Beleaguered by grub worms, Bangor turns to the experts

BANGOR – The recent rash of grub worms that have been devouring lawns in coastal and eastern Maine has prompted Bangor officials to call in the experts.

Two insect experts from the University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension and a pesticide specialist from the Maine Board of Pesticides Control came to City Hall on Wednesday for a nearly hour-long question-and-answer session.

One need not look far to see the havoc the grub worms are wreaking in the area. Patches of dead grass, some of them quite large, have been appearing at random throughout the region.

Parks, cemeteries, historic districts and the lawns of many private property owners all have been struck.

Asking the questions Wednesday were staff from the city’s public works and parks and recreation departments, who are responsible for maintaining acres and acres of lawns in such places as cemeteries, parks and playgrounds.

Topics covered included the types of grub worms that have appeared in the area, chemical and organic options for managing them and when the cycle can be expected to end.

The upshot was that there are no easy answers. The grubs can’t be eradicated, only managed.

According to Clay Kirby, an Extension entomologist, the European chafer is the culprit behind more than 90 percent of the problem, with the Japanese beetle accounting for the rest.

Kirby pointed out that the recently arrived chafer population appears to be “more active, more aggressive” than some of the other types that have preceded it.

Exacerbating the problem last year and this year were relative warm wintertime ground temperatures, added James Dill, Extension pest management specialist.

Some options for managing the grubs include pesticides, but those are best applied in late summer, Kirby said. He said the kind of pesticide depends on the type of insect being targeted.

A less toxic option is to apply nematodes, which are microscopic worms that carry bacteria that excrete toxins.

Gary Fish, manager of pesticide programs for the state pesticide control board, said homeowners and others trying to manage grub worms should choose the least toxic method they can.

Because the issue also has become a hot topic for residents, the city broadcast the session live over its cable access channel and taped it so it can be rerun in the weeks ahead.

Bangor residents who want to watch reruns of Wednesday’s information session over the next two weeks can see it on channel 7 on the Time Warner cable network at the following times: 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays beginning today, and 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

The schedule is subject to change if the city should need to air live broadcasts that have not yet been scheduled.

For more information, the experts suggested visiting the state’s www.yardscaping.org Web site.