Author Topic: Craneflies in the polytunnel? (Read 1898 times)

caracroft · « **on:** June 24, 2014, 07:32:35 pm »

Hi everyone,

I seem to have a cranefly brothel going on in my polytunnel. I dont know much about them and everyone i ask say they bury there eggs in grass and the larvae eat the grass roots.

Does anyone know if they are a danger in the tunnel? Most of my plants are mature and any new plants are raised in modules and planted out when they have grown a bit.

If they are a danger to any particular type of plant what should I do to control them - I am tying to be as organic as possible.

Thank you

Caracroft

Ina · « **Reply #1 on:** June 25, 2014, 07:31:14 am »

They'll eat all your nice little juicy seedlings from the bottom up! Kill all leather jackets at sight... I think that's the only way to get rid of them.

Fleecewife · « **Reply #2 on:** June 25, 2014, 12:38:28 pm »

As Ina says, kill leatherjackets. These are the larval stage of the crane fly, live just under the soil and eat your plants (especially those lovely pot raised juicy fresh ones

) from the roots up. You will see that something's at work because your plants will keel over, often several in a row.
To find the leatherjackets, you need to scratch around in the soil around the roots, and any grey fat squashy things you find - squash them

You might also find them as you dig your soil over in the winter. hens love them

People hate them

In the pasture, birds such as starlings and corvids search them out and seem to find loads. The adults should really be destroyed as well to prevent them laying more eggs.

Craneflies do normally live and reproduce in pasture, so tend to be most numerous in newly converted veg beds, created from pasture or rough ground.