white larvae found in soil

[willyg]

i found a white larvae with wee legs in the soil in my polytunnel as i was planting tomatoes, i have peppers and chillies, more tomatoes and different basils and watermelons to go in it yet
my questions are,
what do you think this larvae is?
and should i wait before i plant anything else ?

 

[Plantdoctor]

Picture is always good.

 

[willyg]

sorry i didnt take a picture, but it was clean white with wee legs on it and maybe a head it was arched over in the foetal position but didnt move when i took it out of the soil at all

 

[Plantdoctor]

Possibly, vine weevil grubs, ...


https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=234

 

[Tetters]

Hey willyg - did the blighter look like this ? Yuk !

 

[willyg]

yeah! thats its disgustin look alike there haha , what are they?

 

[Tetters]

These nasty little sods breed like crazy, and eat all the roots off your plants. The adult brown weevils are crafty blighters - you only have to glance in their direction and they play dead....do not believe it - as soon as you look away they become Lazarus, get up and start producing more b babies !!!! Have a google.

The best way to sort the problem is to use nematodes. I have also squashed the grubs (with rubber gloves on)

 

[willyg]

when i started gardening i never knew how much creepy crawley critters i could come across, first it was the leatherjackets, now these weevils! ive seen a centipede too in the greenhouse and earwigs! lady bugs and red ants!
aswell as aphids and other weird looking beetles, everywhere i turn there is a bee or a fly or somethin!
there are leatherjacket nematodes but can u get nematodes that kill a broad spectrum of insects? cuz if so ill be buying it pronto!

 

[Tetters]

If you want your garden to grow well mate, you must not kill all the creatures in it. The vast majority of them help. Mostly I don`t use any chemicals at all. That is not what it`s all about. If you`re going to be a 'proper' gardener, you need to learn about how the bugs and bees behave.
In many years I have not used poisons to kill the creatures that live here. Mostly they help rather than hinder. They have a right to live .......except for vine weevils - but nematodes sort that problem out....not as awful as poison.
Look after your hedgehogs too - they are the champions of our gardens, and without bees we probably wouldn`t even survive.
Lots to learn, and gardening needs never to be boring.

 

[willyg]

i have been pure organic so far so i will continue to do so, and i will look at the garden as a delicate ecosystem with everything playing a part and also get some nematodes! im going to plant the rest of my tomatoes and my peppers and chillis , basil and strawberries this evening despite the weevils. is this a good move? itll take a while to get the nematodes. the tomatoes i planted yesterday seem to be doing fine so far, i set a beer trap for slugs too and caught a couple last night.also i am saving up eggshells to repel them too. the ants are very intelligent. i saw them carrying little white balls, and one came up to the edge of the raised bed, put the ball down and looked up at me! ive read ants kill other insects so they may be benificial, but they can also eat fruit. i may try to deal wit them at some point but for now they r doin no harm

 

[Tetters]

In all sincerity I hope your garden brings you many rewards

 

[willyg]

thanks Tetters! likewise, if things dont go well this year, its a learning experience and i will know for again but im enjoyin it so far!