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Grub problem
m_helyar
Posts: 3
Hi,
We had a thunderstorm 2 days ago and today and yesterday in the early morning, a couple of crows have been ripping my lawn to shreds. I chucked a bucket of soapy water on the damaged lawn to see what grubs might come up and this is what I found. They are about 15mm long. Shown in a typical takeaway container.
I suspect they are probably Chafer grubs, but the photos I've seen of those look a bit different, with longer front legs and no middle legs.
Can anyone please advise what they are so I can get apply the appropriate treatment?
Thanks
Matthew
0
Posts
In Norfolk thay say: "If tha be crows, tha be rooks. If tha be a rook, thar be a crow."
Forgive me.
I get crane flies (daddy longlegs) and their larvae (leatherjackets), and more gentle blackbrds. I looked at images on google, but none worth sending. Anyway they would probably be USA grubs.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
‘A crow in a crowd is a rook … a rook on its own is a crow’
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I stick with leatherjackets. They eat the roots and cause grass yellowing and death. There are proprietary leatherjacket killers you can get, but you seem to have escaped bug-root damage.
As for the bird damage, think of it as scarifying.
Tomorrow is another day, with luck the birds will choose a neighbour.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
If your weather has been very dry until recently, the grubs will have stayed lower down, but the rain will have encouraged the grubs to get nearer the surface, and all of those birds enjoy them at this time of year.
The adult crane flies lay their eggs earlier in summer, and the grubs appear a few weeks later, then overwinter to mature into the adult and start the cycle again. A mild winter suits them best, and they can destroy lawns very easily in spring if there's enough of them. In colder areas, they don't thrive so readily, and are less of a problem.
There are nematodes available, but you need the right conditions for applying them. It would possibly be too late for this year, but you could always look into it for next year.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
And welcome to the forum.
I think they are chaffer grubs rather than leatherjackets as your picture shows grubs with a brown head.
You can get nematodes to sort this problem out, very easy to apply.
https://www.gardening-naturally.com/nematodes-pest-control?pests=Chafer+Grubs
I've used this company and they are very good. (I'm not involved with them in any way).
Just for comparison, the link below shows the nematodes for leatherjackets.
https://www.gardening-naturally.com/nematodes-pest-control?pests=Leatherjackets
But as you've seen your grubs "in the flesh," you can decide which you think they are.
Good luck,
Bee x
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
We don't get bothered by either of them much round here fortunately.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I hadn't seen your post when I posted mine.
We don't get bothered by them here either ... maybe too cold over the winter.
Having said that the badgers are snuffling around for something tasty .... wee bu&&ers!
Bee x
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
We have badgers a mile or so away, but I don't know how much bother they cause the residents there. There's a nice wee habitat for them with good cover, woodland, grass and a pond etc.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...