The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Land Management => Topic started by: dizzykizzy on September 13, 2014, 02:03:45 pm
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We have 5 acres and my friend has been grazing her two horses on it over the summer. Since she took them away the crows are attacking the heavily grazed areas and literally ripping up and killing the grass. Does anyone have any idea why or what we can do to stop them please?
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I have sen gras torn up earlier in the year with birds getting at grubs under the surface, but I would have thought it a bit late in the season, although it might be worth turning over the top turf to look for leather jacket grubs.
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Thank you Louise, what can we do if there are grubs?
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Thank you Louise, what can we do if there are grubs?
Let the birds get them :thumbsup: They won't wreck the grass and they are doing you a service, raking as well as grub removal. There are maybe still daddylonglegs hatching from the leatherjackets so they could be eating those. Roll it later to settle the ground back and all will be well.
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they are also really efficient at poo spreading anything as they are looking for any bugs feeding on the poo!!!
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thanks for answering but they most definitely are destroying the grass, huge amounts of it :(
I will try and get some photos
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Are you sure it's crows 'cos this time of year I get large circular areas of conjoined divots overnight from badgers hunting for grubs - and over 2-3 nights they can easily dig up a couple of acres.
For the lawn i run the mulching deck over it to break it down to fine tilth - the meadows sort themselves out over a wet winter anyway
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I doubt they are. They are eating bad stuff for you and adding a lot of nitrogen. Wait and see what comes back next year. Horses will do far more damage to pasture than any other creature on earth.
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Horses will do far more damage to pasture than any other creature on earth.
Having outwintered both cattle and horses on heavy clay land we found the cattle poached far more than the horses did. I reckon it is because a cows hoof has more cutting edges than a horses, they also spent more time hanging around gateways and feeders while the horses spread around the fields nibbling grass.
Mind you our management helped the horses as they got bales of hay dropped in different areas each day and the cattle had ring feeders for haylage that were a pain to move.
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Photos would help - it's always difficult to give an accurate opinion until you see what's being discussed.
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Been out today and not had time to take photos but I will. Definitely crows, I can see them out of the window, more than 100 at a time :(
We did have badgers before but the field is pretty much 100% dog proofed so I don't think they can get in now.
Ok got some photos and also had a dig, pretty sure they are Chafer grubs we have :(
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v401/dizzykizzy19/001_zpsea440b60.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/dizzykizzy19/media/001_zpsea440b60.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v401/dizzykizzy19/002_zps789cbd56.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/dizzykizzy19/media/002_zps789cbd56.jpg.html)
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v401/dizzykizzy19/003_zps9524a3ce.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/dizzykizzy19/media/003_zps9524a3ce.jpg.html)
disgusting creatures :(
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So chafer grubs themselves will damage grass root systems and then when other wildlife discover a ready supply of grubs then they'll be doing just what you describe. I expect caw has gone out to every murder and parliament in the district.
Well described in this website: http://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/novice/pests-diseases-of-lawns/chafer-grub (http://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/novice/pests-diseases-of-lawns/chafer-grub)
Nemasys do a water-on chafer grub nematode but the quantity required to do a whole field my be expensive. You could try just treating the affected patches.
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wow, pretty amazing really
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The individual clods we get ripped out (assuming badgers) are much bigger than yours with total circle sizes from yours to twice/three times the size. And they happen overnight. I'll prove it when my trail camera arrives.
But the mess they cauae here does correct itself over winter.
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That's what my fields look like after I've run a harrow over them.
Surely they are just dragging up all the thatch and dead stuff? I don't like the look of those chafer grubs though , must go and look them up :-\ . We have leatherjackets on our heavy, wet clay - could do with a few crows maybe ;D
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Hmm, I think it will be prohibitively expensive to treat even the bad areas so will just have to hope the Winter sorts it out as others have said. Thanks for all your help :eyelashes:
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If you have so many crows they are probably rooks. MY dad taught us the old rule.....If you see a flock of crows they're rooks. If you see a rook on it's own it's a crow. Either way they are doing you a good turn, clearing your pasture of maggots. All will resolve itself over the winter.
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The chaffers come in different types. some with a 12 month life cycle some 3-4 years. You will need to harrow and reseed the area or the fine soil will offer a home to the adult females next year. If you spray the whole pasture now with Cyren or a similar product you will kill them all within about 24 hours. If you leave them they will continue to destroy the grass and then burrow deeper under ground to over winter. The cold wont kill them and the ones that emerge next year will be looking for a nice sandy spot to lay next years eggs. Killing them now will reduce the numbers visiting you next year.
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Does sound like the crows are doing you a favour, even if it is unsightly for a while
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This was on gardeners question time, consensus was leave them too it. -they should stop in cold weather.
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thanks all, going to leave and see what happens. We thought it was badgers 3/4 years ago when it happened, perhaps it was crows on the lifecycle someone suggested :sunshine: