Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Leatherjackets treatment

tomcr1981tomcr1981 Posts: 51
in Problem solving
Hi everyone, I’d like some advice on when to treat my lawn with nematodes. I think they hatched last week sometime as I saw some craneflys, not many though.. I’ve been advised in the past to do it in September but I have a feeling they hatched late this year ?

thanks 

Tom 
«1

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Most nematodes need applied when conditions suit, so it can be hard to advise @tomcr1981 . 
    This is certainly the most common time for applying them though. 
    I've never had to use them - they don't seem to survive long here, and the crows make short work of any that appear, or are present in the ground. It's been much warmer and drier here this year, and I've certainly seen more patches of grass with evidence of corvid activity though. 
    They [crows] help pull out any thatch that's in the grass, so I see that as a benefit ! 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    According to a recent survey, Craneflies are at risk of becoming an endangered species.  It was a late night radio programme - World Service maybe ? - so apologies for not being able to put any link on.
    The desire to exterminate them and the oft quoted use of Nematodes as a solution may not be such a good idea.  They aren't a problem for long and are part of the food chain.  At least they don't require HGV drivers and temporary visas  ;)
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I hadn't heard that @philippasmith2. Was that only in certain areas though?
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    @Fairygirl Annoyingly enough having said the above, I've been trying to find where the info I heard on the radio actually came from.
    Not a lot of luck other than an article in The Guardian entitled "Has the UK seen a plague of Craneflies this year " . It specifies the usual - such as are they dangerous, are they useful, etc.
    They go on to pose the question "Are they endangered ? "  to which the reply is not as yet but they could become so. They don't specifically make the point about gardeners destroying them but they do mention how important they are in the food chain. I hadn't realised just how many species of Cranefly existed but I am assuming The Guardian's article is only really related to those in the UK.
    Sorry - not much help really.
    I guess like anything else, it is left up to people to decide for themselves and then it may become too late to reverse - same old, same old. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I feel there's just too much scaremongering - everywhere about everything @philippasmith2. 
    I don't know if it's because editors have to fill newspaper pages, and 24 hour tv essentially means the same. Lots of hours and pages filled with endless 'stuff' about very little.  ;)
    There was some bloke banging on about not feeding birds this morning on the tv, just before I switched over to the radio. I only heard a little bit of it, but it was basically just about how much people in the UK spend on bird food every year, and the usual arguments for and against- blah, blah, blah. Nothing new, and all pretty pointless IMO. Same old, same old, as you say  :)  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • tomcr1981tomcr1981 Posts: 51
    Hi everyone, thanks so much for your replies…Fully get what you’re saying, feels awful to demonise something like that. My lawn looks awful because they eat the roots.
    Only aesthetic‘s though, but I suppose so much of gardening is.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Unfortunately - I'm not sure we've been much help @tomcr1981!
    I know what you mean though - it can leave lawns looking pretty desperate. The only other option is to just tidy up and then do a bit of over sowing in spring. I don't know if an autumn lawn feed would help in any way. Not something I really use, so I don't know if that would be helpful?

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    There are quite vast areas of grazing pasture and parkland habtat in the UK which they can and do use.  The loss of an average-lawns-worth of grass isn't going to make them go extinct;  I removed my lawn years ago and still have a conservatory full of bloody cranefly!   :D
    Personally, I would try the nematodes now, while it's relatively warm.  If they work, great.  If not, then only a few pounds have been lost.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    tomcr1981 said:
    Hi everyone, thanks so much for your replies…Fully get what you’re saying, feels awful to demonise something like that. My lawn looks awful because they eat the roots.
    Only aesthetic‘s though, but I suppose so much of gardening is.
    @tomcr1981 - hope you manage to sort it out  :)
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    @BobTheGardener to be fair to the report I heard/read, it was " risk of becoming endangered " rather than extinction.
    Unfortunately, I haven't found anything more which either backs up or refutes.
    Just don't leave The Guardian laying about in your conservatory for them to read or they'll be getting a petition up  :D  
Sign In or Register to comment.