Grub solutions for container gardens [General]

2011 May 9
Hello:

When planting some herbs and veggies yesterday I noticed that one of my pots had some very active grubs. I presume this isn't a really good thing for a hot pepper plant. Can anyone suggest any quick and easy DIY solutions? I'd rather stay away from chemical pesticides if possible and stick to home remedies, largely because that means I won't have to make a trip to a non-downtown store. Thanks

2011 May 9
what kind of grubs are they? are they down in the dirt, eating the roots? that will be much trickier, than something on the stalk or just on the leaf.

i've used a soap solution before, or tin cans (tuna size) sunk in the dirt near the stalk - things fall in and can't get out. more description and i might be able to offer more suggestions.

2011 May 9
Good point. From what I gather, they are 'white' grubs that were down in the leftover roots from last year's plants. I may try a mild soap solution...

2011 May 9
oh, i hate those ones! i found a lot this past weekend while cleaning up our community park. my approach was to dig them out, throw them on the hot pavement and hope the birds would eat them.

if your plants were directly in the ground, you could leave them and let the skunks do the work for you. i know skunks are good are digging up the grubs and eating. for containers, i'm not sure. i've learned to not keep soil each year. it just doesn't do as well the second year.

are your plants already in the pots? could you dig out the dirt and let the sun cook it a bit, possibly killing them off. i only suggest this, because containers can be fast to deal with this way.

if you do want to go the lethal and less icky route (meaning digging & killing by hand), hardware stores will sell pesticides you can use. what area of town? preston hardware, home hardware, home depot - all of them will have garden centers soon, so will loblaws.

2011 May 9
also, curious to know where you bought your plants? are you sure the grubs didn't come with the plants? i had terrible luck with plants bought at parkdale market last year. never again. it was only with the parkdale plants too, not any of the other ones. i had hot peppers, tomatoes and basil from there.

2011 May 9
I can't really say, I stacked up all my pots and covered them with a tarp at the end of last season so I can't recall which pot held which type of plant, but the grubs must have been there last year. I don't recall any of last year's plants really struggling, but that is not indicative of much.

Hopefully, my attempt to pick the grubs out of the pot will bring some success...if the plant struggles, I guess I'll know that the problem is not solved.