Keeping bugs under control

Stop them and deal with them

Lawn Pests - Leatherjacket

These mild winters have resulted in an explosion in the population of crane fly, or daddy longlegs, as they are more commonly known.

They will very often be seen flying around the gardens in late September time.

These flies lay their eggs in grassed areas – usually lawns.

Then over the winter and spring period, the eggs hatch and the resultant larvae, called leatherjackets, feed off the roots and young shoots of the lawn. This can have a devastating effect on a lawn.

Leatherjackets are legless, brown/grey in colour and can grow up to 4cm long.

Normally, a prolonged hard frost will control the number of these lawn pests, but recent mild winters have caused their number to increase dramatically.

Chafer Grub

Of the 5 species of chafer grub living under turf in the British Isles, the garden chafer is probably the most common.

This grub is the larval stage of the May Bug (Melolontha melolontha) and will again cause widespread damage to lawns. In the most serious of cases, the roots of a lawn can be so seriously damaged that the turf can be rolled up like a carpet.

Other than the appearance and health of the turf deteriorating, a good indication of the existence of both leatherjackets and chafer grubs is the congregating of birds on the lawn, digging into the turf to feed on the pests, although this is not a satisfactory control method.

If you think you may have an infestation of either leatherjackets or chafer grubs, call your local GreenThumb operator who will be able to confirm this for you.

There are other pests that you may come across, and your local operator will be able to advise you accordingly.