The best way to ID a grub is by the chafer pattern on their rumps and even with a good hand lens it can be difficult. Organic ferts don't attract grubs anymore so than any other ferts do. Having a few here and there don't amount to any trouble and usually infestation levels hover around 10 per sq. ft. depending on the species.

Hi thanks, ya , I thought maybe the size of him might tell you what he is. I've never seen such a big fat grub before.

The term is Raster pattern and here is a link. decklap is right about # per sqft.

Here is a link that might be useful: OSU site

That I'm supposed to be looking at? Does cooperative extension identify lawn pests or who else could I ask?

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Yeah, regardless of what you call it you ID 'em by the hair on their butts. But it'd probably be easier to get an idea of what it is simply by checking to see what species are active in your area this time of year.

Well, i live in the lower hudson valley of new york state. Where would I find that kind of information (about grub activity at this time of the year). Thank you!

That's the type of grub that is commonly found in compost piles. It feeds on decomposing organic matter, not lawn roots.

Deanna

Here is a link that might be useful: Compost Grub

Thanks, Deanna, then I guess this is not one to worry about in my lawn. I wonder what the adults are, and what they feed on. Do you know if they travel far because I don't have fruit or vegetables in my yard, except for apples. Interesting.

You said you have apples in your yard? A beetle could have laid eggs in your yard because of the apple tree, knowing that when the grubs pupated into beetles, they'd have a food source right there.

Did you say you spread compost over your yard? It could have been that a beetle egg was in the compost, and it hatched after the compost had been spread in your yard. Or if you have a garden that you put compost in, or do lasagna gardening, the grub could have crawled over from that area. I found a big fat one where I had piled up lots of organic matter to decompose over the winter so I could plant some roses in the spring.

The fruit beetle isn't the only beetle that produces huge grubs that eat decomposing materials, so it could also be one of the other ones. The thing that really distinguishes these grubs from lawn grubs is the size. Lawn grubs are fairly small compared to the big fat composting type grubs.

Deanna

Hi Deanna, I haven't spread compost over my whole lawn, ever. I just spot treat, and I've actually never seen such a large grub before! I sure have seen the other grubs and the Japanese Beetles that they turn into. I've been using organic products like cornmeal gluten, and fish emulsion, the Lazy Man products, and 2 treatments of Milorganite over the past couple of years. i'm trying to stay away from chemical and my lawn looks pretty good most of the time. It took some doing to convince my lawn mowing company to mow high, but since they've been cooperating I'm very happy with it. I've also stopped using my automatic sprinklers except for occasionally when it hasn't rained the whole week. I've gotten good advice here and it seems to be working.