The leatherjacket is the larvae of the daddy longlegs or crane fly. The adult flies lay their eggs in the grass in the autumn and the resulting grubs live and grow under the soil, feeding on the roots of the grass, until they are ready to emerge as fully grown daddy longlegs the following summer.
Ordinarily this is not a problem, but occasionally there can be an unusual increase in their numbers and, when this occurs and they then become concentrated in a small area, they can cause catastrophic damage to a lawn. One of the first signs of a potential problem is patches of weak grass struggling to grow. If left untreated these areas can die and will become completely bare.
The professional application of a pesticide will deal with any crane fly eggs or young leatherjackets before they get a chance to cause any damage. The lawn experts at Greenhand are licensed to apply such a pesticide and at the same time they will spray a moss control treatment which will quickly kill off the moss while ridding the lawn of leatherjackets in one application, allowing the grass to continue to grow on healthily.
To book your free lawn analysis and no obligation quotation with Greenhand just call Jean on 098 39155 or 087 055 5155. You can also find it on Facebook.
