| I have a bumper crop of mole crickets in my lawn. What do I use and when do I use it to destoy the pests before they destroy my lawn? Thanks. |
| The most important step to take for successful cricket control is to reduce or eliminate the habitats that make it possible for the crickets to survive. These are areas that can stay moist most of the time. Mow tall grass, and weed flower beds near your house. Keep heavily mulched areas away from the foundation, if possible. Stack wood off the ground, or even better, move woodpiles away from structures to eliminate habitats. Prevent trash cans from contacting the ground, too. Crickets like to hide underneath them. There is an organic product available called Semaspore Organic Grasshopper Control which contains Nosema. This single celled protozoan infects all stages of developing grasshoppers, mole crickets, Mormon and black field crickets. Nosema, when ingested, creates a disease that is specific to these pests. It will not harm any other living species. Grasshoppers and crickets typically lay eggs in Southern exposure locations in hilly, sandy soil. As they hatch they will begin to travel to their food source (your garden). Head them off by applying Nosema in swaths as a barrier about 1 foot wide, or by generally broadcasting product in and around the area to be protected. Grasshoppers and crickets will begin to feed on the spore-infected bran and immediately stop feeding and become sick. They will die either from the disease or will be cannibalized by other hoppers. Nosema works best when applied to younger stages of hoppers. |
