7 October 2025
Customer Question – Leatherjackets?
Q. “Hi, I am looking for advice on my lawn, I have noticed its starting to get yellow spots and the grass has slowed down a lot in parts, but ok in others, I am wondering if this may be leather jackets or does it just need feeding. I last fed the lawn about 9 weeks ago. I returned from holiday and noticed what looked like little worm mounds that I haven’t had before. I also have weeds coming through and would like some advice on how to deal with it. Thanks.” Aron by email
A. Thanks for the message and it sounds like you have a number of things going on. The only way to know if it is leatherjackets for sure is to lift a small piece of turf where it is going yellow and see what’s underneath. If its leatherjackets they will be there now, so they should be easy to spot. Other indications would be if you have you seen daddy long legs emerging and / or are the birds pecking at the lawn. If you find leatherjackets or have seen daddy long legs / birds pecking then you should treat with Nemasys Leatherjacket Killer nematodes now as this is the best time to treat.
Not sure what lawn food you are using but some “cheap” ones do need to be re-applied every 6 weeks. You want to switch to a fertiliser that promotes root growth rather than top growth at this time of year. Our Autumn Lawn Food is not cheap, but only needs applying once,s o does work out good value for money and does promote root growth, so is perfect for applying now.
Worms Casts (the soil pushed out by worms) are common at this time of year and unless you have loads can simply be brushed off once dry. If you have loads then you can treat to drive the worms away, without harming them by applying Sulphur Lawn.
As for weeds, there isn’t a natural solution for these other than digging them out or regular cutting of the grass to promote grass growth to out compete the weeds. Otherwise you would need to use a chemical weeds and feed product.
I hope this helps. Kind regards Jon @ Green Gardener
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