Click here for the mobile/phone version of this web site

MSU Turf Insects.net — your turf insect identification & research resource

Home

ID Tool

Browse Insects

Non Insect Problems

Contact Experts

ID Tool Please check the boxes that match your situation. Skip any that you are not sure of.

Irrigated?

Yes
No

Mowing Height

> 1.5"
< 1.5"

Time of Year for Damage

Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct

Type of Damage

Brown patches or dies in patch
Flipped over pieces of turf
1/2 to 2 inch round mounds of soil or flattened circle of soil in turf
Grass easily rolled back due to root pruning
Broken off stems contain white sawdust
Grass blades pruned off at crown in conjunction with green or brownish sawdust
1/4" to 3/8" holes in spike marks on greens
Long burrows or tunnels. Grass dies on the top of the burrow
Patches of scalped or closely cropped brown patches

Description of Insect Causing Damage

Legless white larvae with dark head capsule roundish in shape 1/4 to 3/8 inch long
1.0 to 1.5 inch long c-shaped white grub
1/2 to 1.0 inch long c-shaped grub
Many 1/4 to 1/2 inch long c-shaped grubs
Brown, tan or greyish, legless, long larvae 1.5 to 2.0 inches long
Small (less than 1/4 inch) red insects or black with red or white dot on wings
Small caterpillars
Large caterpillars (more than 1 inch)

Matching insects...

© Copyright 2003-2018, Department of Plant Pathology, Michigan State University. All Rights Reserved. You may not use any pictures or content from this web site without the express written permission of the author. Click here for photo credits. Web development by Dynamite Inc.