On 5/13/05 2:05 PM, in article , "cosmos"
wrote:

in the garden border last year when i was digging i kept digging up what
looked like leatherjackets i know cutworms though look familir
but at end of year every year we have probs wiv loads of daddy long
legs on garages behind our garden the lawn is thinner then usual could
they be damaging it
what can i do if i use something will it kill my border plants?

lisa

Hi Lisa,
A few years ago, just after I had purchased my home, I noticed
leatherjackets and was worried, much as you are, about the damage they might
cause to the lawn.
I did a controlled experiment: I sprayed only half of the front lawn
with a pesticide recommended by a garden shop.

Result: the larvae came to the surface on the sprayed half and were eaten by
sparrows and I assume, some were taken to feed their young.....I tried to
chase the birds away but they were determined...

End result with my lawn: The sprayed part and the unsprayed part looked
exactly the same. I never sprayed again.

Gary

PS: Side note and shooting from the hip: In the fall when the leatherjackets
hatch they provide food for the birds that are heading south. They need that
food if they are to survive the long journey and for the birds that stay, it
probably is required by them to build fat for the long winter.
Bottom Line: Nature has a way of looking after 'stuff' so long as we let
her...