Grubs are white in color, with a 'C' shaped body when found in soil. White grubs are the most serious and destructive lawn insect pest in Illinois. Even though grubs do not effect every lawn every year, there are some important points to consider concerning managing these destructive pests.
Grubs are the larval stage of beetles, they lay their eggs in the soil in mid-summer, primarily on well-watered lawns in full sun, often near pavement. Damage typically starts to appear in lawns in August and may *continue through October. The damage appears as browning of the lawn, there may be other factors that could cause the browning in your lawn so you want to check for evidence of grubs to determine the source of the browning area. They are easy to find by lifting sod in damaged areas and checking the root zone for the whitish grubs. Also keep in mind that grubs like areas with a lot of sun light and are not typically found in shady lawns. Another sign you may have grub damage is from skunks and raccoons digging up your lawn in search for the grubs as food. This typically occurs at night.
*There is no way to predict if your lawn will have grubs this year or not, one thing you may want to do is keep an eye out for a lot of adult beetles on the lawn in July. Also watch lawns closely starting in-August and continue through October for wilting and browning areas. Chem-Wise also offers a Grub Treatment to help prevent them becoming a problem in your lawn. If you do receive the grub treatment you will want to make sure that you water the material in with in 1-2 days after Chem-Wise has completed the treatment.