Help with bugs please im grossed out

11 years ago

Sorry I have posted this in multiple forums but I am so grossed out. But since the garden bed I am talking about was going to be for hostas, and ferns (and i have my ferns ready to go in) I figured it best to ask you all.

I found these little white worm lookign things first when i lifted the scalloped brick edging there was some under it. Not a lot, maybe 3 under each one, and i only lifted 2 so I didn't think much of it. I saw them out back too under those landscape bricks.

I just amended a garden bed that had a landscape fabric on it for years, when pulled up i didn't notice any. Added composted manure (black kow), peat moss, and topsoil, and tree compost bagged yesterday. Tonight I see hundreds of these things in the soil. ok so under the landscape fabric was almost straight sand with some chunks of clay and they were not in that. and i didn't see them in any of the bags i poured out. and they were not there 12 hours ago, but we just had a hard rain this afternoon.

I can't get a picture of them because they are so small.

But they are white/beige color, lots of legs, antenna things, segmented, thin maybe an inch long, or shorter. they are burrowing into the soil kind of, i don know what theyre doing exactly. they don't curl up in a ball when disturbed but i didn't harass them to find out, some were a bit curled laying there though. * i did go bug them now and most did curl up for a seccond, some just turned around though.

What are these?
Are they bad, i wanted to plant in this garden. it's not a veggie garden or anything.
will they go away?
how do i get them to go away?
should i kill them?

Also if htey are milipedes, ive never seen an adult one around here before. assuming adult militpedes are the grey/black things that look kinda like a train.ive seen others like these, and shell sheddings i think they are, but they are still small.

i have seen the gross adult centipedes (i think) that are red and have longer legs that stick out the sides.

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Comments (8)

arcy_gw
11 years ago
Digging in the ground one finds lots of things that live there. They are mostly necessary to the health of the soil. Plant your plants and move on.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
exactly ....

we kill things.. or rather.. worry about them.. AFTER THEY DO DAMAGE .. and then we react.. AFTER a full ID ...

you are going to have to go a bit more zen.. on mother earth.. if you want to garden ... be a bit more mystified.. and intrigued by it all..

rather than grossed out.. worried.. or any other thing along those lines...

never forget.. there are more beneficial bugs [and that term is rather loose because they are NOT all insects] .. than there are problem bugs ...

ken
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gogirlterri
11 years ago
I've just googled a site for Harper College soil animals: from your discriptiion they appear to be a variety of centipede. They had a photo of two that were whiteish. One was microscopic and the other not. It was identified as Geolithomorph and it preys on other small creatures. But most shown are herbivorous. Since you are finding them under bricks etc. I would assume they feed on decaying organic matter and are herbivorous.
I don't think you have anything to worry about. They apparently dig in dirt providing aereation and their waste is probably beneficial.
Theresa Ann
thisismelissa
11 years ago
When you garden, you have to come to terms with creepy crawlies of all kinds.

If they aren't hurting your plants, then there's no reason to try to get rid of them. They're part of the food chain in your garden and that's important to its overall health.

So, like Ken said, until or unless you find them doing damage, go to your happy place in your mind and learn to be ok with them.
valtorrez
11 years ago
You will get use to it. When I first purchased home and decided that I would keep the flower beds the original owner most have lovingly made around my entire gate line, I was grossed out by everything and had to have my husband dig holes. After reading these forums and getting use to planting, I amaze my friends by not even looking twice at bugs. I sit there and dig all in ground tryng to spread my compost. I get happy to see worms. These are things 5 years ago I would have told you you were crazy to think I would do.
Babka NorCal 9b
11 years ago
Can you put a bunch of them into sandwich baggie and take it to a local nursery? They should be able to tell you what they are and if you need to learn to like them or squish them.

-Babka
don_in_colorado
11 years ago
You garden, you see bugs. That's just the way it is. From your description, they sound very much like milipedes that I see around my yards when I disturb stones, mulch etc. They are harmless to plants, like someone else said, they feed on decaying vegetation, and the red centipedes like to feed on them. If you're really worried though, the suggestion to take them to a local garden center to ID them is a good one. You're a Marine Wife, you can handle a few garden crawlies! :)

Don B.
Marinewifenc
Original Author
11 years ago
They were gone the next morning when I checked. I'm guessing I disturbed their environment and then threw a ton of food down for them so they came to see what was going on. I see them come back at night, but it's not as disturbing anymore, it was the initial shock of walking out to see hundreds of these guys over a 6x6 ft area. Saw some wandering a little bigger and they are definitely milipedes. As long as they aren't hurting anything we can live in harmony, they've probably been a foot away from my potted plants this whole time and haven't done anything.

They are kind of cute in a way i guess. sure much more cute than centipedes. Rather see 100 of them than mama wolf spider with her hundreds of babies on her back, and ive run into that one too many times. or unknowngly digging into a fireant hill, being from canada and never seeing a fire ant i never would have believed they were as aggressive and mean and stubborn as they are.

Help with bugs please im grossed out

Comments (8)

arcy_gw

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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Help with bugs please im grossed out

Comments (8)

arcy_gw

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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Marinewifenc
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