Yesterday my dog dug up my underground fence wire and broke it. There was a brown grub on top. In years past when ive planted trees white grubs are in the soil. We've had lots of gophers since moving here in 2020. Our surrounding land has lots of gophers. My dogs dig up their runs as you can see in one of the photos. They have been digging runs all over the yard. Last year they brought a dead gopher into the house. It is my understanding that gophers come for the grubs. I don't think there are preditors other than my hunting dogs. I have not mowed this year, nor fertilized since 2020.
As for the grubs, your best solution is to allow the grass to grow taller grass which has deeper roots and makes it more difficult to them to mature underground. This would best start with a soil test https://soiltest.cfans.umn.edu/ and then taking the annual dose of nitrogen, divide by three and apply three times in a sustained release form this season. Planting winter wheat can increase the amount of organic material in this soil. Even this summer, you might get away with using a cover crop, perhaps clover, to amend the soil quality.
