How to Use Compost for Grubs

Compost is one of the natural ways to enrich the soil of your garden or yard. Compost is created from organic matter that has been allowed to sit over a period of time and break down back into soil. The compost is full of a variety of microorganisms that help plants stay healthy and adds nutrients to the soil. A number of common yard organisms can help render your compost back into soil more efficiently. Similar to worms, grubs can help the compost break down faster, providing you with rich fertilizer.

• 1

  Gather all of your organic waste and designate a spot in your yard as a compost area. Choose a spot that is out of plain sight but also accessible so that you can readily turn the compost pile and keep the breakdown process streamlined. Decide if you want to simply create mulch piles and let nature run its course in the open, or if you want to put your compost in trash cans or an enclosed area.

• 2

  Separate your organic matter into different piles. Dry, brown products -- such as dead leaves, wood, paper and other yard trash -- breaks down differently from green waste -- such as grass clippings and leftover fruits and vegetables. The right mixture is paramount to creating the perfect environment for grubs, as well as worms and other microorganisms that help break down compost.

• 3

  Mix roughly one part of green matter to every two parts of brown material to create the fastest cycle of breakdown, as well as the richest environment for the grubs. Shovel the organic waste into a pile that is roughly 3 feet by 3 feet. Add a shovelful of finished compost, if you have it on hand, to help speed up the process.

• 4

  Spray water over the mixture with a garden hose. Avoid soaking the pile. Too much water can keep the compost from heating up, and thus make the pile smell rotten as well as reduce the composting time. Gather a handful of compost in your hand and test the moisture level. It should feel damp, like a wrung-out sponge.

• 5

  Turn the pile with the spading fork at least once a week. Move the compost from the outer edges of the pile into the middle.

• 6

  Moisturize the pile at least once a week, adding additional levels of brown, dead matter if you need to bring the moisture levels down. Allow the grubs to work their way through the pile.

• 7

  Check the pile weekly. Use the compost when it is ready, roughly every two months. Save a shovelful or two for the next compost piles.