Hungry Grubs Call for Three-Pronged Strategy Lurking in your turf may be a large white grub.  You can see its signs by noticing holes and brown patches in your lawn, and it may need to be treated. Before trying an insecticide, there are two other approaches to contain these hungry critters.  But first, you must understand them.  They are in larval stage as white grubs, but grow into a brown beetle in adulthood.  They are a golden brown but with darker heads and about three quarters of an inch in size.  They lazy their eggs in the ground (that is, your yard!), the grubs generally hatch in late summer then feed on roots of turf, until winter puts them into a hibernation-like state. In Spring the grubs rise again, eating their fill until they reach pupation in early or mid summer. If you spotted signs of the grubs, your approach should be to first determine the extend of the infestation.  Steps must be taken if you find more than six of these critters per square food of lawn.  First, aerate.  Next, try using beneficial nematodes.  Only as a last step will you want to treat with insecticides.