Chafer damage and drought damage look nothing alike once you know
A schedule that holds through the growing season
BC Landscape and Nursery Association standards
North Delta, Ladner and Tsawwassen
Up on the slope above the Fraser. Scottsdale, Nordel, Annieville, Panorama Ridge and Sunshine Hills. Sunshine Hills went in from the late sixties and its lots are big and heavily treed, so shade and root competition set the limit on the lawn. Nordel is townhouse stock from the two thousands, with small yards that show every bare patch.
Flat, low, and on the delta itself, which is exactly what the name says. Around the village core the ground holds water longer than people expect, so the same programme that works on a North Delta slope will sit wet here. Timing matters more than product.
Beach Grove, English Bluff and Pebble Hill, out towards Boundary Bay. Drier, more exposed, and the part of Delta where chafer damage has been reported worst. Larger lots with mature canopy near the beach, so half a yard is often sun and half is shade.
That is when the new grubs are small and near the surface. Outside it, the same product on the same lawn does very little.
Moist before application, and kept moist for at least two weeks after. Nematodes are living organisms and dry soil kills them.
In badly affected streets it is an annual job, not a one off. Hot summers have also made nematodes less reliable than they used to be.
| Part of Delta | What we usually find | How we approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Scottsdale, Nordel and Annieville | Suburban North Delta on the slope, a lot of it townhouse and smaller detached | Short frequent visits, and drainage watched where the ground falls away |
| Sunshine Hills and Panorama Ridge | Large treed lots from the late sixties onward, canopy now mature | Shade tolerant seed, a higher cut, and honesty where grass has lost to the trees |
| Ladner and the village core | Flat ground on the delta that holds water longer than people expect | Aeration timed for when the soil will actually take it, not by the calendar |
| Beach Grove and Boundary Bay | Larger lots, mature canopy close to the beach, and heavy chafer pressure | Grub checks before we quote a repair, and a denser mat afterwards |
| English Bluff and Pebble Hill | Exposed and drier, out toward the bluff and 56 Street | Watering habits matter more here, and we set the cut height to suit |
Almost always crows, skunks or raccoons digging for chafer grubs. The animals get the blame and they are only the symptom. If the turf lifts away easily and there are white C shaped grubs in the top few centimetres of soil, that is your answer.
Peel back a flap of turf where the damage is worst and look at the soil underneath. January to March is easiest, because the grubs are at their largest before they pupate. We would rather look at it with you than have you guess, and there is no charge for that.
Mid July to early August, and not usefully outside it. That is when the new grubs are small and close to the surface. The soil also has to be moist before application and stay moist for at least two weeks after, because nematodes are living organisms and dry soil kills them.
It might, and that is worth sorting out before you buy anything. Summer restrictions land squarely on the treatment window, and the watering is not the optional part. Check what Delta currently allows for your address.
Not as far as we can see. Delta publishes guidance on when to apply them, but the cost appears to sit with the homeowner, unlike one or two neighbouring municipalities that subsidise part of it. Confirm with Delta before you budget, because these programmes change.
Our side of it is the lawn. We identify whether what you are seeing is chafer damage, time the repair around the treatment window, and put the turf back afterwards with power raking, aeration and overseeding. If an application is the right next step we will say so and point you at it rather than pretend it is ours.
It has been reported as the worst hit part of Delta, and Beach Grove and the streets near the bay come up most often. That does not mean North Delta and Ladner escape it. It means we check before quoting rather than assuming.
Just mowing is fine and plenty of our Delta work is exactly that. A set schedule through the growing season is what most people end up on, because the lawn stops being something they have to think about.
