Surprisingly common to most regions of North America, it’s likely the billbugs in your grass simply walked into your garden from a nearby yard or grassy field. While they pose no threat to humans and rarely wander inside, the presence of billbugs in your yard is likely to draw in additional pests such as skunks and wasps. Because of this, early billbug detection and treatment is especially important.

Members of the weevil family, adult billbugs are beetles with snouts – up to ½” long – and typically appear dull gray to black in color. Billbug larvae are laid as eggs into grass blades and grow into white, humpbacked grubs with soft bodies and yellow or brown heads. While adult billbugs snack on your grass tips and lay eggs in the stems, their larvae munch deep into the root system of the grass. It’s not long until they’ve made quick work of what used to be a beautiful lawn.

Many Billbug Species

An astonishing 64 of the 71 billbug species known to exist occur in North America. At least 10 of those species affect the United States, including the Bluegrass Billbug, Hunting Billbug, and Rocky Mountain Billbug – all common to our area.

Some billbug prevention measures homeowners can take include:

• Planting billbug resistant turf varieties.
• Minimize thatch and dead leaves in your grass and around your home.

When it comes to billbug treatment, it’s a good idea to talk to a Senske professional. At Senske, our technicians are trained to manage billbugs using safe biological, control products and insecticide spray applications during the time of year they can be most effective against them. Senske provides the right solutions to keep billbugs out of your grass, and turf.