Are frit flies ruining our lawn? If so, what’s the least harmful way to get rid of them?

blizeH

Hi, our lawn is very patchy this year and this morning we noticed lots of frit flies buzzing around on it.

We’re considering using insectasides or nematodes to get rid of their larve but thought I’d post here just in case there was a better way.

We have two young children who play on the lawn every day so it’d be nice to have something safe that we don’t need to worry about

Thank you

teaselMay

Do you also have a dog? It looks like my lawn.

I'd give it a gentle rake and some water, aerate it with a fork, perhaps a bag of tough grass seed focused on the worst areas and see what happens. If you think it is flies diluted washing up liquid will get rid of aphids without harming the grass or the children.

twopenny

There is more moss and daisy than lawn there and the brown patches are dead moss.

I'm getting some like that where the current dry weather is killing it.

If there's flies there it probably is where the dead stuff is. They tend to go for rotting stuff.

It's the lawn that needs dealing with, then the flies will go. After the holidays or when we get a rainy spell, it would be an idea to deal with it

I was wondering about a dog

blizeH

Thanks both! We don't have a dog, but we do have two cats who are probably weeing on it

Will try the things you suggested, it makes sense that fixing the lawn could also remove the flies, I guess I wasn't sure if they were the problem or a symptom

Cheslea2010

It needs scarifying and re-seeding. Also a treatment for leatherjackets will prevent the roots from getting eaten.

blizeH

Cheslea2010 said:

It needs scarifying and re-seeding. Also a treatment for leatherjackets will prevent the roots from getting eaten.

Thank you Will have a go at scarifying over the weekend, I haven't done it before