Up Close with the European Chafer Beetle
Wondering what has been destroying lawns around Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster? It’s the European Chafer Turf Pest or Chafer Beetle.
This time of year these ugly suckers can be seen mating in the trees at dusk and each one can lay up to 50 eggs in the surrounding lawn. Those eggs turn into grubs (ick) that feed on the roots of grass until they get ripped out and munched on by crows, raccoons, or skunks.
Since this introduced pest has limited natural predators (besides the aforementioned grub-snackers) we are seeing turf around the GVRD is being destroyed in a street-by-street wave all by a beetle no bigger than a penny.
What can you do to about it? In my opinion, replacing and reseeding your lawn every year is futile and expensive – you are really just planting gourmet micro-greens for grubs. Why not take the hint and get rid of that thirsty high-maintenance patch of grass and replace it with a vegetable garden or some ground covers? Here are some lovely ideas of lawn-free landscaping that look better without grass – and never need mowing.
Landscaping with rocks, water features, and flowering ground covers is an attractive and environmentally-friendly grass lawn alternative.
Low growing flowering perennials also make great groundcover - try Heather, Snow In Summer, and Lamb's Ear for different texture and colour options.
So far my lawn hasn’t been too badly damaged but I leave the grass long and full of clover, speedwell, and moss. I think it looks festive with various flowers in bloom and full of bees. And if what lawn I do have can’t withstand the grubs in the future, it’s just an excuse for more garden. It’s a hard thing to say goodbye to an old friend, but if change is forced upon us, perhaps it isn’t worth the fight but instead is opportunity for something new. Like a water feature or a heirloom tomato garden or a herb wheel or a rockery or….
If you’d like to learn more about Chafer Beetles then check out the Vancouver Park Board’s brochure. And stay tuned because over the next few months I’ll be posting more on Chafer Beetles (read: future studio shots of the grubs) as well as ideas on how to deal with our changing landscape.
Tags: chafer, front yard garden, groundcover, lawn alternative
June 30 2010 03:40 pm | Gardening and Photography and Vancouver
Laura on 30 Jun 2010 at 4:43 pm #
I am happy to say I haven’t come across these little critters. But I applaud your argument for removing sod and planting ground covers!
Heather @ Dusty Bay on 30 Jun 2010 at 5:59 pm #
Thanks for the heads up – I’ll watch for them on the Island. I agree with you too about using ground covers instead of lawn.
meemsnyc on 30 Jun 2010 at 6:37 pm #
Wow, that little bugger really causes some damage! Yuck!
Priscilla Prince on 30 Jun 2010 at 7:56 pm #
The Chafer Beetle looks scary, yikes!
Stevie on 30 Jun 2010 at 8:28 pm #
Laura – lucky you!
Heather – You’re welcome. Let’s hope they don’t travel by ferry.
meemsnyc – I know!
Pricilla – not scary, just very damaging. The one who posed for the photos was very groggy b/c they sleep all day long. (S)He was an excellent model.
Sunita on 01 Jul 2010 at 6:07 am #
What a great incentive for lawn-free gardens! I wonder whether neem would work on them?
Stevie on 01 Jul 2010 at 10:26 am #
Hi Sunita – thanks for the suggestion. At this time the beetles aren’t doing too much damage to foliage, it’s the grubs feeding on turf roots and the wildlife digging them up that s damaging lawns.
jay chua on 01 Jul 2010 at 3:47 pm #
Wau..I just feel like I just receive practical lesson on how to deal with beetle in my garden..thanks for sharing the article:)
Jay Chua
Publisher, PorchSwingSets.com
Kat on 04 Jul 2010 at 7:16 am #
Those nasty little buggers. We get a lot of grub damage here too. I think ripping out the lawns makes perfect sense too. Get rid of the habitat and get rid of the pest.
Not sure I want to see studio shots of the grubs though. Those things are really icky.
Linda on 06 Jul 2010 at 9:08 am #
Oh my, what a destructive critter! Thanks for the closeup and the link to more info. I’ll be on the lookout. Yet another reason to replace lawns with drought and pest tolerant groundcovers.
Your Garden on 06 Jul 2010 at 8:07 pm #
Up Close with the European Chafer Beetle | garden therapy…
I found your entry interesting do I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog :)…
Shirley on 11 Jul 2010 at 4:49 pm #
I echo everyone’s sentiments when I say “ugh” to the Chafer Beetle!!! So glad it is not here in our area. Is anything being done to control the beetle population?
Chafer Beetle Information and Links on Lawn Replacement « Chafer Beetle Info Vancouver on 20 Sep 2010 at 2:37 pm #
[...] Up Close with the European Chafer Beetle /Garden Therapy – Genral info and lawn alternatives [...]
Bee on 17 Apr 2011 at 7:27 pm #
Hello from Southeastern Michigan. Yes, the Euro Chafer Beetle is now a serious pest here, the problem having flamed over our winter of lots of snow covering the turf. The same plot of damaged turf measuring 4′ x 4′ last Fall has now emerged this Spring to 10′ x 10′ damage. I have 2 acres of lawn, and I’d estimate 1/12th has fallen prey. As I drive around my rural community, some yards are almost totally violated. I’ve been researching on line almost non stop to find any preventative or curative measures (unfortunately for our environment, we are free to spray whatever and however many chemicals we wish). When I originally thought I was dealing with Japanese Beetles, Milky Spore was very attractive to me, but it’s not supposed to do much for the Euro Chafer, so back to square 1 to find solutions. Will incorporate Dutch White Clover wherever possible in the barren areas.