Biological control for leatherjackets (crane flies) in lawns
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If your lawn is being ripped up by birds, foxes or badgers it is usually because there are ‘tasty’ leatherjackets or chafer grubs beneath it ! The classic symptoms you may also see are slow grass growth, often with yellow patches and, as there are few roots left on the grass, it is also easily pulled up.
Check which pest you have by lifting a piece of damaged turf :
If you have leatherjackets then you need this biocontrol, ‘Leather Jacket Killer’ . Leatherjackets are about 25mm (1in) long greyish black, almost tubular and somewhat transparent and are the larval stage of craneflies or daddy-longlegs. These generally start to appear towards the end of August and within days they lay eggs, these hatching within two weeks, the resulting grubs starting to feed on the grass roots.
If you have Chafer Grubs you need a different product, ‘Chafer Grub Killer’ : Chafer grubs are a creamy colour, about 15mm long and with a distinct and sizeable head. The beetles emerge from lawns and lay eggs which then hatch into the grubs.
…….if you find both pests, then you’ll need both treatments to get proper control.
For use from mid-August until October, to control leatherjackets, the larvae of crane flies (daddy-longlegs) .
**NB Heavy or early infestations, or in areas where leatherjacket damage has been a problem in the previous year treat in April too. NB treatments applied in April need to be applied at double strength as at this time of year it is harder to kill the leatherjacket**
Contains 50 million naturally occurring beneficial nematodes and must be kept refrigerated, and used before the expiry date printed on the pack.
Treats up to 100m2 (125 sq.yds)
