How Beneficial Nematodes Deal With Soil Grubs
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When a plant goes over for no obvious reason, or the lawn comes up in patches you can lift like carpet, the problem is usually underground and you will not see it by looking at the leaves.
What they are
Nematodes are microscopic roundworms and most of them are doing nothing to you either way. A few damage plants. And a few hunt the soil-dwelling pests that are eating your roots, which is the ones worth knowing about.
What they go after
Curl grubs in the lawn. Fungus gnat larvae around seedlings and in pots, which is the one that gets people who are raising their own. Weevil larvae in root vegetables. Cutworms, which do their damage overnight and are gone by the time you look.
What they leave alone
They target soft-bodied pests in the soil and they do not touch bees, earthworms or your dog, which is the whole reason to use them instead of drenching the ground with something. A broad soil treatment takes out the earthworms along with the grubs, and the earthworms were the thing keeping the soil working.
They are alive, so timing matters
This is the part people get wrong. Nematodes are living creatures rather than a chemical, so they need moist soil, mild temperatures, and the pest actually being present to feed on. Put them out into hot dry ground and you have wasted them. Put them out at the right time and they keep working for you afterwards without you doing anything else.
They are a specialist order rather than something sitting on the shelf, and they have a shelf life, so ask us before you plan a treatment and we will tell you straight whether the timing is right or whether you are better off waiting.
The honest limit
They are not an instant fix. You are building a system that keeps the grub numbers down over time rather than clearing a problem this afternoon. If something is being destroyed right now, deal with that first and use this to stop it happening again.
Shop related products
- Brunnings Garden Compost with Seaweed 25L. Soil with life in it is the thing that makes any of this work.
- Neutrog Whoflungdung Mulch 20kg. Holds the moisture the soil biology needs.
- Neutrog 1L Seamungus Liquid Concentrate. To get a damaged plant back on its feet.
- Neutrog Blade Runner Lawn Fertiliser 15KG. For bringing a grub-damaged lawn back.
Come and ask us about timing before you order, and everything else for the soil is in the garden centre.
Keep reading
- How to Keep Pests Down Without Reaching for the Spray
- A Beginner's Guide to Building Good Soil for Your Vegetable Garden
Candeece. Curl grubs are the one thing I have got no sympathy for.
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