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Pest Control
The regulation on the use of pesticides in lawn care is tightly controlled by legislation, which means that the application of professional pesticides and herbicides can only be done by trained operators who hold the NPTC certificates. This ensures that all applications are done safely without harm to people or the environment. For croquet clubs this can be a problem and usually means that a professional has to be employed for the purpose.Some clubs appoint a member to be certificated. This is usually two days training and costs around £400. |
Worms
There are some 28 species of worm found in UK soil of which only four are of the casting variety. They are surface feeders and the ones that can spoil the playing surface leaving patches of bare soil after mowing. Casting worms do aerate the lawn but can also cause extensive disruption to the playing surface. In extreme circumstances burrowing animals such as moles and badgers can destroy huge areas of turf in their search for worms. Until now pesticides have been the only effective method of control but these have been withdrawn from the market and are no longer available. However, new methods of controlling worms have evolved and do not require the application of pesticides. In essence the maintenance programme must address the rootzone condition and convert it into an environment that is not favoured by casting worms. The objective isn't to kill worms, just to persuade them to go elsewhere. The most economic approach is to incorporate a root zone conditioner into the annual maintenance programme. For more information, please contact me |
Ant Hills
Ant hills can ruin the surface of a croquet lawn and create bare patches as a result of mowing. At Bygrave Croquet Club I have conducted a test over 3 years using Crossfire 480 which is normally used to kill leather jackets and frit fly. There had been anecdotal evidence that this product would also control ants. But after 3 years I have concluded that this doesn't work. So in 2014 I tried a new method which has proved to be a great success. I use a proprietary Pyrethrin based Ant Killer powder which is widely available from garden centres. Using a screwdriver or spike, make a hole into the nest about two to three inches deep and wide enough at the top to accept a small funnel. Then give one or two squirts of powder into the funnel. This deposits powder neatly into the hole so there is little or no powder left on the surface. Almost immediately the ants busy themselves and carry the powder away into the nest. This seems to kill the nests very effectively. The holes close up within a few days and there are no unsightly white powder patches left on the surface. In April 2015 the infestation has returned and I treated more than 100 ant hills using the same method. Within a few days about 20 more ant hills appeared and I treated those. a few days more and 12 have appeared and I am about top treat these. I did notice that some of the first treated hills became active again.There was a lot of rain after the first treatment so this may be the reason.
Ant hills can ruin the surface of a croquet lawn and create bare patches as a result of mowing. At Bygrave Croquet Club I have conducted a test over 3 years using Crossfire 480 which is normally used to kill leather jackets and frit fly. There had been anecdotal evidence that this product would also control ants. But after 3 years I have concluded that this doesn't work. So in 2014 I tried a new method which has proved to be a great success. I use a proprietary Pyrethrin based Ant Killer powder which is widely available from garden centres. Using a screwdriver or spike, make a hole into the nest about two to three inches deep and wide enough at the top to accept a small funnel. Then give one or two squirts of powder into the funnel. This deposits powder neatly into the hole so there is little or no powder left on the surface. Almost immediately the ants busy themselves and carry the powder away into the nest. This seems to kill the nests very effectively. The holes close up within a few days and there are no unsightly white powder patches left on the surface. In April 2015 the infestation has returned and I treated more than 100 ant hills using the same method. Within a few days about 20 more ant hills appeared and I treated those. a few days more and 12 have appeared and I am about top treat these. I did notice that some of the first treated hills became active again.There was a lot of rain after the first treatment so this may be the reason.
I discovered this video on You Tube which shows exactly what a fire ant nest looks like. Although this was filmed in the USA I imagine that it is representative of the ant nests that we get in the UK and shows just what we are up against. From this it seems that a number of ventilation shafts emanate from each nest and it is these shafts that I am filling with ant powder. If you find a better method please let me know.
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Frit Fly and Leather Jackets
Chloropidae is the family of flies that are known as Frit Flies or Grass Flies. These small flies are usually black or yellow in colour and, as their name suggests, often inhabit grass areas. In spring the larvae can destroy the central stems of turf grasses such as bents, fescues and ryes. Sometimes there can be large infestations and these can cause significant areas of grass to turn yellow. Leather-jackets are the larvae of the Crane Fly, commonly known as Daddy Long Legs. They attack grass plants at or below ground level which then die off rapidly. Over winter damage becomes visible in the spring. They make an attractive meal for crows which peck quite large holes in their daily search for food. Leather Jackets can be controlled by using a soil nutrient/conditioner which is applied in liquid form - please contact me for details and supply.
Frit Fly
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Crane Fly
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Leather Jacket
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Chafer Grubs
Chafer grubs are the larvae of the chafer beetle and they feed on the roots of grasses and other plants. Infestations can be very localised and sporadic and usually occur between autumn and spring. Areas of lawn might become yellowish and considerable damage can be done by crows, foxes and badgers feeding on the grubs. There are two ways of dealing with this problem, Nematodes which are applied in August to October, they are environmentally safe and do not require a licence. They can also be controlled by using a soil nutrient/conditioner which does not require pesticide certification and is applied in liquid form - please contact me for details and supply.
Chafer grubs are the larvae of the chafer beetle and they feed on the roots of grasses and other plants. Infestations can be very localised and sporadic and usually occur between autumn and spring. Areas of lawn might become yellowish and considerable damage can be done by crows, foxes and badgers feeding on the grubs. There are two ways of dealing with this problem, Nematodes which are applied in August to October, they are environmentally safe and do not require a licence. They can also be controlled by using a soil nutrient/conditioner which does not require pesticide certification and is applied in liquid form - please contact me for details and supply.
Chafer beetle
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Chafer grub
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Bird and burrowing animal damage
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