Milky Spore Disease, "Bacillus popilleae" is a passive method of grub control because the spores do not seek out the grubs, the grubs must ingest the spores as they search for food. Since this is most effective when the grubs are newly hatched the time to apply the spores is just before they hatch in August, or apply the spores sometime in July to give the carrier time to move the spores into the soil where the grubs will be eating plant roots or other soil organic matter. Unless one were to either ingest or inhale fairly large quantities of the Milky Spore Disease there has not been found to be any detrimental affect on humans from this bacterium. However, at this time parasitic nematodes may be a better control since the grubs could well be beyond the growth stage that Milky Spore Disease will do them harm.

Yes, I did my research and I am very eco-friendly with my lawn. Milky Spores are very time consuming to apply, as you know, however 25 years of safe grub prevention was appealing to me with 4 kids, a dog, garden and well water. My neighbor thought I was crazy as he watched me apply the powder.......which took a good part of my weekend. And years later he was the one to point out seeing the constant stream of Japanese Beetles emerge from various parts of my lawn like swarms of bees. At the time I didn't think much of it until the skunk holes and dead turf showed up. I gave it time thinking the directions said the bacteria grows and spreads within the larvae. The grubs were found throughout the entire lawn but 1 area of approx. 1/4 acre was infested. We are located in central PA. But I would think this would not matter as the bacteria is supposed to spread with grub presence, correct? I am NOT a supporter of chemical containing grub killers however I felt I had no choice at the moment. Within a short period of time, problem solved. (And my original post that was deleted was posted back in 2009)

I have grapes and the Japanese Beetles will eat every leaf so I bought a beetle trap and hung it in the bushes a distance of about 20 yards away. Things went from bad to worse and my yard was overrun with J. Beetles. Living in the city is a bad place to use beetle traps. They need to be placed farther away than a regular neighborhood yard. This year I am working with milky spore. I used nothing last year and had better results than with the traps. I found a remedy online that said to get a bucket and fill it with water and dishsoap and put it under the plants. Use a butterfly net and catch the beetles and put them in the soapy water. Use about a half cup soap. The soapy water will kill the beetles and the decaying beetles put off an odor that lets the other beetles know it is not a safe area. The bugs are chemically driven so it made sense. It worked better than the beetle traps but I find the bugs disgusting and it does not eliminate them so you are catching beetles often to keep the solution fresh. Sometimes its just too hot or rains and you have to start over. So this year I am putting down milky spore . I may take my Beetle trap down to the railroad tracks and put some pheromones in it there. Since milky spore takes more than a year to become effective I may be fighting them on all fronts this year. If you use the trap make sure it is far enough away from your yard and plants.

I find them when I dig in my garden beds and lawn. I sometimes have had to reseed areas or take out big weeds, or transplant or dig out things. That's when I find the grubs. And that's how, after three years, I know the milky spore is working. Will not eliminate, but can greatly reduce. Also, important to properly fertilize and water your lawn. Over-fertilized lawns are ideal habitats for the grubs. I've changed that up since I moved into the house so don't have as many grubs. Here's an excellent pamphlet on controlling the pests. It has a section on how to survey for the grubs. I never have surveyed since I run into them in my tasks throughout the yard. Plus I gauge my success by how many turn into adults . . . https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/jb/downloads/JBhandbook.pdf Here's a great pamphlet that talks about how to water and fertilize the lawn properly to discourage the grubs. https://unis.mcgill.ca/en/uw/insects/beetle_grubs.html