|
| I have been turning my old turnips under to let it set for
a few weeks in preperation for my spring garden. I have noticed some verry small grubs under the soil. They were there before I ever turned the soil under. These are in 2 differant raised beds and both have them! Its not the large grubs worms that I normally see in the soil. These grubs are small mabe at most 3/8 inch long and about half that around. I never remember seing them before! I got to thinking that they are there trying to eat the roots of the turnips! Are these normal in my garden or do I have a problem? What should I use to get rid of them? |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| Grubs are often beetle larvae. They may be good, they may not. Try to find damage that is clearly attributable to them... good luck! |
|
| Would it be possible to let us see some pictures of these things? I'm suspecting that you might be discovering something other than what is commonly known as a grub. We can't help you unless a proper identification can be made. |
|
|
- Posted by belgianpup Wa/Zone 7b (My Page) on Wed, Mar 7, 12 at 13:30
| Turnip aphids, flea beetles, root maggots and wireworms are pests to turnips and rutabagas. Keep in mind that most insects are beneficial, only a minority are damaging, so it would be best to find out what you've got before you take action. I would be inclined to collect several grubs, some of the surrounding soil, and a piece of turnip root, and put them in a clear container with a piece of fine mesh tied over the top and set it in the shade. See what they develop into. If necessary, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service and ask how you could go about identifying them. They might well be able to tell you what they are if you took them into their office. Got chickens? Surround the beds with some temporary wire fencing and scatter some scratch inside to draw them in. They'll find the grubs quick enough! Nature's vacuum cleaners. Sue |
Here is a link that might be useful: Ext. Service Offices in U.S.
|
| Thanks! I will try to get a pic of them! They are white and some of the turnips show sign of something eating a little in a few spots. Main thing is I am trying to see if they will be harmfull to my next planting in this bed! |
|
| Do they look like these?
I have a lot of the turfgrass-type grubs, not really many Japanese beetle grubs in my little area. They chew on the roots, so they are a pest. I feed them to my chickens when I find them--these are a favorite treat for them. I can't let my chickens range in most of my gardens--they dig too much up and throw mulch everywhere! There's a link below to a document about Japanese beetles and similar-looking grubs. From there maybe you can figure out what it looks more similar to and google from there. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Japanese beetle and other white grubs
|
| These pic are bad, but it was hard to get a good pic close up of these little things! They are smaller than I first said. They are about a 1/4 inch long.There is 2 kinds that I found! One is some kind of grub and the other kind I dont know. It looks like it is kind forming wings. I put some in a container to see how they turn out. These are way smaller than the big fat grub worms that I always see in my soil. [IMG]http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc515/huntall/grub.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc515/huntall/grub2.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc515/huntall/grub1.jpg[/IMG] |
|
| White grubs at this time of year will be small because they haven't grown big yet. Size isn't the determining factor. The kind growing wings is probably the pupa of some insect. |
|
| Sorry let me do it again! [IMG]http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc515/huntall/grub1.jpg[/IMG]
|
|
| It's really hard to tell from those photos, but neither look like the turfgrass larvae, nor the Japanese beetle larvae to me, not even little ones. The little ones look like miniatures of the bigger ones, and that is not what you have. I've dug up a lotta grubs! The one will wings looks a bit similar to a mealworm changing into a beetle, except the abdomen should be longer. But I think it's some form of beetle for sure. Maybe you have one beetle and one weevil? |
|
| gardenall, they look like root maggots to me. Very common on on turnips and other root crops. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Vegetable Gardening Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.