Home Depot Grub Control: Best Products & How To Apply

White grubs can destroy a healthy lawn in just a few weeks, leaving behind brown, spongy patches that pull up like loose carpet. If you've spotted signs of grub damage, or want to prevent it before it starts, heading to your local store for Home Depot grub control products is a solid first step. But with multiple options on the shelves, knowing which product to grab and how to apply it correctly makes all the difference.

At Denton Lawn Care, we've spent over 25 years helping homeowners in the Leander and Austin areas fight lawn pests, including grubs. We know which treatments actually work and which ones waste your time and money. Whether you're tackling a current infestation or setting up preventive protection, the right product applied at the right time is essential for success.

This guide breaks down the best grub control products available at Home Depot, explains when and how to apply them, and shares the tips we use on our own clients' lawns. By the end, you'll have a clear plan to protect your turf from these destructive pests, or know when it's time to call in professional help.

What to know before you buy grub control

Walking into Home Depot without a clear understanding of grub control products can lead to wasted money and continued lawn damage. You need to know what you're fighting, when to fight it, and which products actually match your situation. The wrong product applied at the wrong time won't kill grubs, and Home Depot grub control options range from preventive treatments that stop eggs from hatching to curative products that kill active larvae feeding on your grass roots.

Understanding grub life cycles and treatment windows

Grubs follow a predictable annual cycle that determines which products you should buy. Adult beetles lay eggs in your soil during mid-summer (typically June through July), and those eggs hatch into small grubs that feed on grass roots through late summer and fall. The larvae grow larger as temperatures drop, then burrow deep into the soil for winter before returning near the surface in spring to feed again before pupating into adult beetles.

Your treatment window depends on whether you're preventing future damage or stopping current feeding. Preventive products work best when applied in late spring through early summer (May to early July) before eggs hatch, while curative treatments target active grubs feeding in your lawn from late summer through fall (August through October) or during their spring feeding period (April through May).

Preventive vs curative grub control products

Home Depot stocks both preventive and curative formulas, and confusing the two leads to disappointing results. Preventive products contain ingredients like imidacloprid or clothianidin that create a protective barrier in your soil, killing newly hatched grubs before they can damage roots. These products need 60 to 90 days to become fully effective, which is why you apply them before you see any damage.

Curative products use faster-acting ingredients like trichlorfon (Dylox) or carbaryl that kill grubs already feeding in your lawn. These treatments work within days instead of months, making them the right choice when you've confirmed active grub damage. Curative products cost more per application but save lawns that preventive treatments can't help because the damage is already happening.

If you're shopping at Home Depot in April or May, grab a preventive product. If you're there in August with brown patches, you need a curative formula.

Key active ingredients at Home Depot

The ingredient label tells you exactly what you're buying and whether it matches your needs. Imidacloprid (found in products like GrubEx) provides season-long prevention when applied before eggs hatch, while trichlorfon (Dylox) acts fast on existing grubs but offers no residual protection. Carbaryl (Sevin) falls in the middle, providing moderate speed and some residual control.

Check the coverage area listed on each bag to calculate how many you need. Most Home Depot grub control products cover 5,000 to 10,000 square feet per bag, and treating too little product per area results in poor control. Your lawn size determines your total cost, so measure your treatment area before shopping to avoid multiple trips or leftover unused product.

Step 1. Confirm you have grubs and measure the damage

Before you spend money on Home Depot grub control products, you need solid proof that grubs are actually causing your lawn problems. Brown patches can come from drought stress, disease, or improper mowing, and treating for grubs when you don't have them wastes your time and money. A simple soil inspection takes five minutes and tells you exactly what you're dealing with, plus how severe the infestation has become.

Performing the sod-pull test

Pull back a one-foot square section of damaged turf near the edge where brown grass meets healthy green. Healthy grass roots anchor firmly in the soil, but grub-damaged turf lifts easily like loose carpet because the roots have been eaten away. Dig down two to three inches into the exposed soil and break it apart with your hands, looking for white, C-shaped larvae with brown heads and six legs near the front of their body.

Count every grub you find in your square-foot section, then repeat this test in at least three different areas of your lawn to get an accurate average. Most lawns can tolerate two to three grubs per square foot without visible damage, but five or more grubs per square foot will cause noticeable brown patches. Ten or more grubs per square foot means severe damage that requires immediate treatment.

If you find five or more grubs per square foot in multiple test areas, you need curative treatment immediately, not a preventive product that takes months to work.

Assessing damage severity and treatment priority

Check how easily the damaged turf pulls up from the soil. Moderate infestations create patches where turf lifts with firm pulling but stays somewhat connected, while severe damage allows entire sections to roll back effortlessly. Look for secondary signs like increased bird, skunk, or raccoon activity, as these animals dig up lawns to feed on grubs and create additional damage.

Document your total damaged area by marking the perimeter of brown patches with landscape flags or spray paint. This measurement helps you calculate how much product to buy and provides a baseline for tracking recovery after treatment.

Step 2. Choose the right Home Depot product for timing

Your shopping trip to Home Depot requires matching product type to calendar timing, not just grabbing whatever grub control sits on the shelf. The same product that works perfectly in June will fail completely in September because grub size, soil depth, and feeding behavior change throughout the year. Understanding which Home Depot grub control products match your current month saves you from wasted applications and continued lawn damage.

Preventive products for May through July application

Look for products containing imidacloprid or clothianidin if you're shopping between May and early July. Scotts GrubEx and Bayer Season Long Grub Control both use these ingredients and provide four to six months of protection when applied before eggs hatch. These preventive formulas create a protective layer in your soil that kills newly hatched grubs on contact, but they need time to disperse through the root zone.

Apply preventive products when soil temperatures reach 55 degrees Fahrenheit at a depth of two inches, which typically occurs in late April through May in most regions. Home Depot staff can help you locate these products near the seasonal lawn care section, and most bags clearly label themselves as "season-long" or "preventive" grub control. Your window closes by mid-July because eggs begin hatching in late July, and preventive products need 60 days to become fully effective.

If you're shopping after August, skip the preventive products entirely because they won't kill grubs already feeding on your roots.

Curative products for August through October treatment

Curative formulas use fast-acting ingredients like trichlorfon (Bayer 24 Hour Grub Killer) or carbaryl that kill grubs currently feeding in your lawn. These products work within three to five days instead of months, making them essential for active infestations. Home Depot typically stocks Dylox and Sevin brands in their curative lineup, and both will clearly state "kills grubs fast" or "24-hour control" on the packaging.

Target late August through mid-October for curative applications when grubs feed most actively near the soil surface. Spring applications (April through May) also work because grubs return to shallow feeding before pupating, but fall treatments catch grubs when they're smaller and easier to kill.

Step 3. Apply granular or liquid grub control correctly

Application technique matters as much as product selection because uneven coverage leaves gaps where grubs survive and continue damaging your lawn. Most Home Depot grub control products come in granular form that requires a broadcast or drop spreader, while some curative products offer liquid concentrate options that attach to your garden hose. Your goal is uniform distribution across every square foot of treatment area at the exact rate listed on the product bag.

Setting up your spreader for even coverage

Calibrate your spreader using the specific settings printed on your product bag before you start application. Each brand lists recommended settings for common spreader models like Scotts, Earthway, or Agway, and these settings control how much product flows through the hopper. Fill your spreader on a driveway or paved surface rather than your lawn to avoid concentrated product piles if you spill during loading.

Test your spreader calibration by applying product to a measured 1,000 square foot area and weighing how much product you used. If you used significantly more or less than the bag recommends for that size area, adjust your spreader setting up or down accordingly. Most grub control failures come from applying too little product per square foot, not from product quality issues.

Application technique for complete coverage

Apply product in overlapping passes that cover your entire treatment area without leaving strips. Walk at a steady pace of approximately three miles per hour, which equals one step per second for most people. Make your first pass around the perimeter of your treatment area, then fill in the interior with parallel back-and-forth passes that overlap wheels by six inches.

Applying half your total product in one direction and the remaining half in perpendicular passes creates the most uniform coverage and eliminates missed strips.

Close your spreader before turning at the end of each pass to prevent heavy product deposits in turning areas. Keep your hopper at least one-quarter full until your final passes to maintain consistent flow through the spreader openings.

Step 4. Water, recheck, and prevent grubs from returning

Applying your Home Depot grub control product completes only half the job because both granular and liquid treatments need proper watering to move active ingredients into the root zone where grubs feed. Without immediate irrigation, granules sit on the soil surface where they can't reach their target, and your entire application effort fails. Post-treatment monitoring and prevention planning protect your investment and keep your lawn grub-free for seasons to come.

Watering immediately after application

Water your treated area with half an inch of irrigation within 24 hours of applying granular products to dissolve the coating and move active ingredients down to root level. Use a rain gauge or empty tuna can placed in your treatment area to measure exactly how much water you've applied, running sprinklers for approximately 30 to 45 minutes depending on your system's output rate. Avoid watering so heavily that you create runoff, which carries product away from your lawn into storm drains.

Skip watering if rain forecast predicts at least half an inch within 24 hours of your application. Check your local weather radar rather than relying on general forecasts because scattered storms can miss your specific area entirely.

Checking treatment effectiveness

Perform another sod-pull test three weeks after applying curative products or eight weeks after preventive treatments to confirm grub populations have dropped. Dig in the same areas where you found grubs initially and count larvae in your square-foot samples. Successful treatment reduces grub counts to fewer than three per square foot, and dead grubs appear dark brown or black instead of white.

Dead grubs decompose quickly, so finding fewer total grubs (dead or alive) indicates your treatment worked correctly.

Preventing future infestations

Apply preventive treatments annually in late spring even after successful curative treatment because adult beetles return each summer to lay new eggs. Maintain healthy turf density through proper fertilization and mowing height (three to four inches) to create conditions less attractive to egg-laying beetles. Avoid overwatering during June and July when beetles prefer moist soil for laying eggs, and they'll move to neighbors' lawns instead of yours.

Next steps for a healthier lawn

Treating grubs with the right Home Depot grub control product stops current damage and protects your lawn from future infestations when you apply it correctly and water it in properly. Your four-step process of confirming grubs, choosing the right product for your timing, applying with proper coverage, and monitoring results gives you everything needed to handle moderate grub problems on your own.

Severe infestations covering large areas or recurring grub damage year after year often signal deeper lawn health issues that require professional diagnosis and treatment. At Denton Lawn Care, we've spent over 25 years protecting lawns in Leander and Austin from grubs, diseases, and other pests using commercial-grade treatments and integrated pest management strategies that prevent problems before they start. Our comprehensive programs include soil testing, targeted pest control, and year-round monitoring that keeps your turf healthy without the guesswork of DIY applications.