Anyone dealt with leatherjackets damaging a new-build lawn and garden?

[Casperroonie]

We've just moved to a new build, had the lawn done amd spent a small fortune. The grass and garden in general was looking lovely and I was really enjoying it, but in March I noticed it was really patchy and dying. When I looked carefully I saw massive maggots/worms.

I called the gardener who did the work and he said it was a leather jacket infestation, likely because of heavy rain fall over winter.

Being a new build, he said there was nothing to balance out the infestation and birds would normally eat them.

Unfortunately the seagulls scare away pretty much any bird that might eat them.

He put nematodes down and said he'd have to repeat the treatment later in the year. I can only see a tiny improvement.

The other neighbours are having the same problem and everyone is upset after paying a small fortune to get their gardens done in the first place.

Has anyone else had this? What did you do?!?!?! Help!

do what your gardener has done. nematodes and reseed.

Did you use normal grass seed? Someone mentioned something about other type. I had no idea there was more than 1!

Has this thread been created twice as I have already posted?🤔

Thought we had cracked it last year when we didn't suffer but this spring, we have also suffered from the wriggly little blighters again.☹️
Good soil, strong grass, excellent drainage, a dose of nematodes and STILL our lawn is devastated.
Will re-seed and make sure we do a double (or triple) treatment this autumn.

The starlings are making a meal of them now but the damage is done.

We had this a few years ago and when the nematodes weren’t doing enough, this is what we did- we put down dark tarps in sections covering the grass overnight. In the morning, like 6am, we lifted each tarp section and as the disgusting little grubs were at the surface we grabbed each one and put them in a tub and disposed of them. We did this 3-4 days in a row and it got better after than and our grass grew back.

I did it by accident on another post sorry, not very good on this.

Thank you for your reply. I'm at my wits ends, will have to persevere I guess. 😣

Gosh I'd need a strong stomach for this, they're so revolting.

You don’t need to grab them. Just pull the tarp bank and the birds will take care of them

@Casperroonie Was the lawn seeded originally, or did you have turf put down?

Leatherjackets ? No idea 😐 they were a thing other than the ones you wear.

Bleugh, I've just Googled them - I hadn't realised that they're basically the baby stage of a daddy-long-legs!

My PIL had them at their last house in just the same situation as you OP, new build house and new grass. It took several treatments of the nematodes to get rid of them but once they were gone they didn't come back.

Put them for the birds.