Leatherjackets help

[BYTEr]

Hi all,

I’m looking to lay new turf in my back garden (36m2) as the current turf is not looking great, it will also allow me to level it as it has a bit of a slope, take out any big stones and put down some compost/topsoil/fertiliser etc.

However, my garden is also infested with leatherjackets, I can dig out a small area with the trowel and easily pick out up to 10 of them all over the lawn.

I’ve known that they’ve been present for the last 2 years, but they were much smaller in number and with overseeding didn’t seem to be causing any issues unlike now with huge bare spots.

I know there is a treatment available, however I’m wondering, considering I’m going to be digging out my current turf, how deep do they burrow? Say if I was dig to 3 inches to remove the current turf, would most/all of them be within this depth?

Just don’t want to lay new turf for it to be eaten by the current population of leatherjackets.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[DXP55]

I had the same problem -I used the treatment but it didn't work for me so in the end I just dug it over taking old grass off first and taking it to tip.
I went down a spade deep and picked out the little buggers one by one -put them in a dish and left them for the birds - I got loads ranging in size from huge to small.

I raked it level -left it a while and seeded it -done that now on two lawns.
They are a right pain in the ass -those and chaffer grubs

 

[BYTEr]

Thanks for replying.

I know of someone else who put the treatment down and has the same issue although he did say he put it down fairly late/too cold so might of been that, think I'll put down the treatment at the optimum time each year if this is the potential result. I haven't done anything previously about them because they didn't seem to be causing to many issues and someone told me it was healthy/natural to have a few.

I'll be going down at least a spade depth as well as I'll need to dig it all up to pick out stones and un-compact it all, guess I'll be picking these buggers out too, but hopefully most are near the surface and will go out with the turf.

They're a pain in the ass though, about 50% of my lawn is completely bare and other 50% have patches and where the grass just pulls out easy as the roots been eaten, last summer it was a pretty luscious and thick green, no weeds etc.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

they will only just come back and the cycle repeats unless you get all your neighbnours to do theirs too it's pointless.

I'd get rid of grass and replace with something else, decking, artificial stuff or patio, etc.

 

[RichL]

I've used the nemasys stuff to get rid of them before, but you have to use a higher dose this time of year.

 

[bettz]

I treated my garden 2 weeks ago I used the full packet I'm going to treat it again in autumn and hope they don't come back