I believe that there may be grubs burrowing in my lawn. They leave little dirthills here and there and are becoming a nuisance. How can I get rid of them cheap & effectively?

Gasoline is definitely not the solution. It will ruin your lawn, and is extremely dangerous, and probably illegal. Your best option would probably be to go to a hardware store and ask what kind of pest control product would be best for you situation. Or you could call a specialist, but that would probably cost quite a bit.

@westy81585: Sarcasm really isn’t necessary. Kraken is asking a legitimate question.

Grubs will not leave little dirthills. Ants might, moles might (but they leave tunnels or runnels), chipmunks, voles and red squirrels might. Here we would take a grub (in a jar) to the local Cornell Extension (they even have an overnight drop box) and ask the expert. Where do you live? Do you have friendly neighbors with lawns whom you might share info with?

Gasoline is a BAD idea.

@petethepothead Perhaps but I am looking for the cheapest, not the most expensive solution here.

@gailcalled I live in West Central Florida.

How about pouring boiling water down the little dirt mounds. (How big are the mounds, anyway?)

@gailcalled The mounds are about 1 1/2 inch tall and there are quite a few of them scattered about.

You’re going to have to ask an expert. I pour boiling water on the poison ivy. It does take most of the growing season to hit it all but I consider it a weight-bearing exercise.

Have you actually found a grub? If so, you can send a photo to one of the ID online sights. Google garden pests for a start.

mudwasps? Can we see a picture?

moles eat grubs.

Ask @rowenaz Her comments keep getting “removed by fluther moderators”. Maybe you can have them removed by the moderators, too?

@Zen Rowena’s comment wasn’t removed. They just have the same avatar.

@augustlan My Eyes! Eyes! Alas, poor Yorick, I once knew the difference ‘tween dam and darn…

Kraken, I worked for lawn care companies for years and years. I’m pretty sure what you have is not grubs. Grubs live underground until they become beetles. If you have grub damage, you’ll see irregular areas of dead-ish grass, and it will peel up like a carpet (or sod). The roots won’t be ‘attached’ to the soil anymore. If I were you, I’d call my county extension office and describe your problem. They can probably point you in the right direction.

@augustlan There are irregular patches of deadish grass too.

Can you peel it up? If so, you should also be able to see the grubs… little whitish curled up ugliness.

@augustlan Well there have been dead patches there for years already. There are many 1 1/2 inch high mounds in the grassy areas now. It’s night time, I can’t tell white from chartreuse right about now.

Here is a page all about grubs… it may help you figure it out. It’s the dirt mounds that are throwing me… they don’t usually come out until they’re beetles.

@augustlan TY. I will look into it.

Good luck! :)

@Kraken, can you post a picture? Maybe you have cicadas…they’re ground dwelling until the come out with wings…

@AlfredaPrufrock I need to have a camera first.

have mounds all over my lawn can someone tell me the type of insect could be the causing this problem,

How big are the mounds? How about asking it as a new question @billyo65 and adding more information. We have a lot of gardeners here but this is an older question and may not be on their watch list.

We are in Central Maine, a place of business, and I walked the property this morning, I
counted sixteen new mounds/piles since yesterday! The mounds are all different sizes and some of them have a hole in the center approximately the size of a nickel. We are clueless and have heard everything from moles to mud wasps to flying ants! I haven’t seen any rodents or insects and if I press all the dirt down, they create a new pile. SM at Kniffin’s Specialty Meats.

I forgot to mention…....we’re so desperate that we followed the advice of one customer and placed 1 piece of bubble gum, per pile, in the hole. Apparently the theory is that if a rodent, they will chew the gum, blow up and…...well, the rest is history as they say. But, it didn’t work….Surprise! We had a good laugh picturing them sittng around their little woodstove blowng bubbles! SM at Kniffins

@kniffins Welcome to Fluther! Did you use Juicy Fruit gum? That’s the only kind that (supposedly) works on moles.