Grubs in flower pots are of course annoying, but not a catastrophe. In contrast to an infestation in open garden soil, the infestation radius here is clearly limited. To get rid of the pests, simple, mechanical and biologically gentle measures are recommended.
How do you remove grubs in a flower pot?
To combat grubs in flower pots, you can collect them by hand, flush them out with water, drive them up through moisture or treat them biologically with predatory nematodes. As a preventative measure, you should repot regularly and use insect nets during the beetle flight season.
Control measures
If a potted plant is careless, it can be an indication of a grub infestation. Grubs eat the roots of living plants, and not just in the wild. If you notice an infestation, the following control measures are advisable:
- Manual collection
- Flushing
- Floating up through wetness
- Nematodes
Manual collection
The most obvious and direct method is collecting by hand. To do this, remove the root ball from the bucket, carefully shake off the soil and pick out the larvae as thoroughly as possible. Because of their yellowish-creamy white color and their size of around 5-7 centimeters, they are also easy to recognize in the dark soil.
The problem with the method is that it is a bit laborious. On the other hand, you will hardly discover all the grubs. In addition, it is not suitable for plants with dense roots that cannot be penetrated by fingers.
Flushing
Especially with densely rooted plants, you can try to flush out the pests with a strong jet of water. Of course, the root system must be sufficiently robust so as not to be damaged. But even with this method, some grubs can slip through the net or get out of sight with the water flow, so that they can cause mischief a few meters away again.
Floating up through wetness
Grubs, like earthworms, are brought to the surface of the earth when it rains. You can use this habit. Place the root ball of your potted plant in a dipping bath and wait until the animals appear on the surface. You can then collect them there. But this method does not claim to be completely removed either.
Nematodes
A fairly effective and biological variant is control by predatory nematodes. Certain nematodes of the predatory genus Heterorhabditis use larvae of pests such as May, June and garden beetles or thick-mouthed weevils as hosts and kill them in the process. You can purchase suitable nematodes from garden shops or online. The animals enclosed in clay granules can simply be released with the irrigation water.
Preventive measures
Repot regularly
Grubs like solid ground. That's why, just like in open garden soil, it's important to keep the soil loose and weed-free for potted plants. Never leave plants in the pot for so long that the root ball becomes completely firm and compacted. That's not good for the plant anyway.
Insect net for beetle flight
To prevent May, June and garden leaf beetles from laying their eggs in your flower pots, it is recommended to stretch insect nets over the pots during their respective flight times. This is not particularly time-consuming and is only necessary when the adult beetles are flying - and this only happens every few years, especially with May and June beetles, and only lasts a few weeks in May and June.
