Today I went to check on the status of my compost pile. Again, I discovered many slimy grubs crawling around, especially at the bottom toward the sides. They ranged from about 1 cm to about 2 inches in length. The adults were pretty thick, I'd say about 2 cm! I have been seeing these grubs a lot lately.A few months ago, I took one of them to the nursery to ask what they were and whether or not they were good or bad to have in the garden. I was told that they are grubs and that I should probably try to get rid of them. My mother also told me that they were bad, and that when she finds them, she crushes them.
So today, I spent nearly an hour sifting though the pile, picking up the grubs with a small shovel, and placing them in a plastic bag which I sealed up and threw away. You could hear the sound of the many squirming grubs in the bag - it sounded nasty. I must have collected well over 50 of them!
Just a few minutes ago, I googled for grubs compost pile and found this interesting page: Large C Shaped Grubs In Compost Pile. I think the grubs discussed there are actually the ones I have. According to that article, these grubs are actually good for the pile, contradicting the info I got from the nursery and my mom. Now I don't know what to think. Should I leave them in the pile, or try to exterminate them from time to time? If you are a gardener and/or have a compost pile with grubs, what do you do?
1 comment:
Now you make me wonder if I have grubs in my compost. Where did the name come from? I know that when you are "grubbing for food" you are hungry and searching for food, or when you are "grubbing" you are eating ravenously. I guess all grubs do is eat.
I have some sorts of bugs in my compost, I know that for sure. We just added a lot of leaves to the pile the last couple of days. All the trees are losing their leaves right now. It's been an incredible fall out here in Nashville. So pretty.
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