Article: Synthetic pesticides can be quite strong, dangerous to apply, and damaging to the environment. To ensure it's necessary to treat your lawn at all, first determine if you have grubs, and then decide if the problem is big enough to require treatment. Look for indications that there are grubs in your lawn, such as holes, grass with no roots, browning patches, and patches that feel spongy. To determine for sure if you have grubs, dig up a square-foot (30 cm by 30 cm) patch of grass to a depth of two inches (five cm) and look for grubs. Don't treat your lawn if there are fewer than five grubs, and avoid treating if your lawn is healthy and you find fewer than 10. If there are 10 or more grubs, treat your lawn. When you've gone through and determined for certain that you have grubs and need to treat, you can use a curative pesticide that will kill grubs almost immediately. The two types of curative pesticides you can use are carbaryl and trichlorfon (sold under the brand name Dylox). Water your lawn both before and after applying the pesticide to ensure that the chemical sinks in to the soil to where the grubs are. Apply curative pesticides to your lawn in fall, spring, and before May. You can find these types of pesticides in home and hardware stores. Make sure you wear gloves, a protective mask, and other safety gear when applying pesticides. There is another type of pesticide that can help control grubs, and it's a preventive pesticide that's meant to kill upcoming generations. Typically, this type of pesticide is applied in June or July, after you've already sprayed with a curative pesticide. To protect pollinators such as bees from the pesticide, mow your lawn to remove flowering weeds before applying the product. To stop your grass from burning, water your lawn thoroughly all summer after applying the insecticide. Preventive pesticides include those sold under the brand names Merit and Mach 2.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Determine if a synthetic pesticide is necessary. Try a synthetic pesticide for all grubs. Apply a preventive insecticide for next year.