Appearance: Small, white, legless grubs
Type of Damage: Browns out the lawn causing it to pull up like a rug.
Peak Damage Season: June - August
Treatment: Insecticide
How do I know if I have billbugs
Most common during the hot summer months (June and July), the larvae are small, white, and legless resembling white grubs. Larvae infiltrate the stem of the grass causing the plant to wither and die. You can tell if you have a billbug problem if the grass pulls up easily like a rug and is readily apparent that the stems have been hollowed out. You will notice brown spots, often mistaken for dollar spot disease, in the affected area.
Adult billbugs are brownish-black beetles with long snouts, however, they do no damage to the lawn.
I have billbugs, what do I do now?
Because larvae develop over the summer, insecticide is recommended as soon as you notice the symptoms. At Turf Plus, we will hand spray the affected area and return each week till the problem subsides at no additional charge.
For more information on billbugs click here: http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/billbug07.pdf
