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

"cosmos" wrote in message
...

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


--
cosmos
you need a pesticide called cross fire and no it wont harm your border and
you only need spray it on the lawn

"cosmos" wrote in message
...

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,

You can check to see if you have leather jackets in your lawn by wetting
an area, placing a piece of black plastic over that area and then
inspect under the covering the next day to see if any leather jackets
have surfaced.

Look carefully because these legless, browny-green, creatures tend to
blend in with the colour of the grass. Starlings love them and they will
work tirelessly to find them down amongst the roots of the grass.

You will need to hold the covering in place with suitable weights so
that daylight is precluded.

These sites may help: http://whatcom.wsu.edu/cranefly/faq.htm

http://www.weedcontroluk.com/Special...r_jackets.html

Regards,
Emrys Davies.

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?

Why use anything? Leave the birds to do the job for you.

purebred poultry
www.geocities.com/fenlandfowl

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...

the leatherjackets will eat the roots of the grass thus making your lawn
patchy spraying is the only way to control and crossfire pesticide doesnt
harm birds
"Compost Nut" wrote in message
...
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...

pied piper wrote:
the leatherjackets will eat the roots of the grass thus making your
lawn patchy spraying is the only way to control and crossfire
pesticide doesnt harm birds

How do you know it doesn't harm birds? Are you saying that by feeding
nestlings with a deadly chemical, it will not harm them? How then does it
kill the leatherjackets?
Thosands of people leave the birds to do the job as starlings are the real
experts, and still have nice lawns.
Why do some people insist in spraying gallons of poisons on their garden to
kill just about everything that moves?

purebred poultry
www.geocities.com/fenlandfowl

pammyT wrote:
[...]
Thosands of people leave the birds to do the job as starlings are
the
real experts, and still have nice lawns.
Why do some people insist in spraying gallons of poisons on their
garden to kill just about everything that moves?

Because we've been trained to think everything we do should cost
money; and because people don't know that most pest attacks are
trivial.

--
Mike.

"pammyT" wrote in message
...
pied piper wrote:
the leatherjackets will eat the roots of the grass thus making your
lawn patchy spraying is the only way to control and crossfire
pesticide doesnt harm birds

How do you know it doesn't harm birds? Are you saying that by feeding
nestlings with a deadly chemical, it will not harm them? How then does it
kill the leatherjackets?
Thosands of people leave the birds to do the job as starlings are the real
experts, and still have nice lawns.
Why do some people insist in spraying gallons of poisons on their garden
to
kill just about everything that moves?

purebred poultry
www.geocities.com/fenlandfowl

it doesnt kill the leatherjackets it makes them rise to the surface where
they die naturally .
Please engage brain before typing

pied piper wrote:
"pammyT" wrote in message
...
pied piper wrote:
the leatherjackets will eat the roots of the grass thus making your
lawn patchy spraying is the only way to control and crossfire
pesticide doesnt harm birds

How do you know it doesn't harm birds? Are you saying that by feeding
nestlings with a deadly chemical, it will not harm them? How then
does it kill the leatherjackets?
Thosands of people leave the birds to do the job as starlings are
the real experts, and still have nice lawns.
Why do some people insist in spraying gallons of poisons on their
garden to
kill just about everything that moves?

purebred poultry
www.geocities.com/fenlandfowl

it doesnt kill the leatherjackets it makes them rise to the surface
where they die naturally .
Please engage brain before typing

I suggest you engage yours since you never explained how it works in the
first place. What's the point in putting chemicals down when the starlings
will do the same job for free.

--�
purebred poultry
www.geocities.com/fenlandfowl