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Soil, Compost & Mulch

I found these larvae in my garden plot. Will they eat tomato roots

9 years ago

Featured Answer

grubby_AZ Tucson Z9

9 years ago

You do understand that toms put out a huge amount of roots, and realize that you may have one of these grubs every few dozen cubic inches or so.

What I'm trying to say is there's a thriving world of eating and growing going on down there that we puny humans are powerless to damp down without massive chemical intervention, and so maybe it can just be let go.

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Comments (10)

jean001a
9 years ago
where do you live?
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what is eating my tomatoes?
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I have a woodchuck that has lived in my yard for years. He's never bothered my tomatoes in the past, but he discovered them this year. He will eat them right on the vine, or pick them and sit and eat them. He rarely eats an entire tomato, preferring to eat half and then get another. I have also seen chipmunks eating my cherry tomatoes. Most of the advice I got on here involved killing or trapping and removing the woodchuck. But, honestly, he has been here for at least 7 years so I hate to relocate him, and killing him is not an option. He's eaten too many tomatoes to count. I've been removing the lower tomatoes and ripening them on the table outside so he can't get those. I also found he prefers the beefsteak tomatoes. I put out a few bars of Coast deodorant soap on the suggestion of a neighbor, and I haven't lost any tomatoes this last week. Maybe give that a try? My neighbor also said Irish Spring soap might do it. Good luck, I feel your pain!
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kimmq
9 years ago
Those are the larva of one of the scarab beetles, June bugs, Japanese Beetles etc., About this time of year those larva stop feeding and start pupating to become the May or June Bugs flitting around our lights at night or the Japanese Beetles everyone loves to hate. If your soil contains 10 or more per square foot they could well be a problem, but if the soil contains 5 or fewer per square foot they are not much of a problem.

Since they are no longer eating ingested poisons will not work and contact poisons will kill off beneficial members of the Soil Food Web as well. The direct answer to your question "will they eat tomato roots" is no since the tomatoes are not planted until they have started to pupate. When the eggs these adults these buggers become hatch those larva may feed on your tomatoes roots.

kimmq is kimmsr
smorris0517 thanked kimmq
smorris0517
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you
nexev - Zone 8b
9 years ago
If you have chickens they absolutely love these along with about any other kind of bug you can catch. Found they do not like stink bugs though and we have massive numbers of those. The stink bug which is in the darkling beetle family has a mealworm like larval stage that feeds mainly on decomposing organic matter in the soil so they are considered a beneficial.
smorris0517 thanked nexev - Zone 8b
purslanegarden
9 years ago
Yes, another reason why gardeners and chickens should cooperate and work together :-)
smorris0517 thanked purslanegarden
toxcrusadr
9 years ago
When I come across them while digging, I put them out in an open spot and the birds scarf them up. A certain number if them is inevitable and not harmful. I would only be concerned if you begin to see problems with plants or lawn.
smorris0517 thanked toxcrusadr
maxjohnson
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
These things eats my brocolli roots. I bought some beneficial nematodes to spray on the soil. If I caught one I leave it in a tray for the birds to pick up.
Kadie
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Here is a Rhinoceros Beetle larvae.

The dark part of it contains the forming beetle. They eat decaying organic matter, but will chew threw roots if they get in their way.
Kadie
9 years ago

See why they are called Rhinoceros. They are decimating the coconut trees in the Mariana Islands and have been very hard to control. Adults eat the heart of palm and eventually kill the tree.

-Kadie

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