GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

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bongobyll
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GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by bongobyll » May 19th, 2017, 5:02 pm

Life got away from me and I know I should have applied earlier, but my life and the weather didn't cooperate this year.

I had grubs last year and applied Bayer 24hr last year and planned on using GrubEx this year... but didn't.

I've seen grubs in my beds already and wanted to do another round this year since I had known damage last year. I tried to use what seems like the more environmentally responsible GrubEx, but wanted confirmation that it is too late. I have irrigation (city water) and a large lawn. I am not against the cost to water any product in if it still is worth it (seeing how I totally missed the perfect week last week).

Should I still apply GrubEx this late in the year or use a different product soon/now? If a different product, recommendations on what and when would be appreciated.

I like the 101 forum because I feel more comfortable asking my "should have known better" questions, so thank you for creating it and taking the time to answer.

g-man
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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by g-man » May 19th, 2017, 8:01 pm

quote=g-man post_id=304369 time=1492872242 user_id=6562]
This Michigan State University article recommends the application of GrubEx (chlorantraniliprole) between April 1 and May 30. The article actually say: "so it can be applied any time after the grass turns green in the spring".

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/how_to_cho ... _your_lawn
[/quote]

Read that article. You still have time but don't delay it. Since you had grub problems last year you really need to get some protection.

bongobyll
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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by bongobyll » May 19th, 2017, 9:35 pm

Thanks G-man, that article is what lead me to choosing grubex (nicer to the honey bees). Just thought I've seen others point out the northern location of that article, affecting the exact dates of drop time and was afraid I missed my window.

Hopefully with the irrigation helping the natural precipitation, it will work into the ground quickly enough.

Thanks again

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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by Green » May 19th, 2017, 10:12 pm

For what it's worth...

I was in the same situation last year and applied on May 17th. I knew it wasn't ideal to be on the late side, but I wanted protection. It worked fine...but I had also applied Grubex in 2015 as well, and Imidacloprid at least the year before that, if not two.

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mitten
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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by mitten » May 20th, 2017, 3:20 pm

My local garden center recommended applying GrubEx on May 20, last year for what it's worth.


Green
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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by Green » May 20th, 2017, 6:13 pm

I believe I'm in zone 6b, and May 20th is the very latest I'd feel comfortable putting it down, unless the rainfall in late May through June was highly above typical levels.

Lawnnut
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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by Lawnnut » May 24th, 2017, 5:31 am

I always put it down in June . Am I waiting to long I live in IN

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HoosierLawnGnome
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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » May 24th, 2017, 9:15 am

Lawnnut wrote:
May 24th, 2017, 5:31 am
I always put it down in June . Am I waiting to long I live in IN
Depends what you're putting down - read that article. It's about the AI, not brand. chlorantraniliprole is almost past application timeframes.

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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by Pelouse » June 5th, 2017, 10:29 am

it is highly recommended that products containing imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin (Grubbex contain clothianidin) be applied [/color]and irrigated into the soil in June or July. If applied in early spring, the pesticide may move through the soil or partially degrade by the time the grubs hatch in late July. If applied too late, preventative products may not be effective as they work best on small grubs.

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turf_toes
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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by turf_toes » June 5th, 2017, 10:51 am

The information you cite about grubex is several years out of date. (At least for grubex sold here)

The label on Grubex indicates the active ingredient is Chlorantraniliprole. Everything I've read about it says to apply no later than mid-May for best results.

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ken-n-nancy
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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by ken-n-nancy » June 5th, 2017, 10:55 am

turf_toes wrote:
June 5th, 2017, 10:51 am
The information you cite about grubex is several years out of date. (At least for grubex sold here)

The label on Grubex indicates the active ingredient is Chlorantraniliprole. Everything I've read about it says to apply no later than mid-May for best results.
+1

My standard recommendation to learn about grub control products is an excellent article from Michigan State University which is updated annually:
How to choose and when to apply grub control products for your lawn
.

The article will tell you to apply chlorantraniliprole "as early as April" and that "applications made before June are more efficacious than June or July application."

The current Grub-Ex (also known as Grub-Ex1) contains chlorantraniliprole. Before 2015, it was a different formulation, which had different application timing. Accordingly, one has to be careful when looking at online articles saying when to apply Grub-Ex, as the information in older articles is now, well, out-of-date. ;)

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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by Pelouse » June 5th, 2017, 11:14 am

My bad i should have read the entire article before posting anything.

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Zareth
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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by Zareth » June 21st, 2017, 10:54 am

.. I applied mine yesterday in zone 7b.. it has been a sopping wet spring
Pretty much useless or not?

