A Ladner resident suggests that people fed up with fighting a losing battle against European chafer beetles, which eat up lawns, should know there are other options.
The resident said on Facebook that her lawn also was affected by beetles, but she didn’t want to replant it, only to have more beetles make another meal out of the lawn.
Instead, they installed a wildflower garden, which needs considerably less care and provides a “brilliant show of bees and butterflies, all summer long.”
Another resident added that they removed lawns from their front and back yards 15 years ago and planted mostly low-maintenance, drought-tolerant plants.
“Our front garden is green year-round and is filled with pollinators,” she said.
One of the companies that helps convert properties from lawns to wildflower gardens or meadows is Wild Spaces Land Care, based in Vancouver.
Keegan Morrison said a wildflower garden requires watering during its first year to allow plants to establish themselves.
“Once they get established, they’re extremely drought tolerant, so it’s very little maintenance, very little watering,” he said.
And none of their meadows or gardens attract the beetles, he added.
Many homeowners let their (a mix of native and fescue) grasses and flowers range from 60 to 100 cm tall.
Such lots attract bees, butterflies and small birds and adds beauty and colour from spring to early winter.
“You only have to mow it once a year, so it saves huge amounts of energy,” he said.
Morrison said he’s been waiting for complaints from city bylaw departments about long grass in front yards but hasn’t heard anything yet in three years of business.
“I’ve heard nothing but positive response, so far,” he said. “People walking by love the flowers. Overwhelmingly positive response so far, for sure.”
And as for long grass and flowers attracting rats and mice, Keegan said that hasn’t been an issue so far either.
“With all the garbage that’s around, that’s much more of an attractant for rats. “As a comparison, vegetable gardens actually attract rodents much more than grass would,” he said.
However, while a meadow space or wildflower garden may eliminate mowing, fertilizing, raking, liming, aerating, and weeding, it does need work to maintain.
Kevin Li, senior environmental officer with the City of Delta, said that a property owner must show they’re keeping up a wildflower garden or meadow, and not just letting grass grow out of neglect.
“Frequently, this requires more effort from the homeowner than a regular lawn,” he said.
Delta’s Property Enhancement Bylaw says that grass or ground cover cannot be higher than 20 cm, but bylaw officers can differentiate between a maintained wildflower garden and a neglected property, he added.
Nevertheless, the city encourages habitat enhancement on private properties through its Delta Birds and Biodiversity Conservation Strategy.
Delta is also a designated Bee City, and its website encourages homeowners to make their yards pollinator friendly.
When it comes to rodents, Li said there are many other attractants such as bird feeders, fruit trees, barbecues, pet food, water, and piles of junk.
He said previously that the city doesn’t have a chafer beetle-control program for homeowners, adding that in North Delta parks and cemeteries, where chafer damage has been significant, the city switched to reseeding affected areas with a clover mix instead of with pure grass seed.
“The clover not only resists chafer beetle damage and is more drought resistant, but it also naturally provides nitrogen fertilizer. High-value assets, such as the sports fields, are regularly watered to keep the grass healthy,” Li said.
But the city does not have the capacity to control chafer beetles on boulevards, medians or in parks.
“The amount of summer watering required to maintain these areas would be exorbitant and pesticides are not used, due to their expense, except under very exceptional circumstances,” Li said.
He said that several years ago, the chafer beetles destroyed the North Delta lawn bowling green. If that happens again, the green likely will be replaced with synthetic turf.
