Moles, ants or grubs in your lawn?
Pest Control for Lawns in Maidstone & Malling Kent
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Lawn Pest Control Maidstone and Kent
What pests do you get in lawns?
Lawns often come under attack from pests. The most damaging include leather jackets, chafer grubs, moles & ants.
Leather jackets and chafer grubs will eat the grass roots, causing dead patches. Birds, badgers and foxes also caused massive damage to lawns by pulling up the grass to get to the tasty grubs.
Moles and ants whilst not directly targeting grass plants, will cause heavy damage to lawns with their constant digging.
What do lawn pests look like?
Moles
Most people have never seen a real mole, but nearly everyone knows what a mole hill is and how destructive a mole in lawns can be.
- Can dig up to 25 metres of tunnels each day
- Shallow surface runs collapse when walked on, potentially causing injury
- Bring stones and soil to the surface, which can damage mowers and windows when mowing
- Runs eventually collapse causing a bumpy lawn
Ants
Meadow ants, black ants and red ants are often found digging up lawns with their nest building.
- Colonies can live for years, digging up more of your lawn as they expand each season
- Ants can bring weed seeds to the surface of your lawn
- Soil brought to the surface can damage mowers and create a bumpy surface
- The fine soil ants bring to the surface is an ideal germination area for lawn weeds
Leather Jackets
The larvae of Crane fly (Daddy long legs), these pests can cause the destruction of an entire lawn in days
- These grubs eat the roots of grass, causing patchy dead areas in your lawn
- Shady areas, fine grasses and new grass are the most affected parts of lawns with leather jacket infestations
- Prefer to live in finer, well maintained lawns
- Birds, badgers, foxes and moles can destroy lawns overnight when digging out leather jackets, ripping out chunks of grass. Starlings, magpies and crows pecking at your lawn are usually a sign of grubs
Chafer Grubs
The larvae of the Chafer Beetle (May Bug), chafer grubs feast on grass roots and metamorphosis occurs beneath the lawn
- Chafer grubs live under lawns, eating grass roots, causing bare patches and dead areas
- Prefer to live in more established, rougher lawns
- Creamy - white coloured with an orange head, chafer grubs are normally found slightly curled in a "C" shape
- Birds, foxes, badgers and moles relish chafer grubs, and will dig up your lawn to get at them
How do I control lawn pests?
Getting rid of moles in gardens
Moles are creatures of folklore. There are many old wive’s tales on how to get rid of moles in lawns. These include putting garlic in the runs, spraying peppermint oil over your lawn and putting plastic windmills in the molehills! From experience, we have seen that clients that have tried these methods still had moles. Trying these methods delayed effective garden mole removal, leading to even more lawn damage occurring!
A method that does work is professional mole trapping by an experienced mole catcher.
Getting rid of ants in garden lawns
Ants in lawns can be displaced by applying specific nematodes (Steinernema feltiae) to the nest site.
These microscopic worms are natural predators of ants and the application of these will often cause the ants to re-locate their nest site.
Nematodes for ants are available here from Amazon.co.uk and can be watered into your lawn, carefully following the instructions.
Black ants can pose a health risk if they enter buildings. These can be controlled with specialist treatments. Ant powder can knock down the numbers, but will rarely eliminate the entire colony. Gel baits, when properly applied, can eliminate entire colonies if they are posing a health threat. This is pest professionally applied by a qualified pest controller.
WARNING: Never pour boiling water onto an ant nest in your lawn – this WILL kill your grass!
Getting rid of leather jackets in lawns
The larvae of craneflies, these are one of the biggest causes of lawn damage in the uk.
Chemical control for leather jackets was withdrawn from general use several years ago, meaning numbers have increased to become a major lawn problem.
The current go to control method is the application of nematodes for leather jackets (Steinernema feltiae).
These must be applied in the Spring (double dose) and Autumn, carefully following the instructions for best results. This natural, chemical free biological control will eliminate a proportion of the leather jackets with each application to reduce overall numbers in your lawn.
Being chemical free, this treatment is safe for pets and children too.
Nematodes for leather jackets are available here from Amazon.com.
Good lawn care will also help with leatherjackets. They love to live in thatch, so regular aeration and scarifying will make your lawn less attractive to them.
Getting rid of chafer grubs in lawns
The larvae of Chafer Bugs, these grubs chew through grass roots. Attractive to birds, foxes and badgers that will rip up your lawn to get to them.
As with leather jackets, chemical control for chafer grubs was withdrawn from general use several years ago, meaning numbers have increased to become a major lawn problem.
The current biological control method is the application of nematodes for chafer grubs (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora ). These microscopic parasites of chafer grubs are usually applied in the Autumn, with heavy infestations also being treated in the Spring when soil temperatures are above 12C. carefully following the instructions for best results. This natural, chemical free biological control will eliminate a proportion of the chafer grubs with each application, reducing overall numbers in your lawn.
Nematodes for chafer grubs are available from Amazon.com.
Good lawn care will also help with chafer grub control. They love to live in thatch, so regular aeration and scarifying will help make your lawn less attractive to them.
Can my lawn be repaired after pest damage?
Yes! Once the pests have been brought under control, we can repair your lawn with our Lawn Re-starter renovation, or for clients on our Gold Annual Lawn Treatment Programme, our Lawn Booster Package.
Pest damaged lawns rarely recover without help, so proper ground preparation then turfing or seeding will get your lawns back up to scratch. Removing sub-surface thatch and aerating the ground will also reduce re-infestation.
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ME6, Snodland ME14, ME15, Bearsted, Detling, Grove Green, Maidstone, Penenden Heath, Vinters Park, Weavering ME16, Allington, Barming ME17, Boughton Monchelsea, Chart, Coxheath, Hollingbourne, Hucking, Harrietsham, Lenham, Linton ME18, Mereworth, Teston, Yalding ME19, Birling, East Malling, Kings Hill, West Malling ME20, Aylesford, Larkfield
