The Best Lawn Grub Killers

Ugh, lawn grubs. They turn your lawn brown and thin it out. Now you’re at the point where you want to get rid of them once and for all.

There are a variety of lawn grub killers out there – both organic and chemical – that can get the job done.

In this post, we’ll go over our favorite lawn grub killing products and explain the pros and cons of each.

Here are the best lawn grub killers on the market below: 

1. Scotts GrubEx – Season-Long Grub Killer 

Scotts GrubEx is a very well-known product for killing grubs in your lawn. We like that it’s tried and true, has great reviews online and it flat out gets rid of those tiny white lawn killing insects.

Application is easy and the product works with any fertilizer spreader. Since it’s Scotts, GrubEx gives you very clear instructions for how to apply with a fertilizer spreader settings table on the back of the bag.

One application in the early spring (recommended) will kill grubs early in the season before they grow up and start damaging the root system of your lawn.

Grubs or larvae grow up to become a number of different harmful lawn insects like caterpillar, japanese beetle, chinchbug and others.

The beauty of GrubEx is that it will kill the larvae early on and severely reduce or eliminate the amount of grubs that you have in the future.

Continued use for a few seasons will leave your lawn free of damaging insects and no more thinning and brown spots where beetles have begun to feed.

GrubEx is safe for wildlife but I still wouldn’t let my dog out on the lawn for a few days after application just to be safe.

A nice feature of GrubEx is that it won’t hurt the good lawn insects like earthworms.

Since this product is chemical-based, you definitely don’t want to use it in your vegetable garden.

Overall, Scotts GrubEx is our first choice for the best grub killer for lawns.

2. BioAdvanced 24 Hour Grub Killer

Personally, I’m a fan of BioAdvanced products as they typically work very well. From weed killer to other lawn products, they do a good job. The BioAdvanced Grub Killer Plus is no exception. It kills most grubs 24 hours after application and it treats 5,000 square feet per bag which makes it a good value for your money.

Not only does it target grubs, it also goes after and kills ants, chinch bugs, army worms, sod webworms and mole crickets as well. You definitely want to get those pests out of your lawn immediately.

Similar to other effective grub killers, it comes in a bag in the form of granules that you spread on your lawn. This product kills on contact and is very effective and quickly killing lawn grubs.

Again, it’s a chemical product so keep your pets off of the lawn for a few days after application.

This product’s application rate on your lawn is about 2lbs per 1,000 square feet. If you follow the directions and set your spreader correctly, you won’t have any adverse effects. I like to walk at a medium-fast pace and do parallel passes across the whole lawn with minimal overlap of each pass.

Another nice feature of the BioAdvanced grub killer is that it also kills ticks on contact.

3. Ortho Bug Clear Lawn Bug Killer

Ortho is another well-known brand in the lawn product space. Ortho Bug Clear is a great all-around product for killing a large variety of harmful lawn insects including ants, ticks, sod webworms, grubs, fleas and even spiders.

Ortho states that it creates a three month bug barrier that kills and then prevents insect infestations in your lawn from happening again.

I’m a fan of Ortho products (you may have heard of Weed B Gone before) and it’s definitely a trusted brand. For the money, this product is a great solution for those that want protection from lawn insects for several months and want to kill a variety of harmful lawn insects.

One bag of the Ortho treats 20,000 square feet of lawn which makes it one of the most cost-effective grub killers on this list.

Ortho Bug Clear is chemical based so make sure to keep your pets off the lawn for a few days after application. You also do not want to apply to vegetable gardens either.

This product, similar to the BioAdvanced, kills grubs on contact and works very quickly to get rid of your grub problem.

4. EcoSmart Grub Killer – Safe for Children and Pets

If you have children or pets, this is a grub killer that you may want to consider. It’s highly effective like the other chemical-based grub killers but without any environmental impact. Whenever I find a great organic or natural product for my lawn, I use it!

The active ingredients in this organic grub killer are clove and thyme oil. No chemicals.

It comes in granules so you can spread it with your fertilizer spreader the same as any other grub killer.

I like to apply this product twice a year or about every three months or so to keep those pesky grubs off of my lawn.

Ok, now for the downsides.

The first is the price. EcoSmart’s grub killer comes in around $30 for a 10lb bag.

The second downside is the coverage per bag. It treats 10,000 square feet of lawn which may be great for most lawns but for those of you with larger lawns, you’ll have to buy another bag.

To me, the price is totally worth it to use a non-chemical grub killer on my lawn so I don’t have to worry about my pets or the impact it may have on the environment.

Overall, EcoSmart Grub Killer is a great product for killing grubs in your lawn.

Conclusion

We’ve just listed some of the best grub killers on the market that are proven effective, have great reviews and are the best bang for your buck.

While chemical-based grub killers are fast-acting and cheaper, I really recommend trying an organic alternative like we’ve listed above.

Personally, I hate the thought of the chemical stuff seeping into the sewer or potentially causing harm to children or pets. My view has changed over the years and I routinely try to seek out organic alternatives to common fertilizers, weed killers and bug killers.

However, if you don’t have kids or pets running around the lawn, you’ll be fine.

Grubs can really make a good lawn go bad with brown patches, weak root systems in your lawn and attracting an influx of birds on your lawn (they eat the grubs).

Use one of the products we’ve recommended above to completely eliminate grubs from your lawn and have peace of mind.