The reason 1 per 1,000 is not a concern is they can only eat so much. We all have to live on the same planet. If everyone sprayed their 3,000 square feet with insecticide for every grub they found, the soil microbiology would be thrown way out of balance. Here is an excerpt from the NRCS Soil Biology Primer Arthropods can be grouped as shredders, predators, herbivores, and fungal-feeders, based on their functions in soil. Most soil-dwelling arthropods eat fungi, worms, or other arthropods. Root-feeders and dead-plant shredders are less abundant. As they feed, arthropods aerate and mix the soil, regulate the population size of other soil organisms, and shred organic material. Thus if you kill all the arthropods and micro-arthropods with insecticide, the result will be overpopulation of the soil with fungi and/or other arthropods, and reduce the natural decomposition of other organic materials in the soil. The arthropods will eventually repopulate the soil but only after the food supply for each species reaches a minimum level.

If you have more than 12 of these bad boys in 1 square foot of grass, then they are the culprit. Normally lawns can tolerate some grub feeding without showing damage, but when you get above the critical number of about a dozen, then you are going to see the damage. Good and bad news is the damage is done. They are finished feeding for the season. If you kill them now you are closing the barn door after the horses are gone. The time to stop them was last July (possibly even before you became aware of the damage). If you spend the money to kill them now, it will just be spiteful...which is not a bad reason now that I think about it. Do you remember last June whether your porch lights were covered with beetles? That is one indicator that you are about to have a grub problem. If it happened like that to me, I would spend my money on making the lawn look better rather than killing the sleeping grubs. This is for you and you along in the California high desert: I believe the very best thing you can do now is to winterize. Without grubs I would suggest winterizing later in the year, but you have this going on. You are between the Labor Day and Thanksgiving holidays when lawn fertilizer seems to work. Since it is this long after Labor Day, I would go ahead and winterize. Winterizer fertilizer is high nitrogen/fast release chemical fertilizer. It causes fast growth at the tops which feeds the roots. One thing you could do at the same time as winterize is to apply an organic fertilizer like alfalfa pellets. Apply at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. That will do more for your soil (and lawn) than any combination of other treatments you might consider - especially if you have not used an organic fertilizer in a long time. Is your soil made of the loose rubble that is common in the high desert or did they bring in fill that looks like soil? Have you ever had your soil tested by a professional (not university) soil test lab? My worry in the SoCal high desert is boron levels. The only place to get a good soil test I know of is Logan Labs. Their $20 test is better than most university special order tests costing $100 or more. It will give you boron levels. Boron is a tricky element. All life needs a little bit, but once you get more than a threshold level, nothing lives.

From what I can see, your lawn just needs to be fed. Alfalfa pellets & cracked corn when applied at normal application rates (10-20 lbs/1000sqft) aren't gonna get it. For really good looking bermuda on a strictly organic program, you need an application of either soybean meal, cottonseed meal or corn gluten meal every 30 days, while mowing frequently with a reel mower. Here's a pic of mine from spring '08 freshly mowed @ .500" as it came out of dormancy:

Hello Kime. First of all, welcome to the Lawncare forum. Although I rarely post here anymore, your enthusiasm and desire for a nice eco-friendly lawn cries out for answers to your thoughtful questions. It appears that you have done some research, gained knowledge and experience, and probably have a pretty descent lawn right now. I will proceed from that assumption giving opinion based on my experience with a similar lawn in similar soil and climate. No doubt, you will receive conflicting opinions and will have to decide for yourself what may work best for you. To begin with, your plan for 2009 is good but needs a little tweaking to optimize it for the first year. Lets start from todays date. You will want to start preparing you lawn for Winter dormancy. On your lawn spread 50 # of soybean meal. Start with your spreader ¾ wide open. You may have to open it up all the way. If you spell any, then clean it up. You donÂt want any piles of it on your lawn as it may leave a dead spot. This is a light application but you should see results in 3 or 4 weeks as the soil temperatures are good for microbial decomposition of grains. Repeat this process again October 15th. Always leave lawn clippings on your lawn with your side discharge mower. Mow all your Autumn leaves into your lawn even if you have to rake them into rows in remote areas of you lawn. A good soil requires lots of organic material. Do not throw your leaves away. Thanksgiving  forget alfalfa meal or pellets, itÂs too cold for quick breakdown of organic material. Instead use urea (the only deviation from a purely organic fertilizer program) 45-0-0 at the rate of 2 # per 1000 sq ft. This will encourage root growth and nutrient storage and provide a great green-up and initial Spring feeding without excessive top growth. Urea, as you probably know naturally occurs in urine and nothing could be more "natural" than that. That 8 or 10 lbs of urea could be diluted with 20 lbs of SBM as a filler to enable an even distribution. At this point, your lawncare is done for the year. April 1  Corn meal or cracked corn  low in protein (nitrogen) but encourages beneficial fungus to aid in lawn disease. CGM is good, but do not expect any pre-emergent herbicide qualities from one dose as it takes time and more quantity to build up in your soil to be effective as a pre-M. May 15  Soy bean meal- the first real feeding of the season, takes 3 to 4 weeks to become effective. July 1 Alfalfa pellets  low nitrogen but high in micronutrients. August 1  corn meal. September 1  SBM - October 15 SBM and youÂre done for the year. This post is getting long so IÂll move it along and just say that compost is really really good but optional. You can spread your grains everywhere including gardens, beds and shrubs. Grub control? You probably donÂt need it unless you have a severe infestation. A healthy lawn can support a large and diverse insect population which will become balanced between predators and prey. Up to 10 grubs per sq. ft. is acceptable. Bill Hill