Grub Control: Are Skunks Feeding on the Grubs in Your Yard?
Posted by Steve Crowe on Tue, Apr 07, 2009 @ 09:55 AM
In UMass's turf update, they revealed the connection between skunks on your lawn and grubs in your turf:
What are the grubs doing? We were poking around on a couple golf courses yesterday and noticed a few white grubs nearing the root zone. The ones we saw were all about one or two inches beneath the thatch (and happened to be either Japanese beetles or oriental beetles). The soil temperature was about 46 degrees at a depth of four inches, so the soil was still pretty cool. All of the grubs appeared to be that creamy- yellow color that indicates they have not yet resumed feeding, but if we get some more days like we are enjoying today (2 April), I expect them to start feeding again very soon. Watch for new skunk or raccoon or crow activity as those grubs get back up toward the surface.
Is there anything we can do to discourage the skunks? My colleague at Ohio State, Dr. Dave Shetlar, reports that broadcast applications of MilorganiteTM have been shown to discourage skunk activity in some situations. Apparently there is something in the product that encourages the skunks to "move on" and bother somebody else. I am not sure of the rates, but for some of you it might be worth a try.
Do you have a grub control problem in your yard?