Great big worms/slugs startled me as I was working the soil. I don't think they are pests, but I'd like confirmation. They burrowed back into the soil pretty quickly after I dug them up. I'd used a different brand of soil in this pot, that might have something to do with it. I want to pot my strawberry plant in this soil - do you think it's ok? Glove for scale.
No it is not ok. Grubs would clip the grass between the root and the blade and tell you to like it. Once I poisioned my yard for fireants. Felt good about it. The grubs take over without predators and I could roll my grass up like a carpet.
that would be my guess as well. and i guess there isnt much that can be done, besides manually removing them when you see them. this gives me an idea... maybe adding bird feeders or a birdbath would attract birds who would inturn hunt these grubs!?
The use of nematodes also comes to mind. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), and Spinsad are cool biological warfare agents for gardens. So is corn meal, which attracts trichoderma fungus which in turn is aggressive against so many pathogens.
I take them out of the ground when I find them and toss them out into the street if I am out front or in a pot of water when I am in the back yard. They are grubs that will become June bugs in their next stage.
I always thought they were Japanese beetle larvae. But hearing people here call them other things makes me wonder. In any case they are likely feeding on your plant roots...not a good thing. BT works well as a biologic control for them. Unfortunately it is a bit expensive. Easy to apply though.
There is not much difference between the bugs mentioned in these posts, same family and sometimes same beetle just different common names depending on where you live. But they are not worms and will not spread, they live in the ground where the previous seasons beetles laid eggs, feeding on plant roots, etc. then transform into beetles and dig themselves out of the ground to fly away. Then they lay eggs and the whole cycle of their life starts over again.
What we get here is loads of Ant eggs and it's got worse since those flying ants came in from abroad a few years back.
Ants? Imported from afar? You're an island, right? They must have come in on something. This is a non sequitur, but Florida has fire ants. Their bite stings like the devil. I have a very comical video of my brother discovering the ants biting him, hopping up and down, & fairly squeaking his displeasure. Since he was well into middle age with a pot belly & bald head, it was very comical .
