A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 what is it??

ok, so it isn't on my plants... but it is near them. i have these 2 egg sac things... about the size of a large (shooter) marble, the color of a dried gourd. they are in webbing, and one is below the other. they are hanging down with a "neck" of sorts on top of each one. there were 3, but the bottom one was collapsed and i pulled it off and put it in the trash. they are seperated by about an inch and a half of webbing each. i'd post a picture, but my daughter has my digital camera.

oh yeah, they are hanging between the verticals of the rail outside my back door.

spider eggs?

http://www.usq.edu.au/spider/info/images/eggsac.jpg

rellie, i was thinking spider, but for an egg sac that large, i would think that i would have seen momma somewhere.actually, i am hoping it is a spider because the mosquitos and moths around my back door are horrible! i'd rather have the spider, she don't try to follow me in the house!

I vote for spider egg sacks too.. If it were me I would dissect it open

ok, if i disect one, what am i looking for? will there be miniature spiders? with 2 there, i wouldn't feel too guilty disecting one of them!

Hope nobody minds if I add a critter to the "What is it?" pile!:


I've been finding several every time I peek into my compost bin. Any ideas? Good or bad? I "accidentally" stepped on one and it was FILLED with reddish brown goo. If anyone knows what they are, please advise as to whether I should be trying t oget rid of them promptly, and if so, HOW?
:p
Many thanks!

All Thumbs

That one is a type of grub,(beetle larva). Exactly which type I can't tell from the pic, it dosn't look too familiar.
I would never add any type of insecticde to your compost pile as the bugs help break down the organic matter into humus.


Jiffymouse Is this what those sacks look like?

http://www.earlmay.com/solutions%20photos/solutions-bagworms.jpg

If so they are bag worms

Thanks plant Doc! So I assume they are harmless to the compost (dare I say even beneficial!), and I don't have to worry about them turning into anything detrimental to my garden. Correct?

nah, it's not bag worms. i am pretty sure it is a variety of daddy-long-legs spider. i saw one on the egg sac today.

All Thumbs,

Benifical is not a word I normally use to discribe grubs. Actually they can be quite a bothersome pest, depending on what type they are. A lot of grubs eat roots in their larva stage and when they grow up and turn into beetles they do can do damage to the tops of the plants. Larger animals such as racoons and skunks will tear up a yard in search for them while in the grub stage, not to forget that they attract moles like a magnet. While I am not familiar with the ones that you may have in Cali. Two of the most common in these parts, (Wisconsin) are the European Chafer, and Japanese Beetle. There are others that are pretty much harmless, and don't bother anything. While they are in effect good for the compost pile, they may be harming the rest of your plants after they change. The bad part is that there is now way to treat the pile for only the grubs. Any pesticide that you add to the pile will also hurt the benifical bugs that you need in there. I would not worry to much about them being in the pile, as they are most likely thru out your yard anyway.

A great way to get rid of them from your compost pile would be to find some kid that likes to fish, and tell em that you have a source of free bait! Give em a pitch fork and let him dig them out. This way you get yourself out of the chore of turning the pile too.

"The bad part is that there is now way to treat"


Should have read.... "no way to treat..."

ok, got a picture of them on the web...
spider nests?
they are hanging between the 2x4's that make up the back steps. what'cha think?