Here we are well into spring and easing into summer. Stepping outside these days is like stepping into a big, wet oven. It’s brutal to us, but paradise to bugs. One bug, in particular, I’ve seen quite a few of recently is the Florida Southern Mole Cricket, a notorious lawn destroyer. So today, that’s going to be our topic. And while they still make the same nice trilling noises as other species of cricket, they’re quite a bit more destructive when it comes to your home and lawn. It plows your soil relentlessly in the search of feed and water and can turn your garden into a bare desert.
These crickets can fly, dig four meters deep, and swim. They arrange earthen caves with dense walls, where it lays from one to four hundred eggs fifteen centimeters deep in the soil. And while they cannot bite you, they can pinch you with their front
Let us warn you that this pest is very difficult to get rid of as it struggles to survive to the last, and Mother Nature helps it with this. In the southern regions of any country, the farmers know that their attack is worse than the plague. This is especially true if there is water nearby and the soils are sandy. All mole cricket control products are categorized into several types: the use of natural enemies, repelling plants, population control, insecticides, and traditional remedies.
Florida Southern Mole Cricket: Overview
If you’ve ever seen this insect, it’s about time you get learned up on it. These things are rough to look at for sure. They look like a mix of a cockroach, a lobster, and a shovel. Not only that, but they’re notorious when it comes to destroying lawns. Notoriously hardy is this little bug as well.
During the springtime, mole cricket activity shoots through the roof. This invasive species can cause tens of millions of dollars worth of lawn damage every year. That’s why you have to keep a close eye on these creatures and keep your home from joining the ranks of those who’ve been ravaged by this pest. Once you see them one time, you’ll never forget it. They measure about an inch long and have two forelegs specifically evolved for digging.
They start their life off as eggs, pass through several nymph stages, and then become adults. Understanding this process helps give you the upper hand. One generation generally occurs per year, but lawns in the Deep South can see two. Mole crickets overwinter in soil as large, final-stage nymphs or adults, then emerge and mate when spring soil warms. Males die shortly after mating. Females dig up to 10 inches deep in moist soil and lay 100 to 150 eggs before they die.
Depending on soil temps and soil moisture, eggs hatch in 10 to 40 days, with three weeks most common. By late spring and early summer, the damage has started. With each molting stage, nymphs become larger, more destructive, and more resistant to control. Warm-season grasses, such as Bermuda grass and Bahiagrass, are favorite targets. Because mole cricket nymphs strike during these grasses’ peak growth, their damage often stays hidden until it’s too late.
Florida Southern Mole Crickets In Action
Some species harm the turf through tunneling and uprooting the grasses, but others feed on the roots and dine on the shoots on the surface. Disturbed soil from where adults emerge is an early sign of their spring activity. Uprooted seedlings and raised runways just below the soil’s surface also show where they have been tunneling. By the time the dead turf is visible in late summer, their deed is done.
Preventing the damage these crickets cause requires hitting the destructive nymphs early before the time for treatment has passed. This also means acting before there’s any actual visible damage. Areas with activity in the spring are a good hint of where the eggs where laid, and where the turf should be treated.
Treating adults during their spring rituals can reduce tunneling and egg-laying, but follow-up nymph treatments are essential to successful control.
Nymphs are most vulnerable in late spring and early summer when they’re newly hatched, close to the surface, and about 1/4-inch long. By the time they reach 1/2 inch in length a few weeks later, they burrow deeper into protective soil and become more effective at evading treatments. By monitoring spring activity and proactively treating those areas before nymph damage ever shows, you can hit these pests hardest and most effectively.
Southern Mole Cricket Pest Control
Liquid and granular formulations of insecticides are commonly applied to the soil to suppress mole crickets. In some cases, insecticide application should be followed by irrigation because the insecticide must enter the root zone of the plants to be most effective, but this is an insecticide-specific requirement so the insecticide label should be read carefully for application directions. Bait formulations are also useful. Various baits have proven effective, but most contain wheat bran, cottonseed meal, or some other grain product plus 2-5% toxicant. The addition of 5 to 15% water and 2 to 5% molasses to the grain-toxicant mixture is sometimes recommended. Mole crickets feed at night so baits should be applied in the early evening. Baits are incompatible with irrigation and rainfall.
Apart from insecticides, there are traditional homemade methods of which the scientists approve: they are quite appropriate preventive measures. However, they should be complemented with the mechanical elimination of the insects by catching or digging them out. The scientists from the University of Florida urge you to use pesticides less often: “Pesticides are a valid option for dealing with mole crickets – and a sometimes necessary one – but they do have drawbacks. Pesticides require regular reapplication, which costs you money. They also create potential hazards. Beneficial pollinators such as bees may suffer from pesticides. Rain or sprinklers may wash pesticide runoff into groundwater, which comes up through our taps
Outside of that, once you get a mole cricket infestation, there’s not much you can do without the help of a professional. The best thing you can do for your lawn is to contact a Florida Mole Cricket Exterminator that uses natural methods of pest controls to get rid of these things and not damage your lawn.
