Help! Grub worms eating vegetable plants.

9 years ago

I built several raised beds early in the spring and filled them with fresh soil. My yard is mostly weeds and dirt (the whole backyard is a work-in-progress). The garden area is fenced off from the rest of the yard. I noticed what appeared to be dead bees in the beds about two weeks ago, along with eggs. I thought maybe they were spider eggs and would be beneficial, so I left them alone. Big mistake! Those "bees" were beetles and those eggs were the beetles' eggs. Two days ago while weeding I discovered what appears to be hundreds upon hundreds of inch-long grub worms (they are whitish, somewhat see-through) all throughout each bed, although mostly they are taking over the bed with cucumber and pumpkin plants. I did some research and ordered beneficial nematodes from Home Depot two nights ago, but that won't arrive for another few days. This morning one entire cucumber plant is completely gone, except for about a one inch section of the stem. These disgusting grubs are so plentiful it seems there are more of them than there is soil! I can see my plants wiggling while they eat them from the bottom up! It's so gross! This is my first time gardening. I am sure these bugs already existed throughout my weed-ridden backyard (the house was formerly a rental and totally neglected, inside and out). Is there anything I can do to salvage my garden? I'm wondering if I will have to accept that I will have no surviving plants, have my husband spray pesticides throughout, and start again next year. Should I still bother with the nematodes? Any advice is greatly appreciated. I am totally at a loss. Like I said the infestation is so massive the grubs are more plentiful than the dirt. Is my garden even salvageable? Thank you for any advice! This is in Colorado, by the way, if that makes any difference.

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Comments (10)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
grubs live underground.. and eat roots ..

they would not make a whole plant disappear ...

so now.. you have to figure out what ate the plant...

ken
lauradianne
Original Author
9 years ago
Ok I'll work on that; perhaps it was another critter that ate the top. Any advice then on the THOUSANDS of grub worms that are in my vegetable beds, currently eating the roots?
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Not sure if you had a previous thread where you mentioned these worms, but it would be good to see some pics. Without knowing for sure about your worms and ants, I'll assume you might be talking about earth worms and fire ants. However, your comment about how the roots are gone, may refer to other kinds of bugs and worms. Fire ants (big red ants) will eat earth worms and grubs if they get a chance to. This usually happens if the ant hill is nearby and some luckless worm moves near. Since you don't yet know what is eating your garden, you may want to hold off on the DE. That is usually suggested for slugs and snails, since like you said, people would want worms around. As for the growth of a plant, there are many unknown and unseen bugs and microbes that will interact with your plants. Unless you actually see damage or loss of the leaves or stalks or harvest, having these bugs nearby is not necessarily a cause for alarm. Generally, you will need to identify the kind of damage they are doing (which may come from how the plant is disappearing or how it looks after being infected) and what they are, then you can have an idea on how to treat them.
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Terri, I'd like to see a picture of the worm and/or grub, if possible. Regardless of what it is, however, this isn't the best time of year to do a total re-pot, unless you're in the Southern hemisphere! And a re-pot is what you'll need to get rid of the offending critters. You don't want to foster a population of earthworms, grubs, or any other legless (or many legged) animal within the confines of a container, for the reasons explained by Tiffany. Your plants will most likely be fine through the winter, if you can tolerate it....unless you have a bunch of them. By all means, though, if the thought of those squirmy things being in your home makes your hair stand straight up, go ahead and re-pot. I've done it hundreds of times in the winter with no problems whatsoever for the plant. To prevent earthworms, centipedes, or millipedes, which can crawl into the drainage holes to set up housekeeping, consider using a screen to cover the drainage hole before you put the brand new soil in. To prevent the grubs, which are the larvae of types of beetles, you'll need to prevent the beetles from laying eggs in the potting medium. Again, laying a piece of screen cut for the job will do the trick.
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jean001a
9 years ago
Show us some pictures, please.
Kimmsr
9 years ago
What are "grub worms"? Most everything I can find about something like them says they are the larva of the May or June Beetle and those do not gad about on the soil surface.
To be able to help we need a proper identification of what you have and pictures may be of some help.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
need pix..

you .. we.. have to ID the bug... to give any useful advice ... each is his own little nightmare.. lol ..

this is all part of turning your thumbs green ... we dont live in some disney movie where everything is easy and pretty ...... we live.. we learn.. and we move on.. sometimes the whole crop fails ... and we learn by it.. and try again ...

besides .... its all an excuse.. to play in the dirt ... try to enjoy it all.. try not to turn it into a stressor ...

ken
lauradianne
Original Author
9 years ago
Here's a picture (not mine--it's from the internet but this is what's out there. I will try to get a picture from my garden later). They are just underneath the surface and go down a few inches. If I dig them up they burrow back underneath the ground. From what I read they are beetle larvae, and it seems like they usually ruin lawns by eating the roots. I am guessing these things are all over my yard, and they are what killed off the grass that once existed in my backyard (when we moved in it was already just weeds and dirt, but I do know there was once sod, maybe 6 or 7 years ago). Now they are in my garden bed eating all the plant roots. I wish they could just eat the roots of weeds in my yard! Thanks to everyone for responding! I hope the picture helps if anyone has experience with these. I'm thinking since my entire yard is infested I might have to just spray the entire area with pesticides and start again next year. I'm wondering if anyone agrees that's the best option? I know a picture of the actual infestation might help so you can see how prolific these grubs are. I will get one later. Thanks again for any input.
geosankie
9 years ago
Hi LD; I don't think anyone on this forum will want you to just start spraying "willy-nilly" with pesticides. So, please don't. Only when the actual pest has been identified as the one doing the damage, if there is noteworthy damage, should a pesticide be considered, specifically for that pest.
That being said, to control beetle grubs of this sort as you picture, application of Milky Spoor to the area might be the best solution, which works to kill feeding grubs such as this.
Read and follow label direction to the "T".
lauradianne
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you-I had not considered milky spore. I would much prefer a natural remedy over pesticides. I'll try that since the nematodes aren't going to arrive for another few days. There is almost nothing left of most of my plants, although the tomatoes look salvageable so I'll start there. Thanks again!
geosankie
9 years ago
If the Milky Spoor is not effective in reducing the grub population in your raised beds , there are chemical control products available that are available Ie: Merit, Grubex, Menards Grub control. Also, parasitic nematodes are a possibility and less "harsh" than chemicals, A beneficial nematode, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, attacks JB grubs.
Kimmsr
9 years ago
Milky Spore Disease will not be of much use now to control these grubs, although it might help some for the grubs, larva, that hatch from the eggs these grubs will lay after they pupate. Gathering these grubs and feeding them to the birds is one method of control that is effective now. Parasitic nematodes probably will not be very effective at controlling these grubs that are close to pupating, either. Like Milky Spore Disease they are most effective on the grubs shortly after they hatch, in August.
While these larva do eat plant roots, and a large number of them can be a problem, they do not eat the parts of plants growing above ground.

Help! Grub worms eating vegetable plants.

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

lauradianne
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Help! Grub worms eating vegetable plants.

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

lauradianneOriginal Author

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