If you heavily soak the area, literally drown the infected lawn, then the grubs are forced to the surface and die. If you cannot soak drown the area by leaving a hose on it, then cover the area with cardboard and soak the cardboard thoroughly. That will have the same affect. Take the cardboard away and let the birds eat the dead/dieing grubs.

Thank you so much Kildermorie! So simple too! Was dreading a 'chemical only' remedy to deal with these ugly varmints on his behalf,& as the birds (I say birds..there are foxes & badgers on the school site that we've watched foraging about too),have already been paying them attention,simply wouldnt have risked poisoning them. PS do you have as simple a remedy for dealing with the rabbits?... Other than a shotgun that is!

There are nematode solutions for chafer available on line, Nemesys make them - but I think it's probably too late, they're temperature dependent, the soil has to be at a certain temperature for them to work. Check out the Nemesys range for info.

Rabbits need fences to restrain them.

Nice one Bamboo,thank you...did think you were having me on for a mo though when I Googled 'Nemesys' one of the listings came up with an 'alternative metal band' lol ... visions of them playing on his front lawn & the grubs shuffling off in their droves!(daft soh/imagination.. sorry) Nematodes (Nemasys) organic remedy,I agree a good way forward,if not expensive given the large area affected,but,as you say a bit late & too cold to try now, the recommended ground temp needing to be 12o..will suggest he bears it in mind for next year, while he still HAS a lawn,lol.

Thank you too Beattie for the rabbit restraining suggestion. Wish it was possible. The school site is huge & all open. A hop,skip & a jump (or more a hop,hop, & a hop) across a bit of tarmac & theyre on his lawn & borders. It could have been remedied,with forward thinking,(lol) when our C.C. spent millions around the county under,the new health & safety rules,putting high metal mesh fences around all the school grounds for the childrens' protection/safety. However they werent sunk into the ground,in fact there are gaps between fence & ground over much of it's span. Had it been buried just a little,the rabbits would have curtailed their activities to the open fields & woodland beyond the perimeter. No kids have the opportunity to wander unsupervised,drown in the brook, get abducted, they are still at risk of spraining/breaking an ankle though in the dozens of holes left on the playing field,which my poor old pal spends whole days filling in,& the rabbits promptly scratch out again! They are a menace generally in larger gardens especially in this rural area

There is a product called 'Grazers' that can be sprayed on shrubs, bedding, fruit and vegetables and even grass, which makes the plants unpalatable to rabbits, pigeons, deer and geese. It is used by farmers, groundsmen and gardeners. Safe for pets and the environment. Goggle the website for more info.

I didn't realise there was a metal band called Nemesys, sorry - mind you, they're supposed to be a cross between Nirvana and the Dors, so might even be worth a listen, but probably won't drive the chafer bugs away, lol

Thank you Jimmy! Will definately try it. Got to be easier than one method I tried,ie got myself a young hob for scenting round a dear pals borders. For one thing it had been mishandled..uncaged, struck at me more readily than a disturbed cobra,leaving my ankles & shins in shreds. For another,escaped its harness & (I believe), went to join its wild counterparts in a nearby bank, & for another I was informed,after the event,by my son-in-law,who had procured the vicious creature for me in the first place(mmm?!) that the scenting wouldnt have worked anyway,as it would have had to be repeated at least every 24 hrs... Another suggested method ... lions urine. No!! Not even I would be crazy enough to get one as a rabbit deterrant..but top of the food chain wee is apparently available on line! Bit ott I felt. The smell alone...

Nice pun on Dors and Doors, there Bamboo! ;-)

Lol both...the tunes could be cool,may book this Nemesys band! Praps not a gig on the raked up, waterlogged once-was-lawn though...InDoors praps? Tee he...may think theyre playing Glastonbury else.

Well I must be thick - I didn't intend a pun, and for the life of me I can't see where the pun is, what am I missing? I am the mistress of the unintentionally funny - I remember years ago when I was young, one of the boys in our group kept burping, and I said "for goodness sake, stop it, no one wants a repeat performance" and everyone fell about laughing. I realised immediately, but actually, I just meant what I said, hadn't thought about the pun aspect...

Dors are very large beetles, as are may bugs, which cockchafers grow into.

So we had Dors (beetles) / The Doors (the band) and Nemesys (the nematode treatment) / Nemesys (the band)

Well I thought it was humorous anyway.... :-?

Oh, right, no wonder I didn't understand - I didn't know that Dors are also large beetles! Now I can see why you thought it was a pun. Wish I could claim it, it is quite clever, lol!

I've realised that we can't be clones then. :-)
"Dor" is ALWAYS the answer to the crossword clue "Large beetle". So similar, and yet so different!

Well I'll be blowed - I do crosswords all the time, yet I've never come across that as an answer, or even a clue, come to that.

LOL! Clones! Clones! Do you do Kakuros too?

What the hell's Kakuros?

A kind of numerical puzzle. Have a look here -
http://www.indigopuzzles.com/ipuz/

You might have to register to see them, but there are different levels of diffuculty and you get better at them with practice. I do some most days....

I nearly said above, if it involves numbers, no - great with words, useless with numbers, complete numskull.

What a pity, I enjoy them.
! Perhaps you're a whizz at cryptic crosswords and the clue above is just a boring general knowledge/ straightforward/ easy one.

Oh dear lord, cryptic crosswords, no, not good with them at all. I think my brain works very simplistically, nay, I know it does, I tend to take things at face value, or at least, I used to. I am practising at cryptic clues, but really, I find them so difficult...

My Mum and I used to do them together, almost half a century ago. I find I can do them some days and not others, I reckon it depends if you're on the same wavelength as the compiler.

I think you're right about that, Beattie, being on the same wavelength - but I still haven't forgotten one clue which was basically a yorkshire pudding, and the answer was popover. Who the hell has heard of a popover... certainly not me. Not to mention that some of these people must be pretty old - some of the words they use as answers are positively ancient - plus fours, for instance.

Like "Dor" it's crossword-speak.