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I'm just sorting through a few troughs of compost, one has tiny white things about 1-2mm long in it. The compost had beets in last yr, nothing since . Is it ok to use ?
What are they?
What are they?
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Northern England. -
Sounds like weevils...DON'T USE IT -
A picture paints a thousand words... Are they 'c' shaped / white / creamy-white / brown-heads?
sound to small to be vine weevil - unless you've caught the grubs at an early stage?sigpic
1574 gin and tonics please Monica, large ones.Comment
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They are tiny. Not grubs like that. I will try a pic but whether they show up.Northern England.Comment
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As you can see even hard to get pic.
Northern England.Comment
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Do they have wings? I can't make much out from the photo!Comment
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Nope .
They are so tiny. I need magnifying glass.Northern England.Comment
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Some kind of fly Lavae?Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. Lou Erickson, critic and poetComment
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Whatever they are, you could empty the compost onto a big piece of plastic/cardboard and spread it out where the birds will find it. Then they'll eat the insects and you can use the compost afterwards!Comment
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I've raided OHs toolboxes...magnifying glass
So with reading glasses also:
Antennae
3 or 4 pairs of legsNorthern England.Comment
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Compost in general is crawling with life, particularly tiny life. Personally I wouldn't be too worried as it doesn't sound like anything that would do much harm.A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP. - Leonard NimoyComment
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Ok so googled and found this pic which called them spring tailsNorthern England.Comment
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Fascinating and I've learnt a new word - "furcula". Could be useful in moments of stress
Collembola, otherwise known as springtails | CANNA UKComment
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Spread the compost out very thinly onto cardboard or newspaper and let it dry out completely in the sun. Stir it about and turn it every couple of hours to dry it faster. That will kill a lot, if not all of them. Paper rather than plastic as it will help to absorb moisture out of the compost.Location - Leicestershire - Chisit-land
Endless wonder.Comment
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