Applewood Acres Gardening & Lawn Care Offers Up An Organic Solution to Grub Control

Applewood Acres Gardening & Lawn Care Offers Up An Organic Solution to Grub Control


Spring is in the air and that wonderful season is just around the corner…that’s right ‘grub season’. You may have seen them, but what exactly are grubs? For many racoons, grubs are the quintessential equivalent of chicken ‘McNuggets’. Unfortunately for many homeowners who have watched racoons ripping apart their front lawns looking for these tasty morsels, grubs are nothing more then pests.

Richard Brzakala, Owner and Operator of Applewood Acres Gardening & Lawn Care ( “Applewood” ), together with his partner Patrick McKinnon, have found the use of ‘friendly nematodes’ (or microscopic earth worms as they are commonly known) as the organic solution they recommend to their clients for controlling grub problems.

Mr.Brzakala explains his companies reasoning behind their organic strategy by stating that “most people who use pesticides don’t realize how high the toxicity levels are in some of the products and sprays they allow to be used on their lawns. Most even don’t realize that, although most of the pesticides they use are successful in reducing their infestation problem, there is a huge cost to the environment and the organisms (including people and pets) that reside around pesticide zones”.

“Microworms, together with earth worms are probably the most beneficial organisms living in the soil of one’s lawn”, says Mr.Brzakala,”yet pesticides probably kill and eliminate not just the grubs but about 80-90% of the worms that reside in the soil”. He goes on to say that “once this natural balance is disturbed, the equilibrium is difficult to replace and people become more dependent on artificial methods ( such as chemical stimulants and toxic fertilizers ) to bring back what amounts to an organically dead lawn that is sustained only by manufactured man made chemicals”.

Beneficial Nematodes as they are referred to in the insect world are the preferred method of organic grub control for a lawn care company such as Applewood Acres.

Mr.McKinnon says that “we like to offer our clients an organic and natural way of fighting off grubs without the use of dangerous and/or risky pesticides”. He goes on to describe that Applewood’s grub-fighting application is produced by a reputable organic company stateside.

Mr.McKinnon stresses that "the success of our grub applications is co-dependent on our clients working with us to regularly water their lawns to effectively promote a moist environment for the replication of these beneficial worms and that we have found that this method of grub control requires an minimum initial commitment of at least 2 applications over the course of the first lawn season with a repeat series of applications again in the second year”.

How long does the cure work? His partner, Mr.Brzakala emphasizes that “once the mico-worms are established, they can be can be effective for over 8 years and most grub infestations can be controlled”.

Mr.McKinnon states that “we remind our clients that like all organic products, the investment our clients make in our grub control services requires patience, understanding, and an environmental conscious mindset. Because we rely on nature to do most of the work, it can be at times unpredictable”.

Mr.Brzakala, explains that “our clients who are environmentally conscious recognize this and appreciate that using nematodes is not a sure bet to controlling grubs , but it is the best organic method available”.

If you would like more information about Applewood Acres Gardening & Lawn Care or information on their ‘grub-fighting’ services, please contact either Richard Brzakala or Patrick McKinnon at (905) 281-3111, or email them at applewoodacresgl@rogers.com .You can visit their web site at: www.applewoodacres.org .