Leatherjackets do not leave the lawn (as far as I am aware) which is what they are feeding on - the grass roots. Cutworms however do leave their sanctuary at night to feed as @Allotment Boy mentioned. I said earlier that it looked like different species from the images. The close-up in your earlier posts are the cutworms the last image you posted does appear to be a leatherjacket although I think there is some debate about that.
Do you have many birds visiting your garden ? I would have thought they would look on this as an "all you can eat" buffet ! As soon as the weather turns colder things will change, as others have said, there is no point in wasting your money on chemicals at this time of year - maybe some bird food to encourage them into your garden instead?
I am jus so fed up of having to get rid of them haha. I don't get why, but the birds don't go for them at all which is so odd. Not seen a single bird eating one and was home all weekend pretty much and looking outside a lot.
I am not sure encouraging birds would be a good idea? They'll dig up the whole lawn!!!! A friend had chafer grubs last year and the birds literally went mental and dug up her entire lawn!!
If your garden is just grass and terrace there's nothing to attract birds. You need to some shrubs, perennials and bird feeders to attract them.
I feed the birds all year and, in exchange, they deal with the bad guys such as aphids and caterpillars. Treat the birds as your allies and you won't need any chemicals. They're very entertaining as well as useful.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
James - it might take a little while to get lots of different birds visiting, but it's well worth it, as you'll get a balance between goodies and baddies, and you'll reap the benefits, especially if you want to grow more plants and/or veg . This is a great time of year to encourage them with some feeders, as they're looking for extra food. One with a good quality seed mix, one with sunflower hearts, and a fatball feeder is a good way to begin. A little tray or dish of water is always welcome too. Start with a small amount in the feedres, so that it doesn't rot or get mouldy, and build on that as they eat it more often.
Before you know it, they'll be popping in for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and enjoying the extra 'live' grub as well, and therefore saving you the work of clearing grubs away
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Birds don't actually "dig up" your lawn when looking for grubs. Sometimes you'll find there are lots of holes where they've been extracting leatherjackets, cutworms etc, but this is actually good as it aerates the soil and saves you work...
I think it was a difficult year for lawn pest species because the hot weather meant most people's lawns dried up. It looks as if word got around among the cranefly and moth communities that your lawn, in contrast, was lovely and soft, green and growing well, and ideal for laying eggs in. Hence the number of grubs. *
If you possibly can, please avoid using chemical controls. The longer you can leave it, the better balanced the ecosystem in your garden will be. I've been here 13 years, never used chemical controls anywhere in my garden, and it's never been overrun with any pest. Occasional greenfly appear but the blue tits make short work of them.
*Edited: I've just noticed Dove said almost exactly the same thing on page 1 of this thread... sorry!
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Posts
Lay off the chemicals and let nature take its course.
Thank you for the replies.
I am jus so fed up of having to get rid of them haha. I don't get why, but the birds don't go for them at all which is so odd. Not seen a single bird eating one and was home all weekend pretty much and looking outside a lot.
I am not sure encouraging birds would be a good idea? They'll dig up the whole lawn!!!! A friend had chafer grubs last year and the birds literally went mental and dug up her entire lawn!!
I feed the birds all year and, in exchange, they deal with the bad guys such as aphids and caterpillars. Treat the birds as your allies and you won't need any chemicals. They're very entertaining as well as useful.
This is a great time of year to encourage them with some feeders, as they're looking for extra food. One with a good quality seed mix, one with sunflower hearts, and a fatball feeder is a good way to begin.
A little tray or dish of water is always welcome too. Start with a small amount in the feedres, so that it doesn't rot or get mouldy, and build on that as they eat it more often.
Before you know it, they'll be popping in for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and enjoying the extra 'live' grub as well, and therefore saving you the work of clearing grubs away
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I think it was a difficult year for lawn pest species because the hot weather meant most people's lawns dried up. It looks as if word got around among the cranefly and moth communities that your lawn, in contrast, was lovely and soft, green and growing well, and ideal for laying eggs in. Hence the number of grubs. *
If you possibly can, please avoid using chemical controls. The longer you can leave it, the better balanced the ecosystem in your garden will be. I've been here 13 years, never used chemical controls anywhere in my garden, and it's never been overrun with any pest. Occasional greenfly appear but the blue tits make short work of them.
*Edited: I've just noticed Dove said almost exactly the same thing on page 1 of this thread... sorry!
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.