Category Archives: Leatherjackets and Crane Flys

Leatherjackets are the larvae stage of the common crane fly and spend the winter months in the soil eating their way through the roots of grass.

These grubs can be very damaging to a lawn. If a large animal such as a badger or fox finds these grubs on your lawn then they can rip up your entire lawn overnight.

In these pages find out how to identify if you have these pests in your lawn, and how to treat them.

Question: Crane flies for ten years

A crane fly

I received this interesting question in August 2020 about crane flies attacking a lawn year after year. “We’ve had leatherjackets now for ten plus years, gradually getting worse every year. We were of the understanding that crane flies return to where they were larvae.” This is an interesting question about crane flies. Find out more about them and if they return.

Question: Lawn seeding after leatherjacket damage

A readers lawn ready for seeding after leatherjacket damage

I received this interesting question in the summer of 2020 about seeding a lawn after it had been destroyed by leatherjackets. The reader asks if the timing of sowing the new grass seed should be delayed to prevent re-infection by the pests. Find out the answer to this interesting lawn question and why there are other factors you should consider.

Leatherjackets in your lawn? Follow these steps …

If you have leatherjackets in your lawn it may end up looking like this!

The spring of 2020 has seen a huge rise in the number of leatherjackets infecting lawns. Two mild winters and a damp summer combined with the eradication of any controls has resulted in an explosion in numbers of the insects. If your lawn looks to be suffering, have a dig around, you may find the culprit. So what do you do if you find leatherjackets in your lawn?