Are your potted plants wilting for no specific noticeable reason, or are roots mysteriously disappearing? Then you can suspect Grub Worms in the soil. They love to feast silently on the roots. In this article, I will guide you on how you can get rid of these grub worms in potted plants.
What Are Grub Worms?
They are nothing but larvae of various betteles. They love the organic moist soil. For this particular reason, you can see grub worms mostly in the pots where the soil is moist. But you can not find them easily on dry soil.
If you dig the soil, you can find those in C-shape just like this:
Methods to Get Rid of Grub Worms in pot soil or container soil
I will go with the natural methods first.
- Manual removal of Grubs: Use your hands to remove the grub worms manually from your pot soil. (You can only remove if you can see those using this method) And this method is not appealing at all.
- Neem oil: Neem oil is a natural pest killer. You can add neem oil to water and apply it to the soil. ( Try to read the instructions on the product body). Neem oil disrupts the natural life cycle of the grubs and they die eventually.
There are a few other methods too. But I prefer this one the most.
- Beneficial Nematodes: These are nothing but microscopic worms that naturally kill grub worms. The plus point is that it won't harm your plant's roots at all.
- Diatomaceous Earth Powder: This powder has the power to damage the exoskeleton of Grubs. You can spread the powder in the soil or onto the soil. If a grub worm comes into contact with it, it will dry out and perish that.
Tip: If your plant's health is serious due to the infection in the roots, you should use Insecticides. Choose a grub-specific insecticide like imidacloprid and apply it according to the label instructions.
If you are unable to get rid of the grub worms, it's time to repot your plant and make sure you are using sterilized soil this time.
Be sure that grub worms don't return to your soil in the future again
When I was a beginner in gardening, I used to apply neem oil and they vanished. But it does not take much time to come back to the grubs again. That is the point when I get to know about the Sterilized soil.
For pot, always use Sterilized potting soil. You can pour hot water into the prepared soil and then after 3 hours, you should plant your plants or saplings or cuttings.
We all make mistakes and that makes us a better gardener. For me, it took me 4-7 days to completely get rid of grub worms.
Bonus tip: If possible use manual removal and neem oil both at the same time.
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