Forget triffids...it's the day of the chafer bug!

At first glance, the chafer grub appears harmless. It’s no bigger than your little finger nail.

However, the grubs are devouring lawns at an alarming rate.

And, it appears nothing will stop these pesty predators...ever since the EU banned the use of chemicals.

One resident, who lives off Lincoln Road, is among the many residents whose garden has been wrecked.

The man, who did not want to be named, is warning that if if nothing is done to wipe the grubs out, it could be the end of the traditional English lawn...at least in Horncastle.

His back lawn used to resemble a bowling green. Now, it is more like the Somme.

He’s not alone. His neighbours can reveal their own ‘chafer’ nightmare.

Some have already admitted defeat. Entire gardens have been dug up and lawns replaced with gravel.

The resident says he first encountered the grub a couple of years ago.

He’s shed blood, sweat and a few tears - not to mention spending a small fortune on lawn treatments -and thought he’d seen the last of them.

Last summer, his lawn was back to its very best. It was his pride and joy.

He says: “After the reallycold winter, I thought this year would be the same.

“But the hot weather and the drought seem to have made it worse then ever.

“They (the bugs) are smaller this year but there’s more of them .

“If you lift out a palm size pice of turf, they’ll be half a dozen of the little s*** in the soil.

“The dry weather has weakened the grass roots and the bugs are chomping away.

“The lawn is a right mess. It’s heartbreaking.”

In parts of Lincolnshire, the grubs have led to entire football pitches being ‘abandoned’ for the season.

It’s widely accepted that crows and other birds are responsible for the damage by pecking at the grass in search of the grubs which happen to be their favourite food.

The resident disagrees and adds: “We do get the occasional bird but it’s the actual bugs eating the roots of the grass.

“They are some biologicial treatment you can use but they’re useless.. All we can do is re-seed the lawn in the Autumn and hope that works.

“It seems really bad in Horncastle. Whole gardens have been ruined.

“If this was happening on this scale in London something would be done but yet again, we’re missing out. Perhaps
 after Brexit we might be able to use chemicals again.”