Grub worms, with their white C-shaped bodies, are lawn pests that are difficult to eradicate. In the larvae, or grub stage, grub worms feast on the turf’s root system.

A reader of ours sent us a picture of what appears to be a white grub worm. He said it found it next to his dog’s food bowl and was curious if it was a worm or a larvae. After looking at the picture that he sent, we have determined that it is a grub worm which is a larva and not a worm at all.

We received a question from a reader who found some sort of larvae in his house. One was found in the hallway, and the other was found on the carpet by the baseboard. The reader says the larvae are white and red on top and green on the bottom, and this can more or less be seen in the photo he submitted along with his question. The reader also reports that the larvae has eight to ten legs. We think our reader found grub worms, which aren’t worms but scarab beetle larvae, so that answers one of his questions. However, he was also curious where the larvae came from, so we’ll address this topic as well.

We received a picture the other day from a reader requesting an identification. The image depicts white (or more like whitish) worm-like creatures that are quite plump, and the reader thought he might have found worms or caterpillars. In fact, we are quite confident the reader found grub worms, also called “lawn grubs” or simply “grubs.” Even though one of their common names is “grub worms,” they are not actually worms, but the larvae form of beetles – generally scarab beetles, but “grub” is a fairly loose term. Thus, they are not worms or caterpillars, but insect larva. Below we explain why we think our reader found grub worms.

A reader wrote to us a few days ago about some large, plump white worms that he found in a mulch pile on his lawn. The reader thought they were grubs, which are often called “grub worms” or “grubworms” (even though they are actually larvae), but thought that they might be too big to be grubs, in part based on information he read on this website. The creatures our reader found are in fact quite large – they are about three inches (7.5 centimeters) long and one inch (2.5 centimeters) wide – but they nevertheless appear to be grubs. Did our reader find grubs in the mulch pile on his lawn, or are the creatures he found too big to be grubs?

We just wrote an article about small green worms in the garden, so it is fitting that our next question is quite similar: what are the small white worms you find in your garden? This question came up in an email from a reader in southwestern Colorado, where his garden is located. In his 27 years of gardening, he has never seen the recently discovered small white worms in his garden. (The reader put the point much better: “I’ve never seen the likes of this [the small white worms] in 27 years of gardening!”) This is quite the statement, making us curious about what our reader could have possibly found. What are these small white worms in the garden?

A reader from Philadelphia wrote to us a while ago about some small, red worms he found in a “tree” (although the reader’s description suggested it was more like a bush). He said the worms looked a bit like earthworms, but that they were smaller, measuring about one or two inches in length. The reader also said the worms were thin. This is an instance where we really wish we had a picture. We are not only having difficulty imaging what this worm (or whatever it may be) looks like, but we also can’t picture the type of plant on which one of these creatures might be found. Based on what little we do know, it seems that our reader might have found grubworms (often spelled “grub worms,” and they are also known as “white grubs” or simply “grubs”). Grubworms are very common and are frequently found consuming plants, especially turfgrasses. We don’t know for sure if our reader found grubworms, but we can at least supply a little information about these common, plant-eating creatures.

Young grubs grow to full size rather rapidly. It takes only 3-4 weeks for them to reach their max.

Grub worms feed on plants and the roots of turf grasses and the adult beetles feed on trees, shrubs, and other foliage. While grub worms are harmless to humans, they can be devastating to crops mainly because they feed on crop roots.