What on earth are these?

[sheena]

I was tidying up the garden yesterday and was mulching over some old compost that I had grown celery in last year. However when I was turning over the soil that remained I found these little critters.

I don't know what they are, but my hubby said they were trying to feed of the celery roots that had been left behind.

What are they, and can they be killed off so I can use the soil again, or shall I just renew the whole lot?

[Jeanied]

Those look like the dreaded vine weevil grubs to me. White grubs which curl into a sickle shape and have a brownish /tan head?
Two approaches - expose them to the daylight to feed the birds, pick off any you can find and then use vine weevil killer - this is a liquid you add to water and water in to the soil. It's difficult if you have them in the open ground - but they feed off roots and they can infest strawberry patches.

[Bren In Pots]

I think they're vine weevil as well, have a look here for more info :-

Vine Weevil - Information and Control

[piskieinboots]

nasty nasty vine weevil - kill them, kill them all now
*silly voice required

[annacruachan]

I found masses of these when I repotted my strawberries this year. I looked them up in my insect book but couldn't find anything that was spot on. I squashed all that I saw and the strawberries seem to be growing well so maybe I've been lucky. Must look for this vine weevil killer stuff!

[sheena]

nasty nasty vine weevil - kill them, kill them all now
*silly voice required

lol, you guys make me chuckle!

Ok, i'll just empty the pot into the green wheelie bin and start again. It seems it's the only place I have them so I won't worry too much about infestation just yet.

They ok for chooks to eat do you think? I can always throw it in with them and they can have a good go at them, I spose if the normal birds can eat them then they should do any harm to my girl's.

But i'll wait for the ok before I do.

Cheers guys

[piskieinboots]

I found masses of these when I repotted my strawberries this year.

Aye, that's mostly where the little devils hide! They smile nicely at you when you spot them, then when you turn your back they chow down on all your lovely plants. grrrrr

[Bigmallly]

Aye, that's mostly where the little devils hide! They smile nicely at you when you spot them, then when you turn your back they chow down on all your lovely plants. grrrrr

I know the type you mean.........

[elsie-scot]

I found some of those lovely guys as I have been digging up some of the lawn to put in a few raised beds. Didn't think you'd find them in the lawn, as far as I know the folks here before us never grew anything but grass and moss around that bit.

[Snadger]

Flums technical term for them is 'Little critters'. In fact Flums technical term for most things, including children, is 'Little critters'.

[Bramble_killer]

you can buy nematodes specific for vine weevils which will be better as the stuff you use for killing them means you can't grow vegetables on them for a while.

[BUFFS]

as was said on "life of brian",they are very naughty boys!! and you need to get rid of them pronto,by chemicals or organic,its up to you, before they breed again

[Guttata]

It's not really upto you if you are growing food crops as the you can't use the chemical treatment.

Though I am beginning to suspect they may be developing a resistance to the chemical treatments. I followed the instructions exactly and treated when it said to treat to the max number per year on all my pots on the balcony and the little by-blows are still there. If I could shop on line I would buy the nematodes but I can't so they are not an option for me.

[Brengirl]

It must have been the vine weevil I had then. The maggot looked like those and when I brought one indoors for closer inspection I could not believe my eyes. It turned itself into a wheel and rolled off the table.

[Two_Sheds]

I found some of those lovely guys as I have been digging up some of the lawn to put in a few raised beds.

they were more likely to have been cockchafer grubs: they look like vine weevil larvae, but with legs at the front. They are very common under grass, because grass roots is what they feed on