Owners of lawns decimated by chafer beetles and the crows and raccoons that love to eat them will need to be patient - revenge will come soon enough.
That's the advice of Wim Vander Zalm, the owner of Art Knapp in Port Coquitlam, who has seen gardening trends and concerns come and go but admits he's seen nothing like the chafer beetle infestation that has ruined lawns from Coquitlam to Port Coquitlam and caused thousands of dollars in damage to city property.
"It's an epidemic, people can't believe it," said Vander Zalm in the store he's owned for several years that is gradually switching over from winter stock to the brightly coloured flowers of spring, and where people are going to get the latest information about ridding their yards of chafer beetle grubs.
In fact, as many as two dozen people a day are either phoning or coming in personally to his store to get advice on what to do, and sadly, the best thing he can say for now is be patient.
"It's a waiting game," Vander Zalm acknowledged, because the chafer beetle larvae or grub is still resident in the soil and it will be a few more months, likely April, before it turns into a pupae.
After that, the adult beetles are no longer a tasty treat for hungry raccoons and crows who are tearing up established lawns and boulevards in the Tri-Cities to get at the plump, white c-shaped critter.
Revenge is best served up in early July with an application of nematodes, which are microscopic worms that actively seek out the next generation of the white grub and destroy them, or the insecticide Grub Out [banned in Port Moody], as well as in Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam] because of the ingredient Carbaryl, which will do the same job.
According to Vander Zalm, who has been researching these grubs, the best time to apply nematodes for our region is in the first three weeks of July. He recommends a new brand of nematodes from Ontario that are a blend of search and destroy worms and another species that clings to the surface to attack the beetle larvae.
Nematodes must be applied properly to work, with plenty of moisture, (the twice-weekly watering allowed by Metro Vancouver is adequate but special permits can also be picked up from city hall if more sprinkling is needed).
"Apply at the right time as directed and you will get 100% control," he assured.
Unfortunately, this nematode or insecticide ritual will be required each July in case of a re-infestation and to keep the grubs from maturing into adults and laying more eggs.
"We don't know if this will be passing, we don't know what they are doing. We are trying to evaluate how these insects will evolve over time. Right now, we know they like it here."
Some people are considering lawn alternatives such as creeping thyme, Dutch White Clover, salal and sedum, while others are ripping out lawns and replacing it with paving stones, gravel or bark mulch, river rock, a vegetable garden or even artificial turf.
WHAT TO DO
But Vander Zalm says many homeowners simply want their lawn back, as beautiful and lush as it was before it was torn up by crows and raccoons and gnawed at by chafer beetle grubs.
"It provides balance, it's like a picture frame."
The other advantage to a thick, healthy lawn is that it resists egg laying by mature chafer beetles. There are new grass seeds that are even resistant to chafer beetles because they create a tough, intertwined mat that is difficult for the female beetle to penetrate to lay eggs in the soil.
Homeowners are not alone facing this problem. Port Moody, Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam are also seeing chafer beetle damage to city property and are working together on solutions, according to Neal Carley, PoMo's general manager of engineering and parks.
"The chafer beetle does not stop at municipal boundaries. We want to coordinate how we approach this and especially how we get information out to the publicit's important to work together."
In that city, for example, staff are being asked to prepare information on natural alternatives to combat the chafer beetle and to develop a public education program.
"We are looking at natural options, such as making sure that our fields and turf are really well maintained," Carley said.
CHAFER CALENDAR
Wim Vander Zalm's calendar for lawn repair and chafer beetle eradication:
Feb: Replant the remaining grass plugs back in the soil, they will re-grow.
March: apply lime to the lawn
April: apply slow release fertilizer
May: re-seed, look for grass seed with rhizomes
June: another application of summer fertilizer is recommended, order nematodes
July: Apply nematodes, according to package directions
- with files from Sarah Payne and photos from the Ministry of Agriculture
