September bug of the month: Leather Jackets

One feature that’s shared by many of Britain’s 23 million gardens, is an area of grass that we call the lawn. And, whether that lawn forms a garden carpet, or just a meandering pathway between flower beds and borders it’ll undoubtedly require some degree of management if it’s to remain as a lawn is not evolve into a mini meadow. Besides regular mowing though, this will entail trimming the edges, occasional feeding & weeding and if necessary, some watering. But in addition, if a lawn is to remain in a healthy condition, it’ll be useful to recognise the early signs of a problem so it can hopefully be nipped in the bud and dealt with accordingly.

The most common sign that a lawn has developed a potential problem, is the appearance of yellow patches where the grass loses its chlorophyll and begins to die. Although this could be the result of something being spilt on the grass, or where a dog has urinated, it’s more likely to be where something in the ground is eating and damaging the grass roots. The most likely culprit for this destruction is the tubular, greyish-brown grubs that we call Leather Jackets, the soil-dwelling larvae of Crane flies.

Once the ground starts to warm during Spring, the young Leather Jackets resume their feeding, and as they grow, they cause increasingly more damage to the lawn before finally pupating underground during mid-summer.