You let the dog out on a September morning and the front lawn looks like somebody went at it with a garden fork. Chunks of turf flipped over, soil showing, the whole mess concentrated in one area.
That’s skunks or raccoons digging for grubs, and it’s a KW September classic. They’re not interested in your lawn. They’re after what’s living under it.
The test that settles it
Grab the edge of a brown patch and pull. Healthy grass holds on. Grass whose roots have been chewed off peels back in a sheet, and underneath you’ll find fat white C-shaped larvae in the top inch or two of soil.
That’s the one check worth doing yourself. Brown patches that never greened up no matter how much you watered point the same way, because grass with no roots can’t drink.
This one is about the fall version of a grub problem: the digging and the repair. Our guide to the September window for overseeding, and where aeration fits into a KW calendar, is the fall overseeding window.
Why now, and not in July
White grubs are beetle larvae, and their year runs on a schedule.
Beetles lay eggs in mid-summer. The eggs hatch into small grubs that feed close to the surface through late summer and early fall. Which means September and October are when two things happen at once: the grubs are big enough to do visible root damage, and they’re near enough to the surface for a skunk to smell them and reach them.
Once the soil cools properly, they burrow down for winter and the digging stops. Then it starts again in spring, briefly, when they come back up before pupating.
So a torn-up lawn in September isn’t a new problem. It’s the point where a problem that began in July became visible.
What actually works here, without chemicals
We don’t use chemicals on lawns, full stop. That’s the brand and it has been from the start.
Beneficial nematodes are the treatment people ask about. They’re microscopic worms applied as a spray, and they’re harmless to people, pets and the grass. They’re also fussy about water, because they’re living organisms: apply them and then let the lawn dry out, and you’ve spent money on nothing.
Which brings in a local detail most people miss. The Region of Waterloo’s Water Conservation By-law 07-069 runs from May 31 to September 30 and limits lawn watering to one day a week. The Region lets you request a watering permit specifically for applying nematodes, once per property per calendar year, good for seven days after application. Ask for it before you apply, not after.
Keeping the lawn strong is the other half, and it’s the boring half that works. A thick lawn with deep roots tolerates a grub population that would wreck a thin one. Mow high, feed it properly, water deeply rather than often, and the same number of grubs stops being a crisis.
Repairing what’s been dug up
The digging usually stops on its own once the grubs go down for winter. The bare patches don’t fix themselves.
Fall is the right time to repair them, and the window is closing. Soil is still warm, air is cooling, and grass seed establishes fast in those conditions. Seed going down at the end of September is at the outside edge. Seed going down in late October mostly feeds birds.
The repair sequence is straightforward: press the flipped turf back down and water it if the pieces are still alive, then overseed the areas that are past saving. If the same patch is compacted, not just chewed up, core aeration is the fix for that, but we only book aeration each spring as a single service, so a badly compacted patch found in September gets overseeded now and put on the list for spring aeration.
Our overseeding starts at $245 for a small lawn, up to $720 for a large one, per job. Our organic fertilizer program is $150 per application or $499 for the four-application season program, an all-natural spray that’s kid and pet safe.
All prices pre-HST, with 13% HST added as its own line. Full list on the pricing page.
Questions people ask about the digging
Can I just get rid of the skunks?
Wildlife isn’t our department, and trapping is regulated in Ontario. Also, removing the animal leaves the grubs. Deal with the food source and the visits stop.
Will they come back next year?
If the grub population stays high, yes. That’s why the treatment window and a thicker lawn matter more than anything you do to the animals.
Is it worth treating in October?
Usually not. By then the grubs are heading deeper and nematodes lose their grip on them. October is for repairing damage and planning the next treatment window for late summer.
Do you apply nematodes?
Ask us when you book an assessment and we’ll tell you straight what we can and can’t do on your property this season, rather than selling you something out of window.
How do I know it’s grubs and not chinch bugs or drought?
The lift test. Drought-stressed grass keeps its roots and stays anchored, grub-damaged grass peels.
Get the patches fixed before the ground cools
Call or text 226-336-2077 or send your address through the contact page. Assessments are free, and we’ll do the lift test with you so you can see what’s under there rather than taking our word for it.
We work Kitchener and Waterloo with Mannheim at the edge, and we don’t cover Cambridge. The boundaries are on the service area page, and more answers live on the FAQ.
Pink is the new green.