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Dchall_San_Antonio
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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » July 3rd, 2017, 8:34 pm

My standard advice is to assume you will never have grubs. Assuming you will get them is wrong. Assuming you will get them again because you had them last year is wrong. I make this assumption for a couple reasons. I've been taking care of my lawns in SoCal, Dayton, and SoTX for 55 years and have only seen the occasional grub in my compost piles. Beyond my experience, I have been participating in online lawn forums for 15 years and have come to realize that most people never have a single grub issue. Some have one, but hardly anyone ever has two grub events. When you participate in lawn forums you see mostly bad stuff that has happened to someone around the country or world. It is easy to fall into the 'join the bandwagon' mentality and make assumptions about the probability of have those bad things happen to you. But the number of actual grub events over 15 years of reading is way down in the low numbers. I don't count them, but I would say fewer than 50.

Damaging grubs come from either Japanese beetles or from June bugs depending on where you live. You should have fair warning of a grub infestation in May or June by the fact that these beetles/bugs will swarm your porch lights. If you don't have any swarming, then you very likely will not have grubs. If you do have swarming, then wait a month and dig up a square foot of grass. If you count fewer than a dozen grubs, then you are not having a grub event. Replace the sod and go on with life. If you dig it up and see an uncountable mass of grubs, then spray quickly with an insecticide. That is a real grub event worth spending time and money on.

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Zareth
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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by Zareth » July 3rd, 2017, 11:53 pm

Dchall_San_Antonio wrote:
July 3rd, 2017, 8:34 pm
My standard advice is to assume you will never have grubs. Assuming you will get them is wrong. Assuming you will get them again because you had them last year is wrong. I make this assumption for a couple reasons. I've been taking care of my lawns in SoCal, Dayton, and SoTX for 55 years and have only seen the occasional grub in my compost piles. Beyond my experience, I have been participating in online lawn forums for 15 years and have come to realize that most people never have a single grub issue. Some have one, but hardly anyone ever has two grub events. When you participate in lawn forums you see mostly bad stuff that has happened to someone around the country or world. It is easy to fall into the 'join the bandwagon' mentality and make assumptions about the probability of have those bad things happen to you. But the number of actual grub events over 15 years of reading is way down in the low numbers. I don't count them, but I would say fewer than 50.

Damaging grubs come from either Japanese beetles or from June bugs depending on where you live. You should have fair warning of a grub infestation in May or June by the fact that these beetles/bugs will swarm your porch lights. If you don't have any swarming, then you very likely will not have grubs. If you do have swarming, then wait a month and dig up a square foot of grass. If you count fewer than a dozen grubs, then you are not having a grub event. Replace the sod and go on with life. If you dig it up and see an uncountable mass of grubs, then spray quickly with an insecticide. That is a real grub event worth spending time and money on.

Grubs are strange for sure...
I have a little story about that.

But first I also find the notion of fewer than 12 grubs/sq ft to be VERY optimistic when it comes to growing Cool Season grass in the transition zone.
Especially if you do not have irrigation which I do not.
For me grubs became obvious when I would notice areas where the grass started to lay down and die and the grass around it would sort of lay flat to hide the dead area.
When I spread the canopy there would ALWAYS be a little hole, the size of my pinky.
100's of these spots in 1000sq ft of lawn.
Spread the Canopy, dead grass in the middle, pinky size hole.
Then the dead areas spread.. because with the mowing height I need to survive summer out here the grass just lays over and sticks to the dead area.. and then it rots and spreads and gets worse and worse.
Dylox brought grubs up in all these dead areas. Big fat ones bigger than a peanut.
The damage was enough to make the lawn ugly - is it an infestation?
No but its damage and its unacceptable, especially on a Tall Fescue only lawn where the only recourse is seeding.. every.. single.. fall.. And the seeding ruins your weed control program.. and it ruins your fall fertilization program.. it ruins everything.

Anyway - One MATURE grub/sq ft is an issue for me, so GrubEx seems like the obvious choice.

I had horrific grub damage 2 years ago in the back yard - I did nothing.
I reno'd the back yard, the grubs surfaced so often and left big mounds of dirt everywhere and made the seed dry out in those spots - I did nothing
The following year no reasonable amount of water kept the grass alive, no roots - I did nothing.
Then I treated the front yard with Dylox - some areas had fewer than 4 grubs come to the surface other areas had them surfacing so close together they were all touching.
June Bugs and Japanese beetles are here everywhere when its their time. Every year.
The Grubs are back and if I dig in the lawn I find them, if I dig in the flower beds I find them.

And as for the back yard that I never did anything to? The grubs are all gone, there is no dry patches of rolled up leaves, when I dig I don't find any..
I guess they just decided to skip my back yard this year, maybe its something else I did, I don't know.
But they have been at my house consistently for 3 years including after Dylox so a preventative seems in order.

p.s. when I had bermuda grass I never saw a sign of grub damage, not ever.
How severely you react to grubs depends on how seriously water dependent your grass is - yea bermuda is ugly without a decent bit of water but it doesn't just belly up and die like my cool season turf does.

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Dchall_San_Antonio
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Re: GrubEx Return or Apply NOW in NJ

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » July 11th, 2017, 1:26 pm

I never saw a single beetle this year, YET, digging in the compost yesterday we found several grubs. These guys were more like the size of my ear, not that I held it up to my ear, but they were the biggest I've seen. Two would have been a big meal, if I was a weasel.

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