New Proactive, Biological Lawn Pest Treatment

Have you or your neighbours’ lawns suffered from Leatherjackets (Crane fly or Daddy Long-legs larvae) or Chafer grubs (May bug larvae)? Are you concerned about the damage they could cause your lawn in light of recent media reports?

From November 2016, a change in legislation means that the chemical solution that was previously used to treat lawn pests, will no longer be permitted by law.  We have therefore changed our pest control approach to comply with the UK and EU regulations.

The good news is, we now offer a totally biological (organic) treatment - Nematodes, which have been successfully researched and tested by GreenThumb.

What are Nematodes?

Nematodes are bacteria carrying microscopic worms. They are a natural biological solution used to control the most common lawn pests - Chafer grubs and Leatherjackets. Nematodes are target specific and will not affect other wildlife e.g. worms. We use Nemasys G to control Chafer grubs, and Nemasys J to control Leatherjackets.

When should the treatment be applied?

For best outcome, the treatments need to be applied proactively - whilst the lawn pest grub is quite small. However, because of this, there is only a small window of opportunity to treat the lawns. Therefore, the treatments needs to be applied within the next few weeks, weather permitting. If the lawn pests are in your lawn this will serve to reduce the population and, therefore, future damage to your lawn.

Damage is caused from the pests eating the roots of the grass plant and young shoots, additionally, secondary damage is caused by birds and animals rooting for the grubs.

It is essential to recognise that because of the biological nature of the treatment it cannot be guaranteed to control lawn pests when lawn damage is first noted and, the grubs are more mature.

The treatment should be seen as an insurance against lawn pest damage. 

How does the treatment work?

Once your lawn is treated, the Nematodes will start swimming to their target. Nematodes operate by entering the grubs via any orifice and, once inside, release a bacteria which kills the grubs over 3-5 days.

Final outcome...

If the treatment has been successful, your lawn will remain undamaged. It is important to note that by using this treatment, unlike chemical treatments, the grubs do not come to the surface to die.

What you should do next?

If you’d like this treatment, please can you call the local office, we will then give you a quote for the treatment and arrange a convenient date to apply it, if you are in agreement.