I have had some experience with grubs. The only trouble they seem to have caused me is cut-worm grubs cutting off newly transplanted plants at the soil line...like tomatoes and broccoli. It has been my experience that older and well hardened plants with tougher stems are less likely to be harmed.

Rings of some kind of material can be placed around the stems a little below and above the soil line for a week or two to protect against cut-worms.

Grubs can be the harbinger of many different kinds of insects, some really bad, and some not so bad. If I were you, I'd get in touch with your local extension service and find out if you'd just be wasting your time trying hard to eliminate them. Around here, they're mostly June bugs, which don't do much of anything to most of my vegetables, once hatched, and are real delicacies for the birds.

Do some research on Japanese beetle larvae. I believe they are grubs too. If you should have a lot of those beetles in your garden I suggest those trap bags you can buy at Lowe's or Home Depot. They work great in my yard and captured about 400 Beatles. And I believe they sell just a pack of replacement bags to hang on that attractant pod.

They could be June bug grubs (harmless unless you are trying to get into your house and they are swarming around a porch light), Japanese beetle grubs (not good at all and eat a lot of different plants), or various other beetles some harmless and some harmful to plants.

Milky Spore should be applied in late summer or very early fall to be effective, but it is effective for many years if applied correctly. Not sure about beneficial nematodes for grub control. Chances are the grubs will be transforming into beetles within the next month or so whatever they are.

Squish them, or dig them out and put them in the garbage.

i used to collect them as i dug.. and put them on the driveway or sidewalk ... and usually the birds would swoop in.. before i remembered to look again ...

grub populations are estimated by how many per square foot .. or some such.. and thats all i remember now ... i learned about that.. when i was a lawn warrior and trying to decide if it was worth warfare or not ... when i moved to 5 acres ... the lawn was on its own.. no more warrior ...

also.. keep in mind.. they pupate.. and soon the problem is gone ... or at lest in a different form ...which means.. you need to attack differently.. as the season progresses....

ken

ps: grub ignorant cracked me up ... are you a poet???

If you were digging up some lawn to make a new vegetable garden I wouldn't worry about the grubs. Many feed on grass roots and won't bother your vegetables (while in grub form, adult beetles are another matter). Also, things like milky spore and beneficial nematodes work best on young grubs, not large ones close to pupating. Which means these controls are best to apply from later summer to fall.

Oh, and an all natural control for Japanese beetles that you never hear about are moles. Before I had moles in my yard the Japanese beetles would try to devour my plants every summer (mostly sticking to plants in the rosaceae). Now I barely see any beetles. Of course, moles come with their own set of issues, mostly causing cosmetic damage to lawns, but I'd rather have them than beetles.

Rodney

It is my opinion that grubs in the garden soil are not likely to be Japanese beetles as they like sod.

I thought I was the only one who gathered them and gave them to the birds! I had a frisbee in my garden, turned it upside down and tossed the grubs in as I found them. The birds actually are used to it and perch on the fences and wait! I enjoy the birds, and dislike the grubs...win win .

Thanks to all for your input. Much appreciated!

I wrote a response weeks ago but apparently never hit “post” so here it goes- and I’ll add an update below that-

I’m willing to bet the grubs I’m fighting are not June Bugs but could definitely be Japanese beetles - just bc we do get Japanese beetles every year (When they show up I just put up one of those beetle bags and that takes care of that situation) and I’ve only seen one June bug in my entire life. But these grubs could be baby anything’s and I wouldn’t know the difference!! All I’m sure of is That there are wayyyyyy too many of them.

I have also been digging them up and letting THe birds feast on them!!! And this year is the year of the Bird here in NJ! My theory is Covid keeping ppl home = less cars on the road= reduced level of air pollution= happy birdies! And just like going out at night and capturing and killing slugs in the garden - it’s really satisfying to personally kill the culprits ruining your hard work. Blood, sweat, and tears go into planting our gardens and it’s incredible how much damage a spineless, disgusting, glob of snot can do overnight. Oh no- I don’t think so!!! When you catch Them red handed and get the justice you deserve- that just feels good. Granted- It’s usually not the best, long term solution haha

And just to clarify- my veggie garden is not new this year. It has been in place for decades but my bf expanded it about 3 years ago. But it’s too big for us. It’s never been in full use. Usually only half is planted in. In my ornamental garden around the house I find grubs here and there- average numbers. This is my first time taking over the veggie garden (my boyfriends health is preventing him from getting out there in the hot summer sun) so Idk how long it has been this bad.

I did my research and decided to try beneficial nematodes- ordered them from GardensAlive! But they still have not arrived. Now I’m bummed bc I won’t be able to start a veggie garden until much later in the season than I wanted to. Originally they were expected to arrive June 1... I called today and they were shipped -June 4- eta= June 9-17!!!!!!!

If you have used beneficial nematodes I could use a bit of advice- Say I have them in hand and apply them today.

1-How soon after an application can I begin planting?
2- The soil needs to be freshened up a bit- u know, the usual- Should I add the compost and soil before or after I apply the nematodes?