IF you see a lot of crane flies getting busy on your lawn in summer AND the weather forecast is good for the next few weeks then yes, nematodes are probably a good idea. But just like any other investment, you need to weigh up the risks before you put your money in. If the conditions are wrong – the results can be disappointing. Nematodes work best in warm moist soil and on very small leatherjackets. If, in the course of caring for your lawn, you suspect that leatherjackets are lurking, you can treat the lawn with nematodes. It’s gruesome but it works to our advantage. They climb inside them, release bacteria that kill their host. These little fellas have an appetite for leatherjackets. But the ones we’re interested in right now are called Steinernema feltiae. There are innumerable species of nematode. Amongst the populations are very small worms known as nematodes. It’s a dog eat dog world down there with goodies eating baddies and vice-versa. Amongst those creatures are the good microbes that help grass plants survive and the nasties that cause problems for us if they get out of control. The soil beneath your lawn is like a very busy city, teaming with all sorts of life forms. A biological treatment and of course, disturbing the life cycle so that we limit their lifespan. So as lawn lovers, we are limited to two types of treatment. There are currently no chemical treatments to kill off leatherjackets. Interrupting the life cycle to minimise damage In around May, the grubs will stop eating, pupate and emerge from their burrows in summer time as crane flies.
When the soil warms up they feed voraciously on grass roots and that’s when we see the most damage. Image from The lavae grow fast in autumn, slower in winter and faster again in spring. The life cycle of the leatherjacket and it’s adult form, the european crane fly. The grubs have 4 life stages and interestingly enough, the first of them is believed to be highly dependent on water…hold that thought. She lays up to 300 eggs which will hatch into miniscule grubs 10-15 days later. The female likes to lay eggs on grassland or lawns – because that way the young will have plenty to feast upon. It will usually mate, lay eggs and die within 48 hours. Leatherjack in lawn The lifecycle of leatherjacketsĪn adult crane fly emerges from the ground in summer time. One or two won’t hurt but if you see a lot of them, or if you are at all worried, give me a call straight away. In the morning, peel back the polyethene and if there are any leatherjackets lurking, you’ll see them stuck to the poly or sitting on the surface of the lawn. Now put a big piece of thick black polyethene over the area and hold it down with some bricks. If you having more feathered visitors than normal and they’re all busy scratching and pecking at the lawn, there’s a good chance they’re after eating the grubs. When you tug on the blades, the plant will come away from the soil all too easily and there will be barely any root on the bottom of the plant.īirds are another clue. Your grass plants will be unable to re-grow their roots fast enough and so the plants will perish.
However, they are tiny, so the amount they eat is easily replaced by a healthy grass plant.įrom late April through to Early June though, the beasts start to grow fast. They remain underground, quietly chewing on the roots of your lawn. What are the signs that you have leatherjackets in your lawn?īetween August and April you will probably have no idea that there are leatherjackets in your lawn. Which is why they’re not particularly welcomed by lawn lovers. Leatherjackets feast on the roots of grass plants.
Wod changing breeds 20th leather Patch#
And boy do they eat a lot! If you’ve ever had your cabbage patch raided by caterpillars you’ll know how much they can put away in a day. Caterpillars are fussy eaters, and depending on the species will stick to eating the leaves of one type of plant. And the job of the lavae is to eat, eat and eat some more before metamorphosing into an adult who will mate, lay eggs and continue the cycle of life. Butterflies are caterpillars, and crane flies are leatherjackets. Bluebottles are maggots before they’re flies. All insects change shape and feeding habits during their lifetime. And the lifecycle of the leatherjacket starts in summer.Ī leatherjacket is the laval stage of the crane fly or daddy long-legs. The damage that Leatherjackets do to a lawn is most obvious in late winter or early spring, so why am I writing about them in August? Well, like so many things in nature, in order to control them we need to understand them. In this blog we learn more about these creatures and how best to control them. You’d be surprised at how much havoc something as small as leatherjackets can create.
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