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Busy Lizzie Accent Mixed F1
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Busy Lizzie 'Blue Sky'™
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Leatherjackets
Leatherjacket Killer : Natural Pest Control
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Signs - affected plants may turn yellow, wither and die. Small
plants and seedlings may be severed at ground level. The grey - brown
leatherjackets are up to 3.5cm (1 1/2inches) long, smooth, tubular and
legless, rarely seen above ground, usually found just below the surface
particularly in grass where a small population that causes no visible
damage is more common than not.
Damage - feed on roots particularly affecting young annuals,
bulbs and vegetables, predominantly affects land that has been recently
brought into cultivation recently and usually subsides after a couple of
years. The leatherjackets are the larvae of crane flies, daddy-long-legs.
On lawns, more damage is usually done by birds and small mammals
digging the leatherjackets up than by the leatherjackets themselves.
Treatment - the traditional way to bring them to the surface is
by soaking an area of lawn with water and then covering with black plastic
sheeting (weighted down) or sacking. Leave for a day then lift the cover
and remove the leatherjackets. Put them on a bird table - the birds love
them. Whenever I've been lifting turf to establish a plant border or bed,
leatherjackets are invariably uncovered. I've always had a companion
blackbird or robin who will sit to one side, then when I walk away briefly
from the bit I've just uncovered will dart down pick up a grub and
re-position itself for the next swoop. Sometimes, if they're a bit braver
and closer, you can pick a grub up and throw it to the bird.
Biological control
-
 The
biological control for leatherjackets is the predatory nematode Steinernema
feltiae. It will not control all leatherjackets but can reduce
numbers which in turn will reduce the damage to grassland and turf.
Apply between March and June when soil temperature should be + 12 °C,
later in heavy soils, earlier in light soils.
Leatherjacket Killer : Natural Pest Control
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Reasons to like Leatherjackets - They grow into daddy-long-legs, and
daddy-long-legs:
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- Have a cute children's story-book name.
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- Look like they were designed by a cartoonist
with ludicrously long legs that make them fly in a stately fashion while
often crash landing in an amusing manner - you need to look carefully.
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Belong to the Diptera - the true
flies, that have one pair of functional flying wings while the second pair
is reduced to small "halteres" like little knobs on sticks. This
small pair spin around furiously in flight and act like a gyroscope touching
tiny, sensitive hairs around them if the insect changes direction so
providing in-flight feedback about direction of flight, acceleration etc.
I've always thought that was cool.
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Leatherjacket Killer : Natural Pest Control
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