Grody Grubs

Like most things: Texas does grubs on a giant scale. I think these are Hercules beetle grubs, but it’s an: “if you build it they will come” thing. Anytime you bury uncomposted material, like straw or cardboard, you will get these down here. They mostly eat dead, rotting things, but I have had them show up in pots. There’s only so much rotting stuff to eat in a pot, when the rotten stuff was gone: they killed those potted plants, by eating the roots. You can treat these with nematodes like these: link.

I usually use beneficial nematodes on my big raised, hugelkulter vegetable beds for other soil dwelling pests. But I started using them because of these grubs. The grubs weren’t doing anything nefarious, but digging in a big bed with hundreds of these was so incredibly gross. Punctured and squashed giant grubs everywhere is disgusting.

Anyway, these grubs will be everywhere the first two years after I build lasagne or hugelkulter beds. Yuck. But, also: it’s just nature. Better than venomous snakes, for sure! But, these guys are also why I get armadillos in my yard in the spring.

Meet you out in the garden: to find new reasons to use beneficial nematodes!

Crazy Green Thumbs