Woke up this morning to see that apparently skunks decided to invade my lawn. In September I noticed that I had a grub problem. I immediately put Grub Ex down on my whole lawn. My house is on a corner lot, and my neighbors on two adjacent lots on the other side of the street have had Grub and skunk problems too. What action should I now take to put a stop to these critters? Firearms are not an option, as I live in a city.

Since you’re in the city your response is limited. Trapping or some kind of repellant (but I’ve never heard of one for skunks)

If you trap them, you must approach with a sheet to cover the trap slowly, so they don’t get spooked and spray.

Warhorse - We put this product down in our yard and flowerbeds every 90-120 days and this eliminated all of the armadillos that were distorting our yard and landscaping….Kill the food source - they should leave….Sorry to hear of your issues.

There are several different companies that make what we call “Lawn Granules”…

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Spect...i_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


Also - You may be able to ALSO spray a surface solution that repels the skunks along with the granules.

Most people work to get rid of grubs in their yard. You have a native animal doing it for you and it'll get rid of yellow jacket nests too. I wish I had one around the house.

Isn’t GrubEx a preventative, meaning you put it down early in the season to stop grubs from forming, not killing grubs already full grown and active?

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Most people work to get rid of grubs in their yard. You have a native animal doing it for you and it'll get rid of yellow jacket nests too. I wish I had one around the house.

This is not how you want your yard to look!

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Isn’t GrubEx a preventative, meaning you put it down early in the season to stop grubs from forming, not killing grubs already full grown and active?

Yep, I put it down this spring, and my lawn maintenance put it down mid summer, and I last put it down second week of September.
Do you have a recommendation on what to do NOW?

Here are some insecticides that will get rid of them. I’ve used Dylox with good results in the past.


https://lawnphix.com/products/...granular-insecticide

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Most people work to get rid of grubs in their yard. You have a native animal doing it for you and it'll get rid of yellow jacket nests too. I wish I had one around the house.

Said someone who never spooked one in the dark and got sprayed.

First, be aware that skunks aren't the only critters that will tear up a lawn digging for grubs. I found out the hard way that crows will do at least as much (if not more) damage.



The entire South half of my front lawn looked like this this Spring. It's been iffy for a few years and I've been threatening to tear it out and start over and this was the final straw.



A couple of weeks of work and $1500-$2000 worth of loam, seed, mulch and fertilizer later, it looked like this.

I'll have to dig my drone out and get a picture of it in it's current condition. It took pretty well after laying dormant for several weeks. Once the rains started it took off pretty well. I'll have to overseed it in the Spring as the dry spell kept the seeds from germinating and the birds got a lot of them. Too much wind to keep straw on it.

quote:

Originally posted by Warhorse:

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Isn’t GrubEx a preventative, meaning you put it down early in the season to stop grubs from forming, not killing grubs already full grown and active?

Yep, I put it down this spring, and my lawn maintenance put it down mid summer, and I last put it down second week of September.
Do you have a recommendation on what to do NOW?

3 Home Depot Options:

Spectracide Triazicide Lawn Insect Killer Granules. This is the least expensive of the 3.

Sevin Lawn Insect Killer Granules

BioAdvancd 24-Hour Grub Killer Plus Granules. Same active ingredient as Dylox.

Amazon Option:

The Andersons DuoCide Professional-Grade Lawn Insect Control

Spectracide Triazicide Lawn Insect Killer Granules.

quote:

Originally posted by Warhorse:

This is not how you want your yard to look!

Those scratched up areas will grow back quickly and the turf will be healthier w/o grubs eating the roots. But if you wish for a pristine looking lawn you'll have to get rid of the skunk and apply chemicals to keep down the grubs.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:

quote:

Originally posted by Warhorse:

This is not how you want your yard to look!

Those scratched up areas will grow back quickly and the turf will be healthier w/o grubs eating the roots. But if you wish for a pristine looking lawn you'll have to get rid of the skunk and apply chemicals to keep down the grubs.

Yep, better living through chemistry!

quote:

Originally posted by Warhorse:

Yep, better living through chemistry!

Not better living for anyone, just a "Scott's" lawn rather than a natural one.

Two questions:
Does the skunk get in you backyard?

Do you have a suppressor and rifle?

^^^^^^

quote:

Firearms are not an option

Just because it has a suppressor, doesn't make it legal to use inside city limits. I'm sure the OP would rather be on the correct side of the law concerning his pest problem.

I have a service that just does seeding, fertilizing and insect control. Been doing it for around 3 years. Unfortunately, I have noticed I no longer see fireflies in July.

I recall some years back there was a member here who discussed an all natural way to prevent grubs?

It’s some sort of spore or bacteria that you put into your lawn, and it kills the grubs before they can grow.

Anyone know what I am talking about here? I’ve been considering trying it.

quote:

Originally posted by 83v45magna:
Two questions:
Does the skunk get in you backyard?

Do you have a suppressor and rifle?

I can attest from personal experience. You better make sure that thing is about 75 yards away from your house. Otherwise, when you shoot it, it will spray all over and you will be smellling it for a looooooooooooooong time!