Composting..Is it for bigger more luscious plants or Huge Ugly Godzilla type Grub Worms.
Take a look at this monster beside (Yes that is a quarter not a dime or nickel). What do you think about slapping a saddle on him? Toooo Late I threw him in the middle of the road.
The other 2 I found I just dropped in a bucket of water and told them to sink or swim. Well needless to say they sunk. Tooo Bad. Hated to see they couldn't swim ;O)
Here is another.
Last but not least scary one.
WOW -- that is HUGE and ugly!!
Was he in your compost pile? Or your garden?
In the compost pile, guys like that help decompose the pile by eating the stuff in your pile and then pooping it back out again. Bug poop is good compost.
My grubs are totally white. I've found three so far, in the nice compost soil, all snuggled up. So, I should'nt freak out? Use them as free labor in the compost pile? What do they grow up to become? Something detrimental to my garden? Hope not.
He was in my compost pile. I did not realize his poop was good, Well the size of him he could eat alot and poo alot. I thought it was earthworm s that did the job I wanted. I did not realize it was bugs of different kinds also. I guess I will leave them there until time to use it and then throw them in the other compost pile.
I think he is June bug larva and the only thing I have ever seen them do is fly at me and die. I hate when they are out and also the horse flies.
He sure is something ugly to see in the daylight glad it wasn't dark.
Thanks,
Sandy ^8^
This is one of the reasons why I don't compost any more. Last time I did there were several wormy/caterpillar like creatures 4 INCHES LONG and almost an inch thick at the bottom of the pile. And they were very active, wiggling like crazy. I didn't know how to kill them - they were so big I felt like I should shoot them! I had to ask husband to do the deed, and he sent them to meet their maker with a shovel.
Missy, You killed your compost helpers!!!!????
I admit the bugs are gross. Soldier Fly Larvae, en mass, are kind of common in compost piles and they do gross me out. But if you ignore them, look the other way and cover them up with some browns, soon they mature into adults, fly away and then you can stir the pile.
If I find grubs in my garden, I will either toss them into the compost pile or toss them out on to the lawn, where they are snatched up by Robins fairly quickly. Some grubs will damage plant roots, some grubs are beneficial soil critters that feed on the damaging critters. So you should ID them, before you kill them.
I think your grub is an ox beetle grub. Common in compost piles, because they like to feed on wood. The larvae are not root feeders and the adults don't really feed much so are not considered garden pests, just creepy.
http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/bimg144.html
If I find them in compost I'm about to distribute, I tuck them into a bird feeder. MUUAA HAHAHAHAHA...
Joepyeweed,
Thanks for that link. I think those are what I have. They are whitish, not brown like the others. So, they're really not the dreaded Japanese Beetle grub, and they can be beneficial to my compost pile, huh? You just spared some lives!
Thanks, again. Although, I'm not sure I'll EVER just reach down with a bare hand and pick one up in my lifetime. The hoe or shovel will have to do the deed of moving them. So far, I'm finding them underneath large buckets sitting in where the old compost pile used to be. The article says they like living in organic medium, so I guess that's what they are!
If I'm brave over this long weekend, I may chance getting a close-up picture.
I usually wear gloves when working with my compost, so touching a grub with a glove on isn't too bad. But yeah, I probably would not touch them with my bare hands.
I really could live without seeing another close up picture of a very gross grubs. :-)
This message was edited Apr 4, 2007 1:46 PM
Ok. gloves. and NO pics....got it.
Darn I was going to send it to you poster size. LOL Not really they are gross. I took its picture to learn about why it was so big and learned alot.
thanks
Gymgirl, if you want to post a pic, go ahead. Just warn me so I know when to look the other way. :-)
Nope. No surprises....I'll pass...
LOL @ Missy99912 That made me laugh sooooo hard!
