what are these grubs ? how to get rid of them
clair ballard
Posts: 3
Hi all,
New to the site hoping someone will be able to help me.
About a week ago when i was dark i went down my garden path to my shed and could hear like a crunching sound under my feet,so decided to get a torch and all of the pathway down my garden and all over my was covered in these grubs type creatures.
Unsure what they are ive been told there (leather jackets-crane fly) not to sure or how to get rid of them as there driving me mad.
They are ruined my lawn as it looks all patchy there only out when its dark and damp come the morning there gone again.
I put a little salt down as there slowly started moving towards my back which seem to do something to them but have noticed there seems to be quite a few on the lawn in the mornings now
i would love to know what they are and how to get rid them the picture is what ive been collecting off the lawn every morning for a past few days
many thanks clair
Posts
What a lot of the flippin' things
In the long term encouraging birds into your garden will help, but in the short term apply nematodes http://www.greengardener.co.uk/product.asp?id_pc=22&cat=48&id_product=94
Now is the perfect time - the treatment won't harm anything else.
Good luck
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hi Clair
they look like the same blasted things we have - leatherjackets are the larval stage of crane flies or daddy longlegs and they eat the lawns up from underneath. We've resorted to Nemasys which are natural nematodes which you dilute and water on the lawn. the product is quite expensive though but far cheaper than digging up the entire lawn, getting rid of the soil, putting new top soil on and returfing the lot. The packet which i got on eBay treats up to 100 square meters and was about £15. They say you should apply a dose in spring and autumn but that you should notice an improvement reasonably quickly.
we'll apply ours this weekend and keep our fingers crossed.
good luck
Wow.
I haven't seen anything like that since I last took sawfly larvae off the solomon's seal
In the sticks near Peterborough
Hi all
thanks for all your replies much appreciated,
Yes i have noticed theres some brown patches on the lawn it looks like most its dying,the 1s in the picture is just a few ive collected ive been putting them in to a large black bucket which is nearly full
.
Ive also read about using (nematodes) think i will give that a try also read that if its a hard frost that will kill them.
Was also thinking trying throwing a little bread out at night to encourage birds to come in early morning and hopefully gobble them up which would be nice.
would be nice if they was on top of the grass in morning but there hiding under the grass as i was just got over the mower and get them up,but most of them seems to come out at night and dissapear in morning when its becoming light.
If you know anyone with any chickens they'll love them - they are caviar for chickens
Everything on this earth has some useful purpose - it's our challenge to find it 
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Just ordered some Nemasys Leatherjacket Killer hopefully do the trick