Grubs and Ground Crews

[Estelle]

Sorry, another question.

I'm working on a post which mentions a ground crew, and wondered whether they would be destroying Thread burrows themselves using flamethrowers, or if the grubs mentioned in the books would take care of them? Or does it depend on the location?

I searched the FAQ for "grubs" and found two references. One  says that the "the South originally had the protection of the grubs that helped protect the land from Thread" (which sounds like it doesn't any more, although I might be reading that wrong) and the other one, about the Farmcraft Hall, says that they suffered in the first Falls but "After they learned to protect their crops with grubs, the situation improved".

There is also a reference to ground crews in a description of dragonrider duties: "If such signs [of Thread] are found, the rider directs the ground crew to the location to burn it out and provides any assistance they may need."

Did the grubs die out in the Interval? If so, were they reintroduced...or would there be areas that are still unprotected?

[Leigh]

Considering how well-protected the Southern Continent was by the time the Ninth Pass came around, I doubt the grubs suffered any population losses other than the usual dips an insect population might naturally go through due to weather, predators, and any possible loss of food sources. That's just my thought, though.

[Eimi]

I would assume that it would depend on the make up of the soil that the spore landed on.  Just like any burrowing insect, I would assume that there would rocky soils, sandy soils or other types that they just wouldn't thrive in.  They might also do better in warmer temperatures than cooler ones.  But I think as far as soil type, grubs would have an easier time burrowing around in tilled soiled.  My image was always that the farmers would want grubs in their fields.

But that's just my opinion.

[Estelle]

Okay! So, if I mentioned a ground crew using a flamethrower to destroy a Thread burrow in a farming area, would that not make sense as the grubs should stop it from spreading? If so, would they just be making note of the burrow (or do they even need ground crews?)

Or maybe something happened similar to in the books where the grubs were killed in the interval (at least in populated areas) as nobody knew what they were useful for, so they needed the ground crews until there were enough grubs to protect the land? That is kind of what the FAQ entries sound like, but I'm not sure.

The post I'm writing is a flashback to the beginning of the Pass, if that makes any difference - possibly things have changed since then...

[Avery]

I think it still makes sense to use the flamethrower, because the grubs are there but there is probably a culture of "cover all bases". You don't trust to grubs alone. You have dragons in the sky, ground crews with flamethrowers to get shallow burrows right after they happen, and grubs are like a last line of defense to get ones where a burrow was missed by groundcrews.

[Eimi]

I personally think the grubs are not an instantaneous solution, so when your future diet in winter depends on every bit of food you can gather, you don't want to wait for grubs.  You want it done and gone.  Though grubs I would think are still useful.  Threadfall lasts hours.  If a Thread hits your crops early in the Fall, it's going to start getting to work right away.  The grubs may not be enough to stop it from spreading to the crops entirely, but they can do their part to contain it.  Then when the ground crew gets there they can finish it off.

[Suzee]

Also, remember the grubs would not be confined to farm fields but would spread out into the wild.  This would help protect other areas that aren't under cultivation or managed by holders, farmers, beastcrafters.

I feel like that are very large tracts of land, especially in the south, which are unsettled.

[Paula]

I agree with Eimi, the grubs take time to do their work and meanwhile the burrow can spread to destroy half of your crop. So flamethowers and ground grews are used in populated areas to kill the burrows faster. On wilderness, it's left to grubs and the sweepriders are there to check that the burrows are taken care by them. I presume that there are terrain types where the grubs don't thrive, like very rocky soils.

[Estelle]

Great - thank you! It's good to know that I don't have to delete the flamethrower from my post.

[Suzee]

I agree with Eimi, the grubs take time to do their work and meanwhile the burrow can spread to destroy half of your crop. So flamethowers and ground grews are used in populated areas to kill the burrows faster. On wilderness, it's left to grubs and the sweepriders are there to check that the burrows are taken care by them. I presume that there are terrain types where the grubs don't thrive, like very rocky soils.

Good points, and with that I will add that the same would apply to Thread.  The grubs thrive where Thread thrives and don't where it doesn't.