The MARC ballfields sustained heavy damage this year due to a grub infestation and the crows they attract. Photo: MODL.

Baseball players around the South Shore were met with disappointing news earlier this week with the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg announcing that the softball fields at the MARC are unlikely to open until at least July.

In recent years the MARC has been dealing with a grub infestation, however, in previous years the MODL applied a chemical treatment that mitigated their spread.

This past winter, the treatment failed, resulting in an increase in grubs at all three fields.

Trudy Payne MODL Recreation Director says the grubs themselves aren’t the problem but rather it’s what they attract, “The crows love the grubs so this year with more of them the crows have been all over the fields tearing up the grass and making it unsafe,”.

Payne explained that she understands how important these fields are to local ball players but the condition of the fields would be unsafe to use in their current state leaving them with no other choice than to undertake more comprehensive repairs.

The MODL has contracted a company to take more agressive measures to deal with the grubs which Payne explained can only be done in warm weather meaning it can’t start until later this spring. After the treatments are applied the fields will then be repaired with Payne estimating that two of them should be open by July.

One of the fields experienced more damage than the other two and Payne says it will require a full resodding after it’s treated meaning it may not open until August or potentially not until next season.