Leather Jacket Caterpillars

Leather Jacket Caterpillars Control Austin, TX

leather jacket pest control austin texasAt Magic Pest, we get a lot of questions on what type of bug is this or what type of bug causes this much damage. Trust us, you don’t want to wait too late on managing a bug or rodent infestation. We take pest control seriously and do our absolute best to take care of your home the way we would take care of our own. We are always here to help and happy to come on site for free estimates and consultations to help you identify what special little friends you’re dealing with. We like bugs so you don’t have to! Our pest control service team consistently is voted as one of best in the Austin area.

What Type of Pest Problem Do You Have?

Leather Jacket Caterpillars can be hard to identify because they live underground. The damage they cause happens underground. Our technicians offer free consultations and free estimates year round for a pest control plan that will work for your budget. We deal with common pests like carpenter ants to other insects and even rodents that can carry diseases and cause health issues.

Identifying Leather Jacket Caterpillars

Leather Jacket Caterpillars, like other caterpillars, are just a stage in the life cycle. Leather Jacket Caterpillars are crane fly larvae, the larvae stage of the leather jacket crane flies Crane Fly Control | Austin Pest Control | Magic Pest And Lawn – Austin, TX. These caterpillars are very grub-like in appearance. Leather jacket caterpillars can cause extensive damage to turf, golf courses and greenways. These pests live in the soil and eat roots and the bottoms of plants. While these caterpillars can cause turf damage or death, the majority of turf damage can come from birds and badgers digging up these tasty treats. Calling service professionals to help identify and create detailed pest control treatments that could help your situation, as well as other pests, even termites, is the best step in a pest control plan.

Leather Jacket Caterpillar Damage

Overall damage to your turf can be devastating. A large infestation, which can happen very easily, of 1000 caterpillars or more, can quickly kill an entire section of previously healthy sod. Adult craneflies, also called daddy long legs (not the spiders) lay eggs in grass in late summer. Eggs will hatch in early fall just a few weeks later into leatherjacket larvae. The leathery looking caterpillars are grayish-brown and immediately start eating plant roots. These leatherjacket larvae caterpillars will overwinter underground during winter months without doing much damage until late spring or warm weather. Empty casings can be found from where they will pupate in the soil during this time as well. 

Pest Control Treatment Options

If you discover leather jacket caterpillars or have reason to think this is what’s damaging your lawn or turf, give our experts at Magic Pest a call today! We can help you identify the culprit and suggest the best solution to eradicating it to get rid of it for good. Leather jacket larvae may respond to a few different types of pest control service:

  1. Biological Control – using a microorganism that enters the bodies of leatherjacket caterpillars, this organism then infects those larvae with a deadly bacterial disease. Usually applied in Fall.
  2. Organic Control – heavily water the area and cover the entire area with a black plastic sheeting. Leave plastic overnight and remove it slowly in the morning by pulling the plastic up very slowly so the grubs don’t fall off and escape back into the soil. The grubs will have attached themselves to the plastic. Not the most fun way to remove them but very eco-friendly pest control. 
  3. Chemical Control – best applied by a pest control specialist, like Magic Pest!

The Right Pest Control Treatment

We can help you by creating a pest control treatment plan to deal specifically with your pest problems year round. We’ll discuss the best way to take care of your leather jacket caterpillars and their adult crane flies so that it’s not a year round continuous problem for you, your plants and your property. We can also discuss common pests that we can help treat for.

Exceptional Service from Our Pest Control Professionals

Our team of pest control professionals takes your house, your business, your health and your cost into every element of the work we do. We treat our customers like family by doing a thorough inspection so we can present the best pest control treatment options for your problem. We customize the work we do so that you don’t pay for products you don’t need and we don’t use chemicals that aren’t needed.

Share Your Home with Family & Pets, Not Pests

When you realize you’re sharing your home or business with spiders, termites, flies or furry rodents, our team of pest control professionals is here to offer exceptional service at every visit. Let our team protect your humans and pets from unwelcome pests. Leather jacket caterpillars to cockroaches will be a thing in the past with Magic Pest on your side.

Call Magic Pest Control Service

Whatever pests or rodents you’re finding, we can help you get rid of them! Our pest control service technicians are trained to be the best in Texas! Give us a call today for your free estimate. No matter your environment, we have safe products that protect while still being effective. We’ve worked in homes, garden centers and businesses across the Austin area. Let our team know what questions you may have about our pest control treatments from common pests.