Leatherjackets
Greyish-brown, legless larvae of 2–4 cm with a tough skin gnaw roots and stems just above the soil at night, so young plants topple or wilt. Yellow patches appear in the lawn where birds peck a lot.
Leatherjackets are the larvae of crane flies, which lay their eggs in grass and damp soil in late summer.
What can you do?
- Soak a patch in the evening and cover it with black plastic or a wet hessian sack; pick up the larvae the next morning.
- In late summer or early autumn, water nematodes (Steinernema feltiae) onto moist soil.
- Let starlings, blackbirds and hedgehogs do their work: they eat lots of leatherjackets.
- Cultivate the soil of a former lawn several times before planting so birds can pick out the larvae.
Prevention
Don’t make a vegetable plot on freshly dug-up lawn without cultivating the soil a few times first. A garden full of birds and hedgehogs keeps leatherjackets in check.
When to watch out: April–June