May is the best of the spring months and has ideal growing conditions for the quick germination of grass seed. Early in the month you will want to dethatch, aerate and over seed and apply a broadleaf weed killer like Trimec or WeedBeater Ultra, or a combination product like TurfBuilder Weed and Feed or ProScape with Trimec. Just remember that you CANNOT seed in an area with preemergent. 

This month you’ll also want to apply a grub control that attacks newly hatched grubs as they begin to feed on your lawn. Our recommendation is Bonide DuraTurf Insect & Grub Killer, a combination above & below ground grub killer. This product replaces GrubEX with better results and at a lower cost to the consumer. Milky Spores is an ORGANIC naturally occuring bacterium control that affects only Japanese beetles. This product works as soon as it is applied and as long as grubs are feeding. Once the grubs are infected they will multiply the spores by several billion times and spread it further. Once established in a lawn, Milky Spore has been known to last 15 to 20 years. Although you CAN apply Milky Spores in the spring, it is suggested to have this applied in late summer/early fall so that when the grubs are eating heavily on grassroots, fattening up for the winter, they are also consuming the Milky Spore.

Apply your 1st fertilizer of the year, using products such as Lebanon Greenskeeper 20-0-8, Espoma Organic or Milorganite.