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Grub / Larvae Identification

JamesQMmCLnHqJamesQMmCLnHq Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Hi There,

not the most experienced gardener, but wagtails and magpies are having a feast on the grubs killing my grass. However I haven’t been able to ID the little critters. I though leatherjackets, as no legs, but too light in colour, but also the wrong shape for chafer grubs (and lack of legs as far as I can tell)

any ideas?



Thanks in advance! 

Posts

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    Could they be leatherjackets?
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    This may help
    http://maria.fremlin.de/stagbeetles/larva-guide/


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Really hard to tell but it could be a cutworm caterpillar.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • JamesQMmCLnHqJamesQMmCLnHq Posts: 4
    thanks for thank you very much for the suggestions. There are thousands of them and a very large patch of dead lawn. (Neighbour too)

    this is a still from a video I took (can’t figure out how to embed a video) - if this helps at all.

    Thinking of going the Nematode route, which I have read is safe but equally I don’t want to mess with the biodiversity too much.



    Thanks again all!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd just let the birds keep doing their job. Much easier  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Fairygirl said:
    I'd just let the birds keep doing their job. Much easier  :)
    Ditto  :D

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • JamesQMmCLnHqJamesQMmCLnHq Posts: 4
    Fairygirl said:
    I'd just let the birds keep doing their job. Much easier  :)
    😀 This was the approach I was taking, as I can live with a little brown grass, however the dead lawn patch is growing and growing and the birds can’t keep up it would seam. 
  • JamesQMmCLnHqJamesQMmCLnHq Posts: 4
    So I have been told that it is a young leatherjacket in the photo and this is one of the times of year they will be actively chomping through my lawn roots. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I don't think that is a leatherjacket. They're a browny grey colour.
    Nematodes are a good solution, as they're already present in the natural world - you would just be adding more  :)
    I don't know how many different types there are though, so you may need to investigate that if it isn't possible to positively ID the grub you have. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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