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scarabs beetle larvae HELP!

CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 617
in The potting shed
Hello my daughter and boyfriend have been making some new beds in their garden this weekend and on one side of the lawn where they cut the new bed they have noticed what we believe to be scarab beetle larvae.  What experience have any of you had in eradicating these please?  Do they do a great deal of damage?  Many thanks

Posts

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906
    Which particular scarab beetle larvae are they?
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    My guess would be that they are cockchafer (maybug) larvae. Unless you are suffering a major infestation I would leave them be and let nature balance itself. 
  • CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 617
    Oh could be....my daughter googled the large fat larvae with legs only up one end and came up with Scarab beetle which she said she was certain is was...They have found quite a few I think.  I can't seem to paste a photo of the scarab beetle larvae we found but it does look the same as the maybe one.  Should we treat with a nematode if available or as you say Steephill - let nature take its course which I would prefer to do.  They do have quite a few birds that visit the garden.
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    I agree with  @steephill much more likely to be cockchafer grubs. 
    AB Still learning

  • CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 617
    Thankyou everyone for your help.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    As has been said, they’re likely to be one of the chafers ... all part of the Scarab family ... loads of them all looking very similar.

    Look on this link and scroll down 
     
    http://www.coleoptera.org.uk/family/scarabaeidae

    😊

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    more killing :( 


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 617
    Oh no! don't want to kill them (as such) They're  happy to let the birds do their thing - circle of life and all that.  From reading up about the Scarab larvae it seems a little like the vine weevil larvae that feast on the roots of plants and grass?  
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    It’s what some of them do ... and it’s what flocks of starlings eat in the meadows in the autumn ... kill the chafer grubs in the meadows and lawns and then wonder why all the wild birds are in decline 😢 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Big Blue SkyBig Blue Sky Posts: 716
    We have loads of chafers in our garden (kind people here helped me to identify them by the pictures I posted). They are a delight to observe mid summer. So far I haven’t noticed any damage on the plants from them. Didn’t even realise they ate plant roots. Why not wait a little and see if they are actually doing any damage at all before killing them or feeding them to the birds?
    I must say I became much more relaxed about the “pest” in the garden. Stopped spraying because of the bees and stopped using slugs poison because of the hedgehogs. I must say I haven’t noticed any increase in pests nor extra damage on plants. 
    Surrey
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