Leatherjacket
Description
Leatherjackets are the soil-dwelling, caterpillar-like juvenile stage of the flying insects commonly known as daddy-longlegs or crane flies. They are up to 3cm long with greyish-brown bodies. These grubs prefer heavy, poorly-drained soil.
Symptoms
Patches of lawn grass turning yellow and dying. When these areas are inspected the grass is easily removed as the insects feed on the roots. Another obvious sign that these grubs are present is when large numbers of birds, such as crows, magpies, rooks and starlings, can be seen pecking at the lawn searching for leatherjackets in the turf. Badgers and foxes may also dig up large areas of turf in search of the grubs.
