Worms in hosta roots?

2 years ago

Hello!

I'm not sure if these worms are hosta-specific, but this morning I was trying to move a large hosta and was teasing the roots out of the soil, and was grossed out to hit a pile of small white worms. About an inch long, thin, and way too many for my comfort - hundreds, probably. Sorry, no pics

Any idea what these might be? I tried googling and got cutworm larvae, vine weevil larvae, and so on so I'm not sure which if any of these they might be. Also, once identified, is there a control? For now I just scooped up as many as I could and got rid of them.

I wanted to move this darn hosta over ONE FOOT, because it's too close to another large hosta. It's taken me a week or more lol. First, a small rock turned out to be very large boulder, and I had to wait a week for help to remove. Then I was digging up and cutting through tree roots that were three inches in diameter (this hosta is in an existing garden near a huge tree we lost a few years ago). And then of course there are thousands of small roots everywhere, including wrapped around the said boulder, which made removal more difficult. And now bugs. All for a foot of real estate. Sigh. Okay sorry, none of you needed this last paragraph lol but it's one of those days where everything seems so difficult!

Thank you for any help with these little critters!

Dee

Featured Answer

SYinUSA, GA zone 8

2 years ago

Black soldier fly larvae, maybe? If so, they're not a problem (and probably actually are beneficial).

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Comments (13)

rob333 (zone 7b)
2 years ago
White worms? Do you mean grubs?
diggerdee zone 6 CT thanked rob333 (zone 7b)
FrozeBudd_z3/4
2 years ago
Just eating my breakfast granola when reading of all these gross little worms, appetite instantly kinda just left me! LOL. Seriously, though, I have no clue as to what type of worm these could be. As for dealing with rocks and roots, it quickly sure can turn a small chore into a unexpected workout!
diggerdee zone 6 CT thanked FrozeBudd_z3/4
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tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
2 years ago
If they had brown/orange heads they could be weevil larvae.

https://extension.psu.edu/black-vine-weevil

tj
diggerdee zone 6 CT thanked tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 years ago
If they are white, they are not worms but some sort of larvae or grub. Nematodes are the most efficient way of dealing with these creatures.
diggerdee zone 6 CT thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
diggerdee zone 6 CT
Original Author
2 years ago
Rob I don't think they were grubs. If I am thinking of what I think are grubs, grubs are fatter, bigger, and curl up. These were straight, very thin, and didn't curl up when touched. I am going to see if I can get a picture. I'm sure I didn't get every single one of them.

tj they were so little I didn't notice their heads (if they even had defined heads lol). Again, I'll try to find one and look more closely. I'm having difficulties because most photos I come across online are showing adult bugs. I will admit I didn't search as well as I could have because I never like searching for info on bugs!

And maybe I should add that these worms were VERY close to the soil surface. Like literally a light scrape of a trowel and they were all just there! I don't know if that makes a difference (in terms of being a root-eating pest, for example).

LOL sorry, FB. Funny you say that because I came inside to google and my husband asked me if I wanted him to make me some breakfast and I said yes. And then I'm looking at all these photos of larvae and bugs and thought, hmm, this can wait till after I eat!

:)

Dee
diggerdee zone 6 CT
Original Author
2 years ago
Oops, we must have been typing at the same time, gardengal. Yeah, I was thinking it was some kind of larvae. Just not sure what kind.... Are nematodes a general solution or are there certain kinds of larvae they work on better than others?

:)

Dee
djacob Z6a SE WI
2 years ago
Whatever they are, thousands of them are just creepy!!!

debra
diggerdee zone 6 CT thanked djacob Z6a SE WI
diggerdee zone 6 CT
Original Author
2 years ago
Indeed it was lol! Eww

:)

Dee
rginnie
2 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/@westmountainorganic8084 ????
diggerdee zone 6 CT thanked rginnie
diggerdee zone 6 CT
Original Author
2 years ago
So I was able to get a few photos...

Any further thoughts?

:)

Dee
luckyladyslipper
2 years ago
Only: Yuk.
diggerdee zone 6 CT
Original Author
2 years ago
Lol luckyladyslipper! I agree!

Thanks SyinUSA. I'll look into that!

:)

Dee