Learn More About Grubs
Chafer grub life cycles
Chafer grubs
Adult European Chafer Beetle
Adult Japanese Chafer Beetle
Typical Lawn Damage with Grub and Beetle Infestation
The Full Story
The European Chafer Beetle (Rhizotrogus majalis) and the Japanese Chafer Beetle (Popillia japonica) are an invasive and serious pest of turf, horticulture, and field crops in our region. So far, the spread has been limited primarily to our suburban and city lawns but detections have been made in some agricultural fields in Abbotsford and Richmond in 2019. The Japanese Chafer Beetle (which causes similar extreme damage as the European Chafer Beetle) has been identified in neighborhoods of Vancouver and has been found to have spread out into the Fraser Valley.
To identify the adult beetle, it is tan coloured and generally about 12 mm long. The grubs (larvae) have a C-shaped body and brown head, with the mature chafer grubs being up to 25 mm long.
The larval stage is when the Chafer Beetle does the most damage to your lawn as the grub feeds on the roots of the grass, killing the grass in patches.
The adult beetle hides in trees and gardens, emerging at night to lay its eggs in the lawn. These hatched eggs are the grubs which are very attractive to other urban animals, such as crows and raccoons. This is another cause of major damage that results from a grub infestation as the animals tear apart the lawn in search of the grubs.
Treat the problem at the core
Many homeowners attempt to deter crows and raccoons attracted to their lawns by grubs. However, these animals would not be present if the grubs were not. Our approach focuses on eliminating the root cause of the issue,
allowing the animals to move on naturally without the use of ineffective or harmful deterrent methods.