Some lawns and grassy medians around Langley are showing a significant amount of damage this year, and it's the fault of an invasive pest.
The European chafer beetle arrived in the Lower Mainland in 2001, when it was first detected in New Westminster, and over the next two decades it spread throughout the Lower Mainland.
The beetle has been in Langley for several years, but this year the damage is notable.
"Definitely it's more prevalent this year than any other," said Tab Buckner, Langley Township's manager of park operations.
This may be because of mild weather this year, which has kept the chafer beetle grubs closer to the surface of lawns. Almost every community in the Lower Mainland is seeing higher than normal levels of damage, he said.
According to a B.C. Ministry of Agriculture publication, the chafer beetle life cycle begins as eggs, then progresses to a grub stage. It's the grubs that result, directly or indirectly, in the most damage.
On their own, the grubs live under grassy turf, only burrowing lower when it gets very cold. There, they feed on the roots of grasses, and they can jump to nearby farm crops as well.
This causes damage to lawns, and can kill off much of the grass on sports and school fields, although Buckner said that carefully maintained turf like that in sports fields seems to be more resistant to the beetles.
But much of the damage around Langley this fall and winter isn't directly caused by the beetles.
"What we're seeing is the predators," Buckner said.
Crows, raccoons, and skunks all feed on the grubs, and they will directly tear up the turf to get at them.
The more grubs, the more damage wildlife will do getting at their dinner.
So far, the chafer beetle grubs haven't done much damage to Township parks, but staff are keeping a watch on the situation.
Last year, the grubs hit the sports field adjacent to Dorothy Peacock Elementary in Walnut Grove, and parks staff responded by treating the field with Grub Terminator, a biological agent that kills chafer beetles.
That seemed to help the field, but in late 2024, a boulevard near the park showed signs of chafer beetle infestation as well. The Township has treated that as well to prevent it spreading back to sports fields or nearby picnic areas.
Buckner said he's heard from colleagues in Surrey that they've had several sports fields damaged by the grubs, as well as school fields.
In the Township, a number of grassy medians alongside roads have been victims of beetle damage, but the parks staff don't have a mandate to deal with those areas.
Mark Duynstee, the Township's superintendent of roads, said his department is responsible for grassy medians. So far they haven't been asked to take action by council, but they're likely preparing a report.
"We do get a fair amount of people calling in about it," Duynstee said.
Langley City is also dealing with higher levels of turf damage from the pests this year.
"The City uses various methods to monitor and control chafer beetles on lawns," a statement from the City said. "These methods include improving the airflow through soil, boosting soil quality, adding sand-based products to decrease pH levels to make lawns less desirable for chafer beetles to lay eggs, and enhancing watering practices."
The City's statement suggested residents use regular lawn aeration, frequent fertilization, and can use chafer-eating nematodes during July and August.
Private citizens, businesses, and strata complexes are also dealing with the infestations this year.
A number of treatments are available, including bacteria and nematodes, as well as chemical larvacides. Some communities in Metro Vancouver have pesticide bans, so only the biological measures – bacteria and nematodes – may be allowed. Langley Township does allow pesticide use.
The Ministry of Agriculture also notes that turf can be replaced by other landscape features in chafer-prone areas.
