Loads of larvae

Please could anyone help me identify these larvae so I can find out the best method of control? I have been online searching for about 8 hours and my best guess is Bibionid fly larvae or leatherjacket, but they seem a bit small for leather jacket, and I am new to all of this so would be really grateful for your help.
The larvae I have found have been just near the surface of a flower bed created last year in late summer/early autumn. Horse manure was added when the bed was made. There are literally hundreds of them, in little pockets of 25 or so at a time.

 

I think they are too small to be leatherjackets, also leather jackets are normally found under turf feeding on grass roots.
Personally I wouldn't treat them just cultivate the ground and let the birds have them. The larvae are probably feeding on the horse manure rather than your plants.

 

Thank you for replying. The bed borders lawn (turf laid by the builders last spring - badly!) and I haven’t lifted it to see if any larvae underneath but hopefully you’re right they are just munching the organic matter in the manure and not the plant roots or the lawn.
Would you not add nematodes as a precaution?
Thank you again

 

I have these in my manure that I got bagged for free from the stables. The birds have been having a field day on them.

 

Thanks for your reply- good to know it’s not just me. I would feel happier about leaving them to birds if it weren’t so close to my house/kitchen window where the birds don’t tend to be bold enough to come, and also where I don’t want loads of flies coming out. But good to know they probably arrived in the manure rather than the garden (and turfed area) already being full of them.

 

So what nematodes were you thinking of using?

 

The soil is full of all kinds of creatures, most of which I dont recognise, but mostly nature sorts them out into a fairly harmless mixture of preditors and pests.

I've never even found the likes of vine weevil, which they aint, to be a problem in the open ground.

Container growing is something different because then you are actually growing under unnatural conditions.

Id leave well alone and let nature sort it for you.

 

I was wondering about the Nemasys fruit and veg protection which is a mixture of different types of nematode to target various including root flies. This was mostly because I have spent all my pennies on plants and can’t bear the thought of them getting their roots eaten and dying. But happy to be reassured by you that it’s best to let nature take its course.
I’m new to gardening and it was just a massive shock to see so many hundreds in such a small area when I was hoeing, so I went into “panic mode”!
(By the way the bed doesn’t actually have veg or fruit, it has a selection of non edible plants like hebes and viburnum)

 

Well I really wouldn't spend money on nematodes unless 100% sure what you are dealing with, and it is the correct nematode.
Mostly the larva seem to be pretty much full grown to me, unless they are some alien species
Which they probably aint.

So, although I can understand an invasion next year could be a slight worry, I'd not be overly worried, but just keep an eye out for what might come out of those grubs a bit later.

 

Thank you, your advice is much appreciated