Garden pest identification

yumyums

Help!

I was sorting out the pots in the front garden trying to make things a bit more presentable. I had hoped to get rid of half the compost and top up with fresh but then I found loads of these grubs in the pots and can't work out what they are.





I thought they might be vine weevil but from the descriptions online mine are way too big. They're about 3 cm long and almost 1 cm thick. Sorry the photos aren't great.

Do I need to get rid of all the compost in the pots? Also, what should I do with the compost - is it safe to empty it on my garden beds? Will the pots need sterilising before refilling with compost?

Thanks for any advice!

Sally_A

Chafer grub? google a few more images of them, to see if they match.

yumyums

Hmm it does look like that sort of thing, thanks. I put one on the pavement and when stretched out and crawling away it was over 3 cm long which sounds like it could be too big for a chafer.
Other beetle larvae look similar so I guess it's some sort of beetle? Are they likely to be harmful to plants? Hard to identify as they all look the same!

Don't know how I got such an infestation. One pot had around 20 of them in.

Sally_A

Empty them onto the garden, the birds should sort them out pretty quickly.

A lot of grubs eat the roots of seedlings, so yes, they can be harmful to young plants.

yumyums

Thanks Sally. Looks like this is a job for another weekend if I need to totally empty all the pots. Don't want my newly bought bedding plants to get destroyed though so best to be safe

sobie

they are definately Chafer grubs (the big legs at the front are the giveaway) they normally don't go in pots though? (normally just a lawn pest) did you use soil from the garden for your pots?

Make sure you scrub the pots out well with jeyes fluid or simular garden disinfectant as the eggs are invisable.