What are grubs?
as Grubs denotes the larvae of certain species of beetles, those of the genus Scarabaeoidea. The following species are most likely to be found in our gardens:
- Cockchafer
- June beetle
- Garden beetle
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What all these beetles have in common is that they lay their eggs in the ground, where the hatching larvae then feed on the roots of living plants. They are particularly interested in grasses, which is why an infestation typically manifests itself in dying, easily detachable islands in the garden lawn. But they don't stop at many bedding plants either, strawberry, beet or lettuce roots, for example, taste good to them.
Clear identification
You can recognize the harmful grubs by the following characteristics:
- about 4-6 cm long, garden beetle grubs about 1 cm long
- caterpillar-like segmentation
- C-shaped curved
- Creamy white color, darker head and abdomen
- 3 pairs of kinked sternum bones
Countermeasures
Due to the significantly reduced occurrence of May and June beetles and the small size of garden leaf beetles (and their grubs), the damage is actually not dramatic. However, to avoid unsightly spots in the lawn and individual crop failures, you can do the following:
Collect
Digging up the affected areas and manually collecting the guys is a very straightforward method.
Insert nematodes
White grubs can also be contained quite reliably with the help of predatory nematodes, which parasitize and kill them.
Cases
A grub trap consists of a with Horse manure filled bucket that you dig in the ground and leave there for a year. The grubs crawl in there and can then be removed along with the bucket.
Mosquito nets
As a preventive measure, it is also worth putting insect protection nets over the ground during the beetle flight times to prevent them from laying eggs.
