Creepy Crawlies

Having served our penance under a hosepipe ban last year, this summer Yorkshire was spared. That's not to say we were indulged with rain, only that we had so much over the previous winter that reservoirs and aquifers were replenished. Unfortunately it was still one of the region's driest ever summer seasons. and, like the rest of the country's grass, ours too ended up parched and yellow. Theoretically when it came to the lawn around our home, we could have used a hose to keep it green and lush or I guess, if we owned one, even a sprinkler.

We do try, however, to keep our garden watered from our vast array of water butts and, with insufficient reserves to maintain the lawn as well, we chose instead to neglect it, safe in the knowledge that the first rain shower would herald its recovery.

A month ago, the grass was returning to its naturally verdant state when suddenly, and despite the novelty of frequent rain showers, patches of dead turf once again began to appear. Investigation suggested that the roots had been detached from the blades and digging revealed an infestation of chafer grubs! Never before has the ugly chafer beetle chosen to lay its eggs in my garden and hopefully it will never do so again because, with the ban on domestic pesticide use for such an infestation, we resorted to nematodes.

I've never deployed them before and when they arrived with instructions to store inside the fridge until use, I began to feel a little nervous. Fortunately they were in a sealed container and when I opened it (well away from the kitchen) I was surprised to find a white powdery substance rather than the wriggling worms I had imagined; they are of course totally microscopic. Even in retirement I continue to live and learn!

Applying them did require a hosepipe after all to ensure the affected lawn was well and truly soaked so that the marauding nematodes could glide through the earth to find and poison the grubs. Somehow the whole process sounds rather macabre but they don't leave toxic residues or harm humans, beneficial insects or animals and do have the advantage of integrating pest management with organic gardening, assuming that they succeed in attacking their prey.

Three weeks later, I am pleased to say the spread of dying grass has stopped and green shoots have begun to appear. I've taken advantage of mild and moist conditions today to sow more grass seed and, fingers crossed, come the Spring I'm hoping once again for a thick green lawn at least until the next flood, plague, pestilence or disaster (please don't let it be another oil leak). The garden truly is a microcosm of the planet at large.

(Image by benmenting from Pixabay)