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Milky spores in both powder and granulated form are safe, natural ways to get rid of Japanese Beetle grubs without causing damage to your plants, grass, soil, people, or animals.
Japanese beetle grubs can quickly ruin your lawn and the larvae of the Japanese beetle love to feed on the roots of the grass, causing unsightly dead brown patches on your lawn.
Even while adult beetles are challenging to eradicate, their larvae are susceptible to a variety of biological remedies, most notably milky spore.
This article provides information on milky spore powder and granules, and which is best to use to maintain your lawn.
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What Is The Best Way To Apply Milky Spore?
To apply milky spore on your lawn or garden you’ll need various ingredients including milky spore grains or powder, a drop spreader or dispenser, a funnel, security glasses, a facial mask, gloves, and a spray nozzle or sprinkler.
1. Apply In Early Fall
The optimal time to apply milky spore is in the early fall when grubs feed most actively because grubs must consume milky spore for it to infect them.
Since grubs are available almost year-round when the earth isn’t frozen, the milky spore can also be used in the spring and summer.
60 to 70 degrees is the appropriate soil temperature for milky spores, so applying milky spores in the fall when the weather is colder, is best.
2. Cover Yourself
Organic pest management solutions like milky spore have the advantage of being fully non-toxic to people, pets, and beneficial insects.
The only living things that milky spore will hurt are the grubs of the Japanese beetle.
But if milky spore powder or granules end up in your eyes or mouth while being applied, they could irritate you.
So before applying milky spore, it’s a good idea to put on protective glasses and a face mask.
Additionally, you can put on gloves to prevent getting the chemical on your hands and then touching your face.
3. Fill Your Spreading Device With Milky Spore Product
Since you need to disperse milky spore all over your lawn, the simplest method to do so is using a drop spreader or a lawn and garden dispenser, which you can make yourself or purchase online.
For milky spore, never use a broadcast spreader because if you try to broadcast it, the wind will take it away since it is so light.
If applying milky spore powder with a lawn and garden dispenser, the dispenser can be filled using a funnel.
So pour the milky spore powder gradually through the funnel and into the tube’s top end.
If spreading milky spore granules with a drop spreader, make sure to place the spreader on a level, flat surface.
Ensure you place the spreader in a dry location on a flat, level surface, then load the hopper with milky spore granules.
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4. Cover The Whole Lawn With Milky Spore
Ensure you cover the entire lawn with a milky spore, not just the region showing evidence of grub damage, whether you’re using powder or granules.
Grubs can easily move from a treated region to an untreated area if you don’t cover the entire lawn.
In a grid pattern, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of milky spore powder every 4 feet throughout the entire lawn.
To avoid bending over, you can either measure out each teaspoon by hand or with a lawn and garden dispenser.
At every 4 feet, tap the dispenser on the ground to release the proper amount of powder.
5. Water Milky Spore Into The Ground
After applying the milky spore product to your grass, you must water the entire area to aid in the milky spore’s absorption into the soil, where it will reach the grubs.
Water the lawn for around 15 minutes using a sprinkler system or a spray nozzle on a garden hose set to the gentlest spray setting.
You can walk on the grass and mow the lawn as usual once you’ve watered the product into the soil.
How Long Does It Take For Milky Spore To Work?
As long as grubs are feeding, milky spore starts acting as soon as it is administered. Once infected, grubs will replicate the spore by a factor of several billion, further dispersing it.
Milky Spore has been reported to persist for 15 to 20 years once it has taken root in the grass.
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How Do You Use Milky Spore Granular?
This method of applying milky spore for grubs is significantly easier and doesn’t require you to scatter the powder on your garden, even though it does require more treatments.
The application is simple because the granular kind is designed to be used with a drop spreader.
Apply before they hatch and there are no visible signs of grub damage, so early in the season is the best time to apply.
Fill the grains in your drop spreader and estimate how much you need, like a 20lb bag of granules can treat 7,000 square feet of garden space.
Treat the perimeter of your grass with caution before concentrating on the middle section.
Making crisscross passes with your spreader is the most effective approach to getting the best coverage.
After you’ve covered the entire grass, water every spot you’ve treated.
Before you can walk on the lawn or before it is ready to be mowed, you must make sure that all the granules have been soaked into the soil.
The manufacturer’s suggested pattern includes:
- Before grubs begin to hatch in the spring, spread the spore granules over the ground.
- Afterward, in the later part of the summer, reapply.
- You execute these applications for two years, giving you a total of six applications.
- While the exact timing may vary, the first application must be made before the egg hatches, allowing the grubs to start eating the spores as soon as possible.
- After making your final application, you may discover that you don’t have an issue with these grubs for another ten years or more.
- While you use these mostly on your grass, you may also use them in mulched beds, vegetable gardens, ornamental gardens, and around shrubs and trees.
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How Well Does Milky Spore Work?
Since the 1940s, milky spore (Paenibacillus popilliae), a bacterium, has been employed to control Japanese beetles.
The fatal ailment known as milky disease or milky spore disease is contracted by Japanese beetle larvae, also known as grubs, who consume the spores of this bacterium.
The milky spores are consumed by the grub, which then feeds them to grow. The insect’s internal fluids become milky in consistency as they multiply. In seven to 21 days, the grub is killed by this.
The spores inside the dead grub disseminate into the soil to infect further grubs. So as long as there remain grubs for the spores to infect, the cycle will continue for 10 or even 20 years.
Conclusion
The best option for naturally eliminating Japanese Beetle grub pests is the milky spore, but using the powder instead of the granules will save you time and money.
Simply get a lawn applicator and you’ll be able to treat your entire lawn with milky spore powder in a single day.
Because it costs less and requires fewer treatments, milky spore powder is a better option than milky spore granules.
