White grubs found in the flower pot

Control measures

If a potted plant takes care, this can be an indication of a grub infestation. Grubs namely eat roots of living plants and not only in the field. If you discover an infestation, the following control measures are advisable:

• Manual collection
• Wash out
• Float up through the wet
• Nematodes

Manual collection

The most obvious and direct method is manual collection. To do this, loosen the root ball from the bucket, carefully shake off the soil and read the larvae as thoroughly as possible. Because of their yellowish-cream-white color and their size of about 5-7 centimeters, they can also be easily recognized in the dark earth.

The problem with the method is that it is a bit tedious. On the other hand, you will hardly discover all the grubs. In addition, it is no good for plants with dense roots that cannot be penetrated by the fingers.

Wash out

In the case of plants with dense roots in particular, you can try to flush out the pests with a strong jet of water. Of course, the root system has to be robust enough not to be damaged in the process. But even with this method, some grubs can go through the net or get out of sight with the flow of water, so that they are up to mischief a few meters again.

Float up through the wet

Like earthworms, grubs are driven to the surface of the earth when it rains. You can take advantage of this habit. Put the root ball of your container plant in an immersion bath and wait for the animals to show up on the surface. You can then collect them there. But even this method does not claim to be completely removed.

Nematodes

A fairly effective and biological variant is control by predatory nematodes. Certain roundworms of the predatory genus Heterorhabditis use larvae of pests such as May, June and garden leaf beetles as well as black weevils as hosts and kill them in the process. You can purchase suitable nematodes from specialist gardeners or on the Internet. In the Clay granules Trapped animals can simply be brought out with the irrigation water.

Preventive measures

Repot regularly

White grubs like solid ground. Therefore, it applies as in the open Garden soil also with container plants to keep the soil loose and weed-free. Never leave plants in the pot so long that the root ball is completely firm and compacted. That's not good for the plant anyway.

Insect net when flying beetles

In order to prevent May, June and garden tree beetles from laying their eggs in your flower pots, it is advisable to put insect nets over the tubs during their respective flight times. This is not particularly time-consuming and only necessary when the adult beetles are flying - and that happens especially with May and June beetles only every few years and only lasts a few weeks in May and June.