My Garden

Grub eaten away at a fruit tree

Last post 18-10-2009 7:09 PM by BT1973. 3 replies.

• 18/10/2009 06:04 PM

  BT1973 Location: Surrey Joined on: 11 May 2009 Posts: 10

  Reply | Contact We had an apple tree in our garden that has been here many years, ie more than 15 I would think, which died last year. we took the tree down to the stump and left it like that, but this year we have got round to moving it and it came out of the ground with just a little push and crumbled away in front of us! In the base of the tree stump we found some VERY LAREG grubs...about 3cm long white with brown 'noses'..horrible! They seem to have eaten away at the tree and reduced it to sawdust....any idea what they are and if they are a risk to another apple tree close by, also if we can replant a fruit tree in the same position or will we need to get rid of them first....and how do we get rid of them???

• 18/10/2009 06:11 PM	In reply to
  AlexS Location: Reading Joined on: 06 Sep 2009 Posts: 61	Reply | Contact These sound like stag beetle larvae to me, which are great to have in the garden, and are no threat at all to living wood. They are a PROTECTED SPECIES! Have a look here: http://maria.fremlin.de/stagbeetles/lindex.html Alex

• 18/10/2009 06:13 PM	In reply to
  jon jon Location: stratford on avon Joined on: 18 Sep 2009 Posts: 7	Reply | Contact can you post photo

• 18/10/2009 07:09 PM	In reply to
  BT1973 Location: Surrey Joined on: 11 May 2009 Posts: 10	Reply | Contact Ah ha! def stag beetle larvae as exactly same as on the web site link! Thank you!!