Let our birds eat the lawn grubs…

This continual wet weather has had us all grumbling, but what about our native wildlife?
They are impacted in so many ways, as our WILVOS 5441 6200 Hotline indicates.
One lady called last week, very upset after seeing several magpies dead, in and near her small
acreage property, and was worried it could be from pesticides. When insectivorous birds are
found dead or dying there is always the concern that pesticides may be the issue.
At this time of year lawn grubs are a problem for many people with their lawns. Many of the
chemicals are toxic to reptiles, birds and mammals so this concern is warranted.
There are many ways to lessen the damage done by lawn grubs if people understand their life
cycle. The brown moths are attracted to lights so it is best to leave the lights off on the patio
at lawn grub time of year. The moths will leave those little fluffy spots under your eaves and
these will develop into lawn grubs. If lawn grubs are a source of angst for you, then these
eggs can be removed.
I don’t have any lawn grub lavae or lawn grubs so think that my native garden attracts such a
variety of native birds that they must control the pests for me. All birds will eat insects. The
protein is also vital to feed to their young chicks. The peewees, magpies and kookaburras
are only occasional visitors to my yard so maybe the former come in and clean up any lawn
grubs, while I have seen a kookaburra with a snake in his beak. Such hard workers. Possums
love their moths and insects too.
The depletion of insects has become a world-wide problem. I remember growing up when
car grilles were covered in moths and other insects after driving at night in the country.
Where have they gone? Once chemicals hit the market it was all downhill.
Donna Brennan Wildlife Volunteers Assoc Inc (WILVOS) PO Box 4805 Sunshine Coast Mail
Centre Q 4560 PH 5441 6200 www.wilvos.org.au