Hope it's not too late for Grub-Ex

I had my first iris borers last year, and it looks like they decimated my iris beds. :( I just put Grub-Ex on the beds today, as we had a nice, sunny warm day, with a week of cooler, rainy weather to come. I hope it isn't too late in the season for Grub-Ex to do its job! Do I also need to apply it to the lawn, or just to the flower beds?

Just to be safe, I also ran my fingers up and down the leaves in a pinching motion, hoping to kill any burrowing larva that may have hatched. Didn't feel anything, so I hope that's a good sign.

So sad to have lost so many of my favorite iris. Looks like the old-fashioned ones that were here when we bought the house are the most resistant, as those came back strong as ever. It was the expensive ones that I planted a few years back that all seemed irresistible to those dratted borers.

the older heirloom varieties always have more resiliency..atleast the more common ones like Indian Chief and I. pallida. I have not experienced any problems with borers here in my zone, but recieved some from an online auction in both Illinois and Indiana that had such bad borers and some other larvae on them they were literally slimey and had to toss them in the trash, which suprised me because as cold as it is in the winter there you would think the cold would take care of them more than here..I know from that point on when ever I get iris in the mail or iris from someone elses property I soak them for 15 minutes in one cup bleach for ten cups water, or half a cup bleach in 5 cups water if you dont have that many to soak. i add alittle dish detergent like a teaspoon full it helps it stick to the plant and get it all over it where the borers or rust diseases could be lurking, then i rinse them off, let them dry for an hour or two and plant. I have lost less then 1% of the irises i bought in the last 2 years to crown rot in hot summer months since i started doing this. i couldnt tell you if it was too late or not to use the grub-ex. it might no work well as borers are pretty deep in the rhizomes.

From what I've read, the eggs are laid in the soil, and the Grub-Ex is supposed to kill the larvae as they hatch. After they hatch, they crawl to the top of the leaf, chew a hole to get in, and then burrow down through the leaf to the rhizome. The Grub-Ex is supposed to get them before they make it to the iris at all. I just wish I'd had opportunity to get it applied weeks ago. Our weather has been so temperamental, and my schedule has been nuts!

I feel for you, this year here in NC is the year of the aphids..they are just coating all the buds, and last summer I noticed alot of my daylilies had bleeding colors and crinkled edges and that is caused by thrips which are so small you can barely see, your supposed to spray the baby buds forming before they open with some neem oil I was told by an old timer in the NC Mountains to prevent that, or a pyrethrin bug spray with wax like you use against japanese beetles on rose bushes.

When Forsynthia blooms, spread Grub-EX across the Iris bed. And if late, still spread Grub-Ex across the Iris bed.

If the borers again decimate the bed, clean up in the summer/fall, throw away the bad rhizomes, bleach the rhizomes, and replant the bed.

Wow, onegoodman1955, we're neighbors! We're just about 20 miles to the west of you. My husband works in Normal. Nice to see a "local guy" on here!

Odd to say, I don't recall seeing any forsythia around here. I'll have to drive through town and pay attention. If anyone has some, it isn't along any route I regularly travel! :)