It’s best to consult with a lawn care professional because without knowing insect or disease life cycles, product components, mode of action, and application method – you could be applying the wrong product, at the wrong time, for the wrong pest. To summarize, even under ideal conditions, using milky spore disease to control grubs, even Japanese beetle grubs, is a serious waste of money and time. Additionally, the bacteria can take over 4-5 years to build up…under ideal conditions…with a high population of Japanese beetles grubs! Wow! This consistently high soil temperature rarely occurs in our region. The third reason not to use milky spore in NH and VT is the fact that the soil temperature must be 60-70 for three months. Therefore, if you do not have a large Japanese beetle grub population, one where you would likely see damage – why bother? Secondly, you must have sufficient numbers of Japanese beetle grubs in your lawn to promote the bacterial population enough to expand and spread out in the soil. So now you understand that even if milky spore could work, you would only be controlling one grub out of many…not good odds. Unfortunately there are many more turf damaging grubs in NH and VT including Asiatic beetles, European and masked chafers, June and May beetles and armyworms. The first reason not to use milky spore is that it was manufactured to control ONLY Japanese beetle grubs. Milky spore comes in a powder and consists of a bacteria. Milky spore has been around for decades and was the first biological disease to control Japanese beetle grubs. There is no risk of contamination due to runoff into bodies of water and you can use it near wells.According to a University of New Hampshire publication on milky spore disease, there are more reasons NOT to use this product than to use it in your home lawn. It is safe to use on lawn and ornamental plants as well as vegetable gardens. Milky spore disease is specific for Japanese beetles and it won’t harm humans, other animals, or plants. Japanese beetles only feed for two weeks and visiting beetles will be unable to reproduce in your lawn. Although Japanese beetles can fly in from your neighbor’s lawn, they will be few in number. Milky spore won’t completely eliminate Japanese beetle grubs from your lawn, but it will keep their numbers below the damage threshold, which is about 10 to 12 grubs per square foot (0.1 sq. Once the powder is watered in, you can safely mow or walk on the lawn. Water it in with a gentle spray from a hose for about 15 minutes. Place a teaspoon (5 ml.) of milky spore powder on the lawn, spacing the applications about 4 feet (1 m.) apart to form a grid. Knowing how to apply milky spore is important for effective control. Although the grubs are in the soil year-round, it only works when they are actively feeding. The best time of year to use the product is fall, when the grubs are feeding aggressively. Ideal soil temperatures for using milky spore are between 60 and 70 degrees F. You can also use milky spore in vegetable gardens without fear of crop damage or contamination. When using milky spore for lawns, it can take three years to achieve control of the insect in warm climates, and even longer in cooler areas. The bacteria remain in the soil for two to ten years.

Japanese beetle larvae are the only organisms known to be susceptible to the disease, and as long as they are present in the soil, the bacterium increases in numbers. After the larvae eat the bacteria, their body fluids turn milky and they die, releasing more of the bacterial spores into the soil. Although it isn’t new, it is still considered one of the best methods of control for Japanese beetles. Long before horticulturalists coined the terms “integrated pest management” and “biological controls,” the bacterium Paenibacillus papillae, commonly called milky spore, was commercially available to control Japanese beetle larvae, or grub worms. Let’s learn more about using milky spore for lawns and gardens to control these grubs. The adult beetles are tough and difficult to kill, but their larvae are susceptible to several biological controls, including milky spore disease.

The beneficial nematodes will help disperse the bacillus through the soil.

If you are using beneficial nematodes for grub control, lay out the Milky Spore in a grid pattern first. To add insult to injury, their larvae feed on grass roots, leaving ugly and brown dead spots in the lawn. Place 1 teaspoon of Milky Spore Powder every 4 feet so that you create of grid of the powder. Japanese beetles can strip the foliage from your prized plants in no time.

Milky spore powder near me