beetles, burrowing into the lawn and laying eggs. If you watch for them around 9pm late June early July you can see the beetles swarming and flying around trees as they mate. If you've had grubs the previous season their rate of return is over 90% in higher numbers. It is to the point where they are raining down in all neighbourhoods.
*Grubs are more successful in sandy loose soils as opposed to clay soils, pay close attention in the month of September, this is usually the time when lawns begin to green up and the earliest time you can spot grub problems. If your lawn has greened up in most areas but has failed to green up with randomized large brown patches (often overlooked as summer damage) it could be grubs. Treatments will be more successful during this time but grubs will be small and harder to find through test digging.
*In the month of October brown/ yellow patches (or hindered lawn growth) will become more evident. This may be harder to spot on lawns that have been well watered and fertilized. Grubs will be feeding more aggressively and growing in size, critters will spot the grub damage as described above and turn up the loosely rooted grass in search of food. Grub treatment effectiveness will be declining
*We recommend avoiding both aerating & power raking grub infested lawns, this often will lead to added unwanted attention from critters and can tear up loosely rooted grass. Liming and fertilizing is recommended as it will enhance lawn growth and it's ability to recover from grubs feeding on it.
*Late fall some may wish to cover the lawn in attempt to avoid excessive damages. If below freezing winter temperatures set in grubs will travel deeper into soil and critters will no longer search for them. Grubs re-emerge to feed at the surface during spring but damages often lessen as grass starts to grow vigorously and recovers from feeding.
*Please also be mindful about some of the other internet advice regarding grubs, much of it is misleading or not helpful. It's quite evident that these are persistent and successful bugs and why we are contacted for professional help.
Our Monitoring & Treatment Results
2023 : 100% effective using imidacloprid (now restricted)
2024: 85% effective using chlorantraniliprole & BT
2025: 75% effective using Chlorantraniliprole & BT
We will continue to be transparent with our results so you can make well informed decisions! We can assure you we are using the same products as any other service specialized in the area of grubs. We can see the effectiveness going down, this could partially be from improper watering but could also be signs of pesticide resistance. We've checked with our supplier and have heard the same feedback.
Weed Control
We usually only control weeds in lawns when absolutely necessary for us to do so. We believe taking care of our planet comes first and the negative impact some of these products could have on bees could greatly impact us in the future. We are currently looking into effective chemical free solutions. In the meantime we provide guidance for those who ask. You can pick up weed control products such as killex from most local nurseries or box stores, please read and follow the label accordingly. Most of these products work best when weeds are in full season and weather is warm/ forecasted to be dry for 48hrs. Keep in mind it's better to do a secondary application than to overapply in one application. After the 48hrs is up you may wish to water the product through the soil as there could be risk in burning the grass. Please be responsible, it is good practice to mow flower heads from weeds before applications to minimize risk of harming bees.
Summary of info provided
As you can see most of our helpful tips are all lawn related, what used to be the cheapest and easiest thing to care for is working it's way in the other direction. Within the last 5 years we've seen grass seed & turf double in price along with severe turf damages from drought and grubs growing exponentially. Water regulations are advancing and pesticide regulations are tightening up. We don't know what the future beholds but it may literally change the landscape as we see it. We are currently working these issues in all directions and will continue to do everything possible to serve your needs as we strive to be the best landscape company!
