On Tuesday, 9 February 2016 11:34:01 UTC, Janet wrote:

Well, he could make a start by laying a sheet of black plastic on the
lawn at night (opened-out compost bag) to bring leatherjackets to the
surface; then remove it in the morning ...]

That's my plan. The quick experiment with weed fabric the other night proved very effective.

[...] and scatter a little bird seed.

I'll probably stick to manual clearance as with two cats I wouldn't be comfortable inadvertently luring birds to what could possibly be their last meal!

Mathew