Pests and Diseases - Symptom Selector

Leatherjackets

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Leatherjackets

Symptoms

Yellowish-brown patches appear in lawns from midsummer.

Cause

Daddy-long-legs lay their eggs in lawns in late summer. The leatherjacket, a fat, greyish-brown, legless grub hatches out in the autumn and feed off the grass roots.

Harm

This is one of the worst lawn pests and can destroy large areas of grass. Unfortunately, daddy-long-legs return to the same place again and again to lay their eggs.

Treatment

Organic - biological control can be used in the autumn. Water the lawn and cover it with polythene overnight. This should bring the leatherjackets to the surface where they can be easily picked off and killed. Aerating the lawn to improve drainage will also discourage them.
Chemical - Unfortunately, once the damage has been noticed, the grubs are usually too big to be affected by chemicals.

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