[chrissie B]

while hubby was digging over the compost heap today we found loads of big grubs they were fat and had red faces,they were ugly , dont have pics .
we took out asmany as we could find .
how can i get rid of them :?:  and what are they :?:  and are they going to cause damage :?:
chrissie b

[cawdor2001]

They could be Chafer grubs, which are pretty big and generally ruin your turf either directly or via birds/animals digging up the turf trying to eat them.  If you go into Google images and enter chafer grubs you will see pics of them which will help you identify if it is them or not.  

As for getting rid of them i find a size 12 boot does the trick, or you could take a leaf out of the aborigines book and eat them like witchetty grubs.  Don't recommend the latter though

[richyrich7]

Cockchafer bugs larvae perhaps ? eat roots etc

Here's a pic http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php/2007/05/21/cockchafers

[Trillium]

I've just been stripping off sod for some new pathways and found loads of the little beggars. I wear garden gloves all the time and don't mind squishing all I see. But the sheer number tells me I'll have to buy grub killing treatment. It's not organic, but short of ripping up the whole lawn, it's a way to control them. Most of my insect eating birds have left for warmer climes so it's safe now to add this sort of stuff to the grass.

[chrissie B]

thanks for the prompt reply, as mine are in the compost do you think there is a big problem we took out about 30 that we could see, i have a rose bush near the compost and a huge rosemary plant 5 ft tall , when its cooler we intend to move the rose any way cos its not happy where it is and next door throw food over for the dog and the rose gets it and the dog gets a blooming nose trying to get the food out of the rose.
chrissie b

[muntjac]

cover the manure heap with a black plastic sheet and try to cook em out  over winter

[richyrich7]

Spread it out and let the chooks on it if you have any ?

[David.]

If you use them as fishing hook bait instead of maggots, the minnows don't get eat/suck them dry before bigger fish.

I'm sure a heard from a professional gardener some time ago that badgers dig them up and cause damage.

[Trillium]

You'll definitely need to rid your compost of the grubs. If you leave them, they'll just breed onto whatever it is that lays them. Mostly the grubs feed on grass roots and do a lot of lawn damage, same to fleshier flower roots if you're adding this compost to them. If they're living in your compost, then the pile is obviously not hot enough and could benefit from turning, at which time you could pick them out and squish - or stomp.

[hermon]

that seems very ignorant to just kill what ever you find in your garden why not leave them for the birds?

[chrissie B]

thats eisier said than done as these grubs although being fat can move quiet quickly and dont want them all over the place chomping at my plants , any way they got a fair chance cos i put them in a carrier bag ,all those grubs would have made a propper mess of my flip flops , ugg.
chrissie b

[Trillium]

that seems very ignorant to just kill what ever you find in your garden why not leave them for the birds?

Because, as Chrissie says, they can move quickly and burrow back into the soil, faster than birds can find them. They do a lot of damage mostly to grass roots. To leave them as such is like saying don't kill aphids, slugs or carrot fly - too soon you're infested with them. That happened to a local city - mega grub invasion that the town council had to take action on or lose acres of city plantings.
Most of us are not indiscriminate bug killers, we just kill the ones that are true pests which we find in our growing areas.

[chrissie B]

i have discovered that these big fat grubs may be a funny type of moth that looks like a humming bird its just the same size and lives on nectar dont know the name as yet but am on the trail
chrissie b

[flowerlady]

In the Organinc Gardening catalogue there is a remedy for Chaffer Grubs in the lawn!!

Nematode . . .  Heterohabditis megidis  (bless you  :roll:)  should be applied August / Septembe when grubs 1.5 cm and active .

.. before they dig deeper when it gets cold!

[chrissie B]

thanks for the info.