Okay so as working in the front garden area... noticed there were GRUBS.. I can't stand those pesky little insects... I know there is no benefit having them. So any advice on an organic way to kill them off.... I don't have tons of money to invest in killing them immediately so long term ideas....

Thanks!

Grubs can be thwarted by applications of beneficial nematodes (which you can mostly order online) or milky spore (which you can probably find in some better nurseries.) Both can be pricey. Especially the beneficial nematodes. But the b.n's 'work' quicker than the milky spore. W/the milky spore you may have to wait a year or two to see a decrease in the grub population.

Then, of course, there's always just plucking them out as you come across them and toss them onto a bird feeder. Your feathered friends will appreciate the snack.

BTW: For more info on both beneficial nematodes and milky spore, do a search here on the forums by clicking on "Find" and enter those terms as criteriA for your search.

The grubs you have found now are ready to pupate into the adults, June Bugs, Japanese Beetles, Locusts, etc. so the only way to kill them is with a very strong poison that wil also kill off many of the necessary soil insects. The time to apply grub controls such as Bacillus popillae, Milky Spore Disease, is in early August right around the time the adult beetles start to lay the eggs that will hatch to become these grubs so the disease is in the soil when they are most susceptible to it. Parasitic nematodes should be released abut mid August when the eggs hatch and the larva start to grow.
These will be something you will find every year because they grow into the adult beetles that lay eggs that become the grubs, and yo woul not want to kill off every one since that would unbalance nature, many bird and other critters, do eat these, they are a food source.

Kimm points out very one very important factor I omitted: Timing.

These methods (if you chose to use them) should only be applied when the grubs are in their first instar, or immature larval stage and that's usually around August, as Kimm said. To use them any other time would be a waste of money.

So for now just wait until August -- will they damage my plants? I know grubs prefer grass roots... but I have some ornamental grass growing... will they destroy that?

Thanks for the information.

Ornamental grass is one of the most indestructible plants you can have. **I've never met one I didn't like or want to add** I wouldn't worry about the grubs bothering the ornamental grass.

For now, you'll just have to pick them out when you come across them. Sorry. No easy answers, I'm afraid.

I'm not sure it's too late to apply b.n. in KY. I only got our order last week and I'm only one zone north.

Grubs eat roots, so they can kill grasses just fine, but there has to be a true infestation of them, and that's actually not that common.

Any damage the grubs may have done was done last fall when they were really feeding. At this time they are not eating much at all since they are getting ready to pupate into the adult beetles.

Yes, grubs will eat lawn grass roots. But I've never heard of grub damage to ornamental grasses. Perhaps because the root systems of ornamental grasses are so much denser and thicker than lawn grass-root systems. But I suppose there's a first for everything. Especially in gardening.