# acorn grubs



## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

these are the old threads regarding collecting acorn grubs:

it wasnt even until 11-8-05 when i got the idea to try it:

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37352&highlight=acorn

success, 11-17-05:

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37754&highlight=acorn

basically this is it in a nutshell:

collect acorns and put them in a bucket. withina few weeks the grubs will crawl out and go to the bottom of the bucket. at this point you can take the grubs and put them on dirt and they will crawl into the dirt and make a cocoon and hibernate.

dig them out of the dirt, (use good quality dirt) you have to crumble the dirt because they make a shell of dirt somehow. also pick any predator insects out of the dirt. 

you will have bait all season long. dump the dirt out in the spring or the weevils will hatch and get all over your garage. or hopefully you will run out of grubs because the ice is good. 

for ice fishing i used a bait container with a small amount of dirt in it.

i will say i still prefer waxworms over all other baits but this is something really fun to do, and actually it gave me free bait for that early icy blast we had last year.

i think i read somewhere that if the acorns float then they are likely to have a grub inside. not sure.

i would imagine that any time fresh acorns are falling from the trees (now), they (some) are likely to have grubs inside.

thats about all i can remember. good luck!


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## papaperch (Apr 12, 2004)

Thanks HWF , I read about the water bucket somewhere also.


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## 1977 walleye guy (Mar 11, 2006)

Thanks for the info Hardwater, I messed with Goldenrod gall grubs last yr. with good sucess. I'll give this a try this yr.
On a side note: the scent dispersion of a gall grub is 100 times more powerfull than a waxie. At least that's what I've read on them. Great book By John A. Vance.

I also think this would make a great sticky info. for the top.


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## peon (Feb 28, 2005)

i wonder if you could do this with chessnuts (SP) my parents have a tree with alot of them and they get grubs in them ????


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

where in the golden rod plant is there a grub. or does the plant bud up later in in the year


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

anytime guys, good luck.



> i wonder if you could do this with chessnuts (SP) my parents have a tree with alot of them and they get grubs in them ????


that is a very intersting idea! i wonder if they would be the same type of bug? theres a lot of hickory trees around here. Not sure about chestnuts. i would definitely give it a try peon! you might be onto something.

all you need to do is put a bunch of chestnuts in a bucket for a week or two and then spill out the nuts and see if any grubs came out. also check the nuts for a little hole, thats a sure sign.

according to Lil Rob in that other thread he says he finds similar grubs in hickory and black walnut.

its tricky to spill out nuts without having the grubs fall out too.

another thing i was thinking of was using sawdust for bedding but you have to be careful not to let the grubs dry out or they will die. that wasnt a problem with using dirt last year.

peple theres a bunch of pics of where to find the goldenrod grubs in that other thread. basically the gall is on the stem about 2/3 the way up the plant. they develop throughout the year, and they are usually the same color as the stem. you could see them now but i wouldnt pick them until the plant dies and turns brown.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

i picked a few bags today and by the time i got home a few grubs were already at the bottom of the bags. if youve been thinking about trying this, now seems to be a good time. 

the best places ive found are either dense oak woods or better yet small parks with a bunch of oaks in them. (surrounded by houses) if the animals can get to them easily you wont find as many.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

there r a ton of acorns at eldon russle i might go there this weekend and pick up a bunch.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

heres what i found in the bottom of the buckets so far. i have about 10 gallons of acorns for now. (two 5-gallon buckets) they will keep coming out of the acorns for weeks from what i saw last year. kinda tricky to spill the acorns out of the bucket without letting the grubs slide out too. as you can see they are about the same size as big maggots, maybe a bit bigger, with a lot of smaller ones. i pick out the grubs and bed them in clean dirt, hopefully they will last until july again. there are a lot of other bugs, i try not to let them get mixed in, in case they might prey on the acorn grubs.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

i got a bunch too. i got a small amount covering the bottom of the bucket. but i did get a dozen. it wont last long though


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

good job peple! if you keep them in some dirt they will last until next summer, i think!

hopefully like you say they wont last long!

also dont forget, more will keep coming out of the acorns, too. so keep checking them for at least a month or so.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

i checked all of my acorns already. like i said i didn t have much


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## kasting king (Aug 17, 2006)

I wish i would have found this post a few weeks ago. I own a landscaping business and did a job for a customer (cleaning up acorns) I had more than a full size trash can loaded with them. Last year we hauled away 8 trash cans full of them.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

kasting king said:


> I wish i would have found this post a few weeks ago. I own a landscaping business and did a job for a customer (cleaning up acorns) I had more than a full size trash can loaded with them. Last year we hauled away 8 trash cans full of them.



u would have been loaded. well there is next year and maby some this year


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

nows the time  ice fishing season has begun, its ice fishing bait collecting time. 

new twist for me this year, i cut the bottom of a couple buckets off and screwed some 1/4" screen on the bottom. they fall right out into another bucket. much better this way. much easier. keep them out of standing water or they will die and stick together.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

I actually got a bunch from chestnuts this year, on accident. I had close to 40. Then overnight something ate all my chestnuts and grubs


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## Big Joshy (Apr 26, 2004)

hey h-fan. ive got access to tons of acorns. 

I was wondering what type of area you are gettng your acorns from. I opened several and only found a few grubs. most were tiny still.


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## Liquid Assets (Jul 6, 2008)

This is great!! I need to find some acorn trees. This is the beauty of this site, I am fairly new and have found some great tips and techniques (even meet a few people on here) to help me catch more fish. Like they say, you learn something new every day!! As i was reading the posts I was thinking of the screen method for the grubs to fall through leaving the acorns on top! Good luck to everyone this year, and if anyone wants to fish, shoot me a pm... I have a underwater camera that I can't wait to try this year!!! I fish all over NE Ohio and the big lake as well!! 
-LA


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

hey guys im glad im not the only one excited for another season of ice fishing. 

BJ, theyre in there, trust me. the very best places are actually in urban areas where there no deer. out in the woods theres a lot more competition. the grub has to be able to crawl out of the nut and go into the ground to complete its life cycle. if a deer eats the acorn there will be less adult weevils to lay eggs on young acorns. throws off the life cycle. if you can get about 10 gallons of acorns that is plenty enough. they will crawl out on their own. you will get some extremely tiny (useless) ones too. the most i ever saw in one acorn while opening one was 5 nice ones. 

its just something fun to do if youre that type of guy. i think its fun.

i just thought of something else, if you get your acorns from your own yard, and you know that you (or someone you hire) puts a lot of grub killing insecticides down on your lawn then you wouldnt expect as many weevils to go back up into the tree to lay eggs. although the weevils can fly (im not sure how well or how far) so there should always be at least some.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

one last thing, if anyone collects acorns after this rain, they (acorns) will release water for days, and you cant leave the grubs in puddled water at the bottom of a bucket, they will die. you have to be dilligent about rescuing the acorns from water, and keep them dry or all the work will be for nothing.


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## Troy Dave (Jan 26, 2007)

If the nuts you pick up have a hole then the weevil grub has already left. Also if you float the acorns in water, 95&#37; of the ones that float will also not have any grubs. The acorns float because either the nut inside rotted or the cavity made by the grub eating acts like a balloon when the grub leaves. His exit hole allows air in the nut.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

Just thought I'd bump seeing that the time is near.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

has anyone found a good way to keep them alive until they can be used on the ice? 

last year i was disappointed with how many died before ice fishing started...most of them died. i had a few left but thought to myself it was hardly worth it. i didnt put any in dirt last year though....maybe i should have.


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

going to give this a try this year...IF i am successful should i keep in garage fridge in dirt or a cool spot in the basement???


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