For the cutworms, it is easier to prevent the damage via the use of cutworm collars or sticks than to stop damage once it starts. When I say sticks, I generally mean toothpicks, although you can even use twigs. When I transplant seedlings into the ground, I put toothpicks on two sides of the stems, with half the toothpick below ground and half above ground. This largely interferes with the cutworm wrapping itself around the whole stem and cutting it in half. When climbing cutworms are an issue, I use bamboo skewers since they are so much taller and the climbing cutworms can climb above the toothpicks. However, the sticks will not keep cutworms from eating the plants even if they cannot cut them in half. I've linked a page from Planet Natural that explains cutworms and how you can treat your garden for them. There is a lot of good info there. Because climbing cutworms are a huge issue this year here, along with other caterpillar damage, you could spray your plants with Bt 'Kurstaki' if you can find it in stores. It is largely sold out where I live, but I found some in a farm store a couple of days ago. If you use it, try to keep it off your flowers or it can harm the butterflies that visit the flowers. The Bt will not prevent cutworms from killing tiny seedlings. However, if they are climbing cutworms and are climbing and feeding on plants, it should put a stop to that. If the loss of the California Bell plant is recent, dig into the soil just below the surface where the California Bell plant was growing to see if you can find and destroy the specific worm that got it. Earlier this week, I ordered trichogramma wasps to release. They should arrive around Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. On Thursday I saw the first 'native' trichogramma wasp in my garden that I've seen this spring. I'm not sorry I ordered more of them though because the one I saw cannot possibly deal with all the caterpillars we have here this year. In the meantime, I am going to spray my plants with Bt this evening. I've never seen caterpillar/cutworm damage like I'm seeing this year. In fact, if you took all the damage I've seen in 13 prior years and added it together, this year's damage would be greater than all the prior damage from those 13 years. White grubs generally are not an issue as long as they are not damaging your grass. They are beetle larvae and most ground beetles are beneficial insects who are garden helpers. I tend to ignore the white grubs. If they bother you, you can treat the ground with Milky Spore powder, which is a natural agent that kills them. Applying beneficial nematodes to areas with soil-borne pests is a slower-working solution if the nematodes are applied to moist soil before the heat arrives, but they are not a short-term solution. Bugs and insects are a natural part of the garden ecosystem. There are many good bugs and insects that help control the bad ones and do other important garden tasks as well, so maybe you could develop a liking for those! Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Cutworm Control Page from Planet Natural

They are the larvae of one of the many wood boring beetles.

I only know of the wood-boring types from dead natural wood, such as trees...I could be wrong but I don't think they go after cut, treated lumber. Before you invest in an exterminator, which I really don't think is necessary in this case, try your level best to find out which beetle this is from. Grub worms aren't true worms at all but simply a developmental stage of beetles. If you have a college or university nearby, or even a county extension office, there might be a local entymologist that can do an ID for you. Once you know what beetle this is you can determine if it is truly a problem or not and if you need to take any action. I have had pests hatch from seed before as well, and usually it is either a small moth of some sort or, less often, a smallish beetle. A grub the size of your pinkie is going to become a much larger beetle than the ones that are the usual hitchikers in sunflower seed. I hate to use the word NEVER in anything pertaining to nature, but I am willing to bet that your grubs are coming from an outside source. Any mulch beds/leaf piles/compost just outside the door? I suggest you do a little bit of shallow digging around close to the nearest door. These can provide living quarters for grubs, as well as good old turf. And before you do any of that, look closely for neat little round holes in the ground, the size of your fat little wrigglers. If there's something driving them out of their burrows there will be an opening. Another thought...has anyone applied any fall fertilize/weed-n-feed type stuff to your lawn? Some of those are formulated with built-in pesticides to control grubs. My mother-in-law applied some nasty stuff to her yard once (forget about living in harmony with other creatures over there...)and within a day or two the yard was LITTERED with dead and dying grubs and worms and all kinds of things. They left their places in the soil in an attempt to flee the poison but it wan't going to help. Can you give us a better description of the grub?

Repot by placing the soil and roots in a tub of water, wash off as much soil as you can, and then repot with fresh soil. Hopefully those millipedes will not come back. Please note that I can not confirm that they are, in fact millipedes. I just took purple's word for it. Good luck. L.G.