While walking my dog (no, I do not have a Possum) the other
day, I noticed some serious mole cricket tunneling / damage around a light
post. While he lifted his leg on a light post, I noticed the turf around the
post was noticeably thin and had fresh churned up soil on the surface of the
ground. Mole crickets are attracted to light, so it is common to see damage
near light poles. With some products being removed from the market, we are getting
more complaints about mole crickets.
These guys definitely damage turf. Their damage is not caused by them eating the
roots of the plants, as many people think, but is actually caused by them
tunneling near the surface and separating the roots from the soil. When the roots are separated from the soil,
the grass plant dries out and dies. This
tunneling can cause big problems when there is a drought. When the soil is dry,
it separates quickly from the plants roots.
Regular rains, irrigation or rolling the ground with a sod roller, can
help keep the plant alive by keeping the roots in contact with the soil. The
past 6 weeks have been very dry. The fall is bad because the grass is going
dormant and the damage might go undetected.
To control mole crickets, it is best to scout for them. Get two ounces of lemony dish soap in five
gallons of water and slowly pour it over a 2 x 2 area where you may think you
have mole crickets. The soap irritates
their equivalent to our lungs, and brings them to the surface gasping for air.
This will drive them to the surface and depending on how many surface, you can
then decide whether to treat your yard or not.
A golf course green would have less tolerable amount than a home
lawn.
In the springtime, mole crickets are in their adult stage
and are mating and flying around. This
is a good time to treat them because you will break up their life cycle before
they produce new babies.
Later, in June and July, if you use a soap flush again; you
will see the baby mole crickets. Baby
mole crickets are easy to kill because they do not fly.
In the fall, the small mole crickets will have grown into
young adults, have wings, and will tunnel near the surface and fly around. Depending on the amount of mole crickets in
your yard, these are the three critical times to treat for them.
Many control products are available to kill mole
crickets. Some work better depending on
the stage of life of the mole cricket.
There are baits, parasitic nematodes, contact killers, spray products,
etc. When going after the baby mole
cricket, always be sure to use a product that goes through the thatch layer and
into the soil where the baby mole cricket resides. Depending on your population of mole
crickets, the number of applications can vary greatly.
