what kind of grubs

[bookwormom]

don't know if this is the right and best board for this, but here goes.
While forking some manure today off a pile not too old into a wheel barrow, I noticed oddles of small grubs in the manure itself. Color is mostly light greyish, they look like, well, grubs. I put that load into a barrel with water, but had in mind to put the rest on ground. Now I am apprehensive. I have never seen grubs in manure before, in the past our chickens always had access to the manure. Does anybody know if they might be dung beetle larva? (which would be great) although from what little I know the dung beetle make pills out of manure and bury it in the soil. My google search brought forth nothing new. At present they are still quite small, rolled up about the size of a pea. that particular manure is from early spring. does anyone know if dungbeetles frequent whole big piles or just cow patties in the pasture. I am digging up grubs all the time, Japanese beetle and some really big and fat ones and I do not want to introduce any bad grubs in the gardens.

[LeatherneckPA]

a picture might help ???

[WileyCoyote]

Could they be fly larvae?

[bookwormom]

thanks for replying. I plumb forgot that I asked the question after i was done digging. I googled all over the place and have come to the conclusion it is something like Jap.beetles or the like. they are definetly not maggots, they are brown headed, mostly yellowish white and the back sort of grey. I know there are grubs that eat the roots of grass etc. and I have found the very same ones there, but how they got into the top layer of my manure pile is still baffling me. I found a picture of them but no name with it. In the past our chickens always had access to the manure pile, also the garden in late fall. we have to rearrange our chicken lodging and I want to get pigs anyway. Maybe order some nematodes, but I am not sure about that.

[WileyCoyote]

OH! A hard brown head on a white or grey body is Japanese beetle grubs. Those dang beetles will lay anywhere that they can find moist and warm. I HATE them - they eat anything's roots. Because they are underground, nematodes are a good idea.

[homesteadingnky]

I found out, quite by accident, that the japanese beetles (adult) love blue lake pole beans! *In fact, they almost completely covered my pole beans. *They loved them so much they left everything else alone. *

They were so concentrated on them all through the summer that I would walk through and smack my hands together on the leaves killing 5-10 at a time. *I could also walk by and knock them into a bucket of soapy water. *

Anyway, *if you can't send them back to Japan you can at least minimize their impact on the rest of your garden.

Homesteading Dad

[bookwormom]

thanks, it is always good to know what you are up against. I have never used nematodes, anyone know a good source?

[CarolAnn]

bookwormmom -
Try Gardens Alive. Mom used them for years. (I would if I could have a garden here where I'm renting!)

http://www.gardensalive.com/category.asp?c=404&x=13&y=10

[bookwormom]

thanks you all, will do.