At this time of year I am often called for advice from potential customers who are concerned that their lawn may be affected by typical lawn pests, they may be seeing birds or other animals picking at areas of the lawn or unexplained patches or thinning grass.

The first thing to do is to get a trowel and have a little dig in and around the area you are concerned with, birds are often picking at ants or worms which may be near the surface as its been so wet this spring. The birds also pick at moss and thatch that may be present to help with nest building often providing a very effective "scarification" but only in small areas.

There are other critters that are actually a concern and if the population of them is high can be bad for the lawn. The two main lawn pests that we come across for customers in West Sussex, Chichester, Emsworth, Bognor Regis and the surrounding areas are Leatherjackets and Chafer Grubs

The main methods of control are biological and cultural, as members of the U.K. Lawncare Association we are able to share best practice and learnings from Independent Lawncare experts from across the UK and apply these to the grass types and soils around Chichester, Pulborough, Emsworth and the surrounding areas. Earlier this year, at the Association's conference, we had a very informative presentation from one of the lead scientists at BASF who manufacture the Nematodes that are used to control these problems. I find it's always best to listen and learn from the people who make and field trial products as understanding how they work and creating the environment for successful application is the key to achieving control

Leatherjackets
* what are they?
* How do I recognise them?
* How do I control them?

What are Leatherjackets?
* Leatherjackets are the larvae of the Crane fly (Daddy long legs)

Leatherjacket Facts:
* The adult Crane Fly has long legs with a body about 25mm long.
* Commonly active in the late summer to autumn period with each female laying 200-300 eggs. There can be a smaller amount of activity around May.
* The eggs hatch into larvae, called leatherjackets within about 14 days and remain in the soil for about 9 months before pupating into next season's Crane Fly.
* The Leatherjacket exists in the soil from the autumn to the following spring in your lawn, by eating the stems of your grass plants. This results in the lawn beginning to turn yellow and die back in areas.
* Damage generally becomes noticeable during the spring caused by the feeding that occurred the previous autumn and winter.
* Secondary damage from birds, badgers, foxes, moles and other small mammals searching and pecking for larvae may become evident.

Solution
* Keep a look out for Crane Fly activity throughout the late summer. The time to act is two to three weeks after that activity when the young leatherjackets are most vulnerable to control.
* Monitor your lawn in the autumn for larvae activity and secondary damage.
* Call Lawnrite for advice or follow the control methods below.

Control
* There is a manual way which you can use to try to catch and remove the pests, this involves covering the lawn area with a black plastic sheet or damp hessian sacks at night in damp conditions. Peel back the sheet slowly in the morning and collect up the surfaced leatherjackets. Make sure that you peel back the sheet slowly, for if you just peel it right back, some of the leatherjackets will escape back down into the lawn to get away from the daylight.
* There is also a biological treatment available for controlling leatherjackets in lawns, flower beds and vegetable plots. This is a pathogenic nematode, which is watered into the turf or soil. The nematodes enter the bodies of leatherjackets and infect them with a bacterial disease. To be effective, the nematode requires soil that is well drained but moist and with a minimum temperature of 12°C (54°F). The turf around the edge of affected areas should be targeted to deal with larvae spreading out from infestation “hot spots” in the lawn. However, by the time areas of infestation become apparent, the soil may be too cold for nematodes to be effective.
* As a preventive measure, you can apply nematodes in September to early October. It’s important that Nematodes are applied as soon as possible after purchase; make sure you follow the suppliers’ instructions for use. You may find you need to water the lawn before and for two, three even four weeks after application to ensure the soil is sufficiently moist for nematode activity and for them to survive.
* The product also needs to applied when there is no direct sunlight so early morning or evening is best as the Nematodes are susceptible to sunlight.
* Aeration and / or scarification before application can help as surface and sub surface thatch can hinder the passage of the product down to the area where the pest is to be found.
* Application of Nematodes does not need a licence and they are readily available from various suppliers and as there is a continued need to keep the ground moist following application there is little need to ask a professional to apply the product, thats why we advise our customers it's better and most effective to apply this product themselves so long as they follow the instructions
Once the grub population controls are in place we can help bring the lawn back to life.
* Currently no pesticide's are licenced for use for the control of these pests on lawns

After a tough winter and a late spring its only been over the last few weeks that temperatures have been consistently at a level which means that the grass will grow and it amazing how quickly this wonderful plant can spring back to life.

We have been busy putting down our organic based spring lawn feed which is balanced to provide a great boost to the grass plant. The feed also contain humic acid and seaweed meal great for the soil.

The long, wet and cool winter and early spring has meant in some cases moss has been able to out compete the slow grass growth, in those cases we apply moss control along with our spring lawn treatment and some over seeding if needed.

As the grass grows so do the weeds so our Selective Herbicides are being applied to those pesky weeds across Selsey,, Emsworth, Bosham,, Bognor Regis and Chichester

Some lawns that we care for in places like West Wittering are still drying out as the water table has been so high there and likewise some clay soils around Bognor Regis and Barnham have been slow to dry.

​This tme last year on the lovely South Coast the grass was growing from February and by mid April we had completed our spring lawn scarifications and lawn aerations. This year, as we won't complete the work unless the grass is growing and ground conditions are right, we will be continuing with this until early May.

We have also started our Lawn Renovations and Lawn Makeovers, thats where we effectively rejuvenate an exisiting lawn with a proven process using professional machinery, high grade grass seeds and organic top dressings. We have lawn renovations in Midhurst, Emsworth, Chichester, Bosham, Bognor Regis, Waterlooville and Barnham in the coming weeks.

For many customers the process of reducing moss in the lawn involves scarification for others, if its appropriate, we use an organic based product thats high in potassium that slowly degrades the moss and it contains a composting bacteria that converts this to additional nutrients in the lawn. We need soil temperatures above 10C to apply this product.

Spring is a great time to overseed just remember its better to lightly dress then and keep them moist through germination and whilst the new grass establishs also raise your mower blade the let the new grass root and branch.

Its so important to make sure that a annual feeding programme in West Sussex is balanced across the whole year and reflects the conditions the lawn faces. For instance lawn science tells us a lawn that is predominantly rye grass will need more Nitrogen then a finer ornamental lawn, if you put two much Nitrogen on that ornamental lawn it will probably generate excessive thatch and thats why we vary our feeds and amount we put down dependent on the lawn. If you currently use a large franchise lawn care operation why not ask the operative how much Nitrogen he will be putting down across the season, that will be the same feed thats applied in Devon, Yorkshire, Sussex regardless of any difference in prevailing soils, weather conditions etc.

As we are family operated and Independent we have access to a full spectrum of products which lets us offer a more bespoke lawn treatment service based on lawn science in West Sussex and Hampshire and, centred round Chichester.

I have seen a lot of Chafer Grub activity in the Sandy soils around West Chiltington and Pulborough if you think you have a lawn grub problem call us for advice. The only controls are now organic and you do not need a lawncare comoany to apply them but you do need to get the timing and aftercare right to get control of the problem.

As always if you have any questions or need help just get in touch.

Take Care

Annie

​