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Vegetable Gardening

grubs in garden & how to control them

14 years ago

hello - a friend of mine swears he has grubs in his veg garden - i have never heard of this so i am posting for him - he is trying to find something to use to get rid of the grubs but everything he has found seems to hurt the plants - i have heard of grubs invading lawns before but never a garden - any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated - thank you

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Comments (8)

jean001
14 years ago
"Grubs" is a word people use for "many" different critters.

A description of those "grubs" -- size, shape, color -- would help us considerably.
digdirt2
14 years ago
Agree that type of grub makes a difference. They could be harmless and studies show that many who feel they have a severe grub problem actually have little more than a normal population. And yes, some grubs in the garden is considered "normal". ;)

Then again they might need some predator nematodes or milky spore powder. Both are considered safe to use around food crops but application timing is critical and it is too late this year in many parts of the country.

Otherwise plain old garden tilling resolves most of the problems for most gardeners.

Dave
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dicot
14 years ago
The skunks seem more than happy to do the tilling for me, taking whatever else is on top of the grub too. Not my favorite pest combo, let me tell you.
duk748
Original Author
14 years ago
hello again & thank you for the replies - i will have to get a pic of the "grub" from him & post this week - if it is too late in the season to do anything about his problem just what should he do then?? - i am not a garden type guy but a lawn guy myself so i am relying on the vast knowledge of the people here who always seem to have the right answers - thank you again -
digdirt2
14 years ago
If he uses milky spore then applying it in August through and into late fall is recommended.

Dave
calliope
14 years ago
Jean's right. They could be anything. It's not untypical to find a few grubs in your garden soil. And they may not even be grubs. I have heard people refer to cutworms as grubs. And digdirt is right, plain old hoeing and tilling unearth them and the robins are more than happy for the meal.
bsntech
14 years ago
I've also noticed quite the grub problem for my lawn as well.

So much so that the moles are finding out how to work their way under my raised beds - and then tunnel through my raised beds. Luckily it seems the mole is 'smart' because it is tunneling around and between my plants instead of right under them - kind of interesting to see it.

The grubs I have are fat, about two inches long, and are white with a brown head (or tail).

Here is a link that might be useful: BsnTech Gardening Blog
erin_nc
14 years ago
Raising chickens in urban areas is becoming quite popular. Is there anyway you could borrow a couple of chickens? They don't really care what kind of grub it is. They slurp'em all right down. They'll also take care of mosquitos, flies, and anything else creepy-crawlie.

This could be problematic if there isn't a fence or a way to ensure their safety from predators. Could also be problematic if there are seedlings withing pecking range. They love young plants too.

Erin

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