This is my first year gardening so I had no idea what to look out for. Set up my raised bed a week ago and filled it. Was prepping it for my tomatoes when I discovered TONS of these grubs below the surface.
Turns out my.infestation was the result of contaminated bagged soil. I had bought 10 bags of the "Expert Gardener" brand from Walmart to fill my new raised bed. I should've known there would be problems because it was 80% chunks of wood and smelled off but I'm a new gardener so I didn't have a clue. Well one of the reviews I read said theirs was infested with "huge maggots". So I went and checked the remaining soil still in the bag and lo and behold, grubs. Just from a 3×6 raised bed I filled a gallon milk jug.
So I did some research on the brand and emailed their support line with my issue not really knowing what to expect. Well I immediately received a message stating the support email address doesn't exist.
I spent hours bent over this bed handpicking the grubs out because the 24hr treatment would make my planned tomatoes inedible.
So be warned if you used any of this brand in your garden this year. Take a look and see if you have any hidden pests.
by AverageMatsby
26 Comments
I hope you are taking your receipt and pictures to Walmart for a complete refund. They will not give you any hassle.
Oh no. I used a lot of organic miracle grow from Walmart but it smelled super bad and was right next to that brand. I live in Alaska and busted my ass to grow almost everything from seed. I am going to come for them if my beds and containers have a ton of grubs…. we’re they like this as soon as you bought them or did they sit for a while?
I’d just seal those bags up airtight until everything dies and wait a year for everything to decompose lol.
Hope you tell them you wanted garden soil not chicken feed.
Put in a rain bucket full of water and make compost tea
These are beetle grubs. Nbd. I find them in my compost all the time. Not that id want to find them in soil i just purchased, but really, nothing to be concerned about otherwise.
Those almost look like shrimp 😳. I’d avoid the cheap soil again. Been using the Miracle Grow regular Organic with no issues just add perlite for aeration.
Omg what a nightmare. Thanks for the head’s up.
What kind of grubs are they? Are they even problematic or harmful to a garden? Or are you mad that things are living in soil? Other than seedling soil, soil generally isn’t sterilized
Free fishing bait
Yet another reason why I never shop at Walmart
That looks like my nightmares
That’s odd and unfortunate, but 1 occurrence isn’t enough to justify everyone to avoid, assuming the bag was actually the cause. It has thousands of ratings, mostly 5-star. I’ve used them for 2 years so far, around 200 cuft and it’s incredibly better quality than anything I’D get from miracle grow that mostly trash, for a better price. Everything grows fantastic in it.
Sorry but this wasn’t just in your bag of soil this was in the garden they are normal.and plentiful.
was yor bag stored outside and left open?
Yea bullshit, you can literally see where you were tilling out your own bed to comp. We all do it rage bait bullshit.
If I could buy 2 cubic feet of grubs tor $6, I’d sell them out. My chickens would be very happy and I’d save a ton on chicken food. 😂
FYI: I’m open to being corrected on this, but I always leave my bags of soil out on our concrete for a few days, minimum, usually a week or more, before I use it. I think I’ve only been in a rush once and used fresh soil, but it was from my local family owned nursery I’d been visiting for a few years, so I trusted their soil more than what I can get at big box stores.
Doing this ensures that, if there are any unwanted hitchhikers, they die before you use it.
So…not garden soil but duck food? How expensive is it? It might be cheap for our ducks.
Why are all the comments here acting as though this is the worst thing ever? They’re just beetle larvae, for crying out loud.
I agree it seems a lot, but words like “infested” aren’t really necessary. The vast majority of scarab beetle larvae, which these look like, are not going to do anything bad, as they only eat detritus, not plant roots. I’d actually take it as a good sign they were in the soil, because it means that it’s full of organic matter, and not full of poison.
And people are acting like you should just kill them? Wtaf? Just chuck them in your compost if you don’t want them in the garden bed, let them grow up and turn into beetles.
I’m actually shocked that the reaction to this is almost unanimously negative.
It could be worse. I got termites in a bag of “topsoil” (read=wood chips) the other day.
Did you narrow down what species of grub you were infested with? Some of these types of grubs are native and really don’t do a lot of damage, and some are a lot more disruptive. It can be tough to tell them apart at this larval stage though, so I’m curious. 😅 some states have agricultural extension offices that can provide free or inexpensive identification, especially for hobby gardeners who are trying to be responsible 🤘🌱
Mighty want to look into some beneficial nematodes!
I find these in the compost pile all the time. Sometimes I stick them in the bird feeder.
Yea, sorry this happened to you, but I haven’t had this problem.
I used the yellow bag.
Hopefully, you can get a refund!
I have never seen anything like this in all my years! What a horror show.