Question
QUESTION: I am all about going the natural route to killing my grubs. The only problem is the birds can't get to my grubs. I live in Dayton, OH, on a large lot that was sodded. The sod is so thick that that birds can't get through it. The grubs live in complete peace. I love birds. I have many feeders, two birdbaths and I even planted a huge English garden...for the birds. I have planted additional trees...for the birds. I have a large poplution of finches, cardinals, woodpeckers, a visiting Piliated, and in the spring, the Robins LOVE my yard. But they can't keep the grubs under control. My lawn is completely dead now.  All week I have been pulling up the sod, picking grubs (hundreds) and putting them out for the birds to eat. What can I use that will get through the sod? I am at my wit's end. I also have Italian Greyhounds, and do not want to kill them in the process. Please help! The grubs have taken over.

Thank you.

ANSWER: But for the Grubs, it does sound like you are living in the Garden of Eden up there in Ohio.  Sorry to delay your answer, but please tell me if (1) this is a fairly 'new construction' house (involving a lot of new trucked in soil), (2) when is the last time you fertilized or 'treated' your Lawn with any kind of chemical product, and (3) what kind of treatments have you used this year on this particularly plot of Grass?

What kind of Grass is this -- Kentucky Bluegrass?  Fescue?  Something else?

Are you getting a lot of Sun?

Sounds like you're doing everything right, so far.  This is the season to re-sow Grass, so we have to get on this quickly.  We're nearing the end of that time.  Do you have plans to re-Seed yet?

rsvp!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Again,
You are right! This house is three years old. We bought the house when it was two years old. And, get this.....there is no soil.  It is on clay, they raked it around and put down sod. Rot heaven. We were very careful when we planted our trees and gardens to lay a ton of top soil and then include mulch at the base of the plants and trees to ward off rot. All of our new plantings (planted last fall) are thriving. Last fall we aerated, overseeded and fertilized. I have since used a natural fertilizer a few times. Our plan is to slice seed this weekend, as the aeration did not work apparently. Did not loosen the thatch. Will the grubs eat  all our new grass roots? I think we have K Blue Grass, but I will confirm today. (ps, we are military and will need to move in a year or so. I am so worried about the lawn, as it is the first impression of a house. We moved last year from Tucson. I created a bird and wildlife sanctuary there. The person who bought the house from us was a bird enthusiast, and he loved the haven I had created. I really miss those birds. I even had an albino Gambel's Quail. I was certain it would not survive it's infancy, but it did. It had my huge walled yard to hide in.)

Thank you.

Answer
I admit, I'm impressed.  And a bit jealous, too.  If there's a symbol of the environment, it's got to be Birds -- they're the first to go when you have an EPA disaster.  Now let's get to your problem.

One limitation you are going to have to come to terms with is, unfortunately, the fact that you are not going to be able to address any issues long term, because you are usually going to be starting from scratch.

Organic soil is not something you can do overnight, as you know, but much of the damage done by common, ordinary chemicals and activities that almost EVERYONE in the country uses routinely are so devastating, they take years to recover.  In this case, you have a house with brand new soil and a Clay bed.  On the plus side, the new soil is not (I hope) laced with un-natural things that hurt or kill flora and fauna.  On the downside, the new soil is in many ways sterile -- it lacks the network of mycorrhizae (beneficial Fungi), superpowerful, specialized delivery systems that shoot Water and Nutrients into plant roots.  Most people don't know about these, but they've been around since 1885, when a Germany scientist discovered them.  These Mycorrhizae are also extremely delicate, which is unfortunate because it takes years to form a network.  Populations decline when you simply stick a shovel in the Earth, or if Soil compacts, or if you use chemical fertilizers.

But they are incredibly effective and desirable, especially when you are growing a Lawn, but with other plants as well.  Some of the shock you see when you transplant a shrub or a perennial flower happens because you wipe out the Mycorrhizae.  Some authorities believe they are so important, they can increase the surface area of roots on a Tree by 700 to 1000 times.  And they are completely missing in your trucked in topsoil.

They're not the only thing that's missing.  You have no established population of natural predators of Grubs.  Those predators are like the FBI looking for America's Most Wanted.  They hunt and destroy when they catch one, and they never stop looking.  

One detail to consider:  We know that Beetles that lay Grubs are happiest in Grass that is mowed short.  If you have been low-Mowing, it is time to re-set the blade height to prefer to lay eggs in closely cropped lawns.  They also like Full Sun and moisture, so if you tried to care for your Lawn this Summer, you inadvertently raised Grubs along with it.

But there's another big problem here, and that's the Topsoil you trucked in.  I understand this was probably needed, but you should know that most Topsoil is packed with Weed Seeds just waiting for someone to come along with a hose and water on a hot Summer day.  Odds are you personally planted those Weeds when you bought the Topsoil.  Please don't do that again.

Review the Rutgers University Cooperative Extension's Fact Sheet on White Grubs:

http://www.co.somerset.nj.us/_pdffiles/JapBeetleFS.pdf

Pay particular attention to the section about Natural Predators, which I am too tired to quote here at length but is fairly complete.

About your Thatch problem: Thatch decomposes when Bacteria break it down.  No Bacteria, no decomposing.  Something else your new topsoil is missing:  Bacteria to break down Thatch.  You don't need to aerate.  You just need more Lignin- and Cellulose-digesting Bacteria.

All this adds up to a single problem, my friend: TOPSOIL.  Adding Organic Matter (Humus, Compost, Leaf Mould, etc) to your Clay would have retained Soil Structure and resident life, then made it better.  The problem is, These things take time.  And when you move from place to place, you are going to run out of time, it seems, everywhere you go.  I get discouraged just thinking about it, and I'm not even moving.

Given time that you don't have, the natural predators population will recover, and hunt down your Grubs.  A Blue can of Milky Spore disease from Home Depot is also not a short-term answer, but who knows what the future holds here?  It's a pretty cheap option and probably has the good housekeeping seal of approval because it does kill some White Grubs.

I have to come back to this question again later to complete this answer.  I just have way too much to say on it, and I am fading fast.  Read up on Grubs at Rutgers when you can.  I'll return to it Friday evening.