marvel what has been destroying lawns around BC ? It ’s the European Chafer Turf Pest or Chafer Beetle .
This fourth dimension of year these ugly sucker can be seen mating in the tree at dusk and each one can place up to 50 eggs in the surrounding lawn . Those orchis turn into chuck ( ick ) that feed on the roots of grass until they get ripped out and munched on by crows , raccoon , or skunks .
Since this introduced pest has limited natural predators ( besides the aforementioned eats - snackers ) we are seeing sward around the GVRD is being destroyed in a street - by - street wave all by a beetle no big than a centime .
Landscaping with rocks, water features, and flowering ground covers is an attractive and environmentally-friendly grass lawn alternative.
What can you do to about it ? In my opinion , supercede 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 dapple of grass and supercede it with a vegetable garden or some ground covers ? Here are some adorable ideas of lawn - free landscaping that depend better without grass – and never necessitate mop .
So far my lawn has n’t been too badly damaged but I leave the Gunter Grass long and full of clover , speedwell , and moss . I call back it bet festal with various flower in bloom and full of bee . And if what lawn I do have ca n’t withstand the grubs in the futurity , it ’s just an alibi for more garden . It ’s a hard affair to say goodbye to an old friend , but if variety is forced upon us , perhaps it is n’t worth the fight but rather is opportunity for something new . Like a water feature or a heirloom tomato plant garden or a herb bicycle or a rockery or … .
If you ’d like to learn more about Chafer beetle then see out the Vancouver Park Board’sbrochure . And stay tuned because over the next few months I ’ll be posting more on Chafer Beetles ( read : succeeding studio apartment shots of the grubs ) as well as ideas on how to make out with our change landscape .
Share this post:
