LEATHERJACKETS!!!!!!! HELP!!!

[LJ]

In the last few weeks we have noticed our front lawn slowly dying and thought it was due to poor drainage. However we have now realised it's due to leatherjackets (I've always hated Daddy Long Legs and now I have a reason to!!).
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE any advice on getting rid would be VERY gratefully recieved!!

[LJ]

[saddad]

Napalm????
Why grow grass anyway, you can't eat it... dig it up and give the local birds a treat!
;D

[manicscousers]

that's what starlings are for, they land on lawns in great flocks and eat the little bu**ers..don't know how else to get rid, sorry  :)

[bumble-dee]

easy- LJ, you,ve got to remove them or you,re looking at a new lawn,(or patio).

an easy way to do this if you,re not squeemish, is to thoroughly water the areas affected, cover for a few hours with thick black polythene and wait for the blighters to emerge to the surface.

then squish the b*****rs!!!

hope this works for you.

dee

[Tee Gee]

The professional answer would be to use nematodes but with the fickle british weather this can be a bit of a waste of time, plus timing is crucial.

I would go the starling route, and the easiest way to do this is throw some bread crumbs on the lawn to attract them then after they have eaten the bread they will have a go at the leather jacket.

Word of warning not to much bread or the starlings will eat their fill on this and leave the leather jackets!!

Leather Jackets;  http://tinyurl.com/2p3325

[LJ]

Thanks everyone, think we'll try the black plastic AND the breadcrumbs this weekend.
I'd read about the nematodes on a web page but seems like you can only buy them in July/August and I really need to do something now or we'll have no lawn left!!

It's a new house and I'm new at gardening and I'm trying to get to grips with my back garden i.e. veggie patch which I'm REALLY excited about. The last thing I really needed was this to happen to front lawn.

Has anyone had this problem?? Can you give me some hope that my lawn might re grow (think we'll throw some seed on to give helping hand as well).

Thanks again
Lisa :D

[Hyacinth]

yep, I had the problem but the magpies soon sorted it....bare patch in the grass for a bit but then it grew again...

[LJ]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Alishka I was convinced I'd have to re turf!!!! You've given me some hope  ;D

[bunjies]

water it, cover it up for a few hours, borrow some chickens, uncover it stand back and watch!

i did this on a new lawn (dont buy cheap turf ::)) but didnt need to worry about the chickens as the local starlings were already daily visitors to my garden ;)

[zoro]

Laid new turf last year from B+Q ...took well looked great but died off and we were inundated with daddy long legs ....

Area covered with leather jackets  now ...(grub of daddy long legs )
read ..to expect plague's as warm winter has not killed them off  a they would usually do ....
i have re-seeded but woodlice ear grass roots ...so i am going for the breadcrumbs and hope birds help i can always reseed later .....
good luck dot

[saddad]

I still think Napalm is the solution!!!!!!!
;D

[plantmadfish]

I work in a garden centre, we sell a product by provado that you water on the lawn that kills leather jackets and chafer grubs.
It is available in 20m2 and 100m2 size £3.95 and £14.95 ish.
Best of all it is in now unlike the nematodes that we can only get in may / june time even though we have customers that want it now like yourself.

Hope this helps.

[LJ]

Thanks for your advice Plantmadfish, I'll go and look for some tomorrow!!

They've even moved into my flower beds now :'(, I spent ages today picking the little so and so's out after i'd covered with plastic last night. Mind you the birds were happy!! I'm just worried they'll find their way into my new veggie beds. It's my first try at growing my own veg and I'll be gutted if the nibble them too!! Lets just hope they grow into Daddy Long Legs and fly away soon!
LJ

P.S. My hubbie agrees with you Saddad and thinks Napalm is the solution!!!

[zoro]

I bought the Provado product but re leatherjackets it say "Apply when the daddy longlegs are seen hoping along lawn :- Mid August / Sept ...."

it kills the grub stage ...does not seem to kill the leatherjacket stage ...
so back to the birds till August ...
Re:- hope they fly away ...this is when they lay the eggs to repeat the cycle so no relief there .. :'(

[wilko]

I was wondering what a leatherjacket looked like  ::), thanks Tee Gee for the link, i found some of them on wednesday, when digging, ugly little blighters aren't they, i'll put them on the bird table, if I find any more  :)

[Trixiebelle]

I didn't know what they looked like either. I had a nightmare about them the other night after seeing the pic.  ;D

How come they're so BIG when craneflies are so SMALL?

[emmy1978]

 :o :o :o The grass around the side of my flat has been slowly dying for a few weeks now. I thought it was just bad drainage as we are small block of flats built by cowboy. Not so sure now. If i go out and look for them will i be able to see them or are they under the soil? Agree with Trixie - that pic is horrible!

[sally_cinnamon]

THere is a page in Dr Hessayons Lawn Expert book with the name of a product you can use, and also a couple of tips.  Can't remember what it said so I'm not much use, but you could pop down to B&Q and read the page, like I did.  Except it might be an idea to remember what you read, unlike me!!!
:)

[LJ]

Emmy- I know what you mean we were convinced it was drainage but then when my husband came back from being away for 1 week he couldn't believe how it had spread and that when we started to investigate!! They tend to be just unber the surface, if you scrap away it dead bit of the lawn you will probably see some unless they've moved on to destroy the next patch!!??

Trixiebelle-Believe you me they are no prettier in the flesh and after you've picked out what seems like hundreds from your lawn you don't get any better!! I bought a fly swotter from ikea last night - 69p for 2......BEWARE DADDY LONG LEGS HERE I COME!!!!!!

Thanks Sally think I'll go to B & Q tomorrow! I've tried covering with plastic and letting birds eat them and pick them out but there is just SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many of the little b***ers!! Wish me luck!

[RobC]

Interesting info from greenthumb on the subject

http://www.greenthumb.co.uk/downloads/Leatherjackets.pdf