Need a way to get rid of grubs!

albionjessica · #1 05/16/06, 05:05 PM

We finally had a dry (enough) day to till the big garden, and what we found shocked us. There are two stumps nearby that we knew we'd see roots coming from, but we had no idea that with the roots comes thousands of little maggot-looking grubs. They were all over those roots! Now that we took out the roots, there are still tons of grubs... more than we can keep up with simply by squishing in our fingers.

Ok, so here's the big question:

Is there a way to get rid of all of the grubs organically? I'm really not wanting to use chemicals on my garden if I can avoid it, but will consider it if there are no alternatives.

kmaproperties · #2 05/16/06, 05:11 PM

chickens or guinies

rannie · #3 05/16/06, 05:18 PM

some one on the garden site of this forum said nematodes live organisms... I am going to give it a try. we have the same going on here and we have guennias and chickens. still have grubs and the birds love the new plants!!! if you find out something that works let me know rannie

Sherrynboo · #4 05/16/06, 09:08 PM

You can borrow one of our many armadillos! They love grubs!

Sherry in GA

gobug · #5 05/16/06, 11:03 PM

Grub is a non-specific term for the larval stage of many different insects. It is possible that the bugs were eating the dead roots. Merely removing the roots and dead tree stumps could end the bug problem. You could just expose them to the air and light.

Developement of a bug is greatly dependent on its environment. If you deprive them of food (roots and dead wood), water, and harborage it could end the problem quickly and provide a meal for the fowl.

albionjessica · #6 05/17/06, 05:19 PM

I talked to one of my neighbors, and he said nematodes work great, so we'll try that first. Just have to find a local store that sells them now!

pepper · #7 05/17/06, 09:16 PM

hullo ms.albionjessica,

please read the gobugs comment again.
grubs are not automatically your enemy! and in this case they sound like your friend ,they are after all composting the tree from the roots up. how tiny are they? use google images to look up termite .
if that is them they pose no harm to your crops.
there are diff. nematodes for diff. pests. just like there is specific B.t. one should use for certain catapillars. so you really need to find out what the target actually is first before you spend time & $$.
tell us what you find out ok?
->pepper

gobug · #8 05/17/06, 10:14 PM

Termites don't have grubs, so you can eliminate them. Adults harvest wood and bring it to the colony. They look like rice grains with legs. The termite larvae are tiny and don't look like what you describe.

Nematodes are a shot in the dark. They are very specific in what they attack. If you don't know what you have, you could be wasting your money. Further, it may be difficult to get them because most states do not license them for sale, so you have to order them through the mail. This means no one really knows what you're getting.

Another issue with nematodes is that they are short duration. If you don't have their food, they will die quickly. A further issue is "how do you get the nematodes to the problem?" As I mentioned above, exposing the grubs could be all that you need to do.

My gut instinct says it is the grub of a beetle that eats wood (grubs do most of the eating).There are dozens of different types. Some of them can be huge (like 2 inches or longer). The size of the grub is no clue to the size of the adult bug. Further, reliable guides do not exist to identify the bug from the grub state.

Boiling hot water is lethal if the grubs are exposed.

Paquebot · #9 05/17/06, 11:48 PM

This question also presented and discussed here: http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=120863 My thoughts are that they are probably 17-year cicada grubs.

Martin