Mole Crickets

One of the pest golf course managers and landscapers in coastal southeast South Carolina deal with throughout the year are mole crickets.  They are insects that live in the ground and tunnel beneath the turf surface. In small numbers damage is minimal and in some cases acceptable. However if population are high and are left uncontrolled they can cause significant damage and in severe cases complete turf loss.

This picture is text book mole cricket damage in a golf course fairway.  This cricket has most likely been active in this spot for three to four days.  

Above is a picture of an adult mole cricket that I was able to capture by pouring a mixture of lemon scented dish soap and water into its tunnel.  The soap irritates the crickets and forces them to come to the turf surface.  I am not clear on exactly what impact dish soap has on insects but "flushing" is a common and effective practice when trying to identify and or capture many insects that cause damage to turf grass. 

I was able to flush up five mole crickets this past Friday morning while making my way around the golf course. Mole crickets are becoming more and more active as our temperatures continue to rise as we approach summer. 

Ok. So most of you are thinking why is this guy catching mole crickets?  Why doesn't he just put some bug killer on them and be done with it?  Well, unfortunately mole crickets are very difficult to control once they become mature adults. Once they become adults Orthene (acephate) is one of the few products that will give any significant amount of control.  It works best when applied late in the evening to the turf surface through a boom sprayer then watered in lightly to move the product into the canopy of the turf. 

The most successful way to control mole crickets is to treat for them soon after they hatch and are most succeptiable to insecticides we have available to use in our industry.  I monitor cricket activity through the spring and into the summer to determine when they lay their eggs and when the eggs will hatch.  Three weeks after eggs are laid they develope into larvae and it is at this time they are the most succeptiable to our treatments. Our first treatment is typically made the second half of May to the first half of June.  I treat the entire golf course with .2% Merit (imidicloprid) on a 20-0-5 fertilizer from Lebanon turf at 200#/A.  Three weeks after that we make our second treatment in order to catch any crickets that hatched late. Our second treatment is with a 0-0-22 w/ .1% bifenthrin at 200#/A.  

In order for these treatments to be successful it is critical they are timed properaly.  Applications made either too early or too late will not provide adequate control and you have essentially thrown about $18,000.00 down the drain. To insure our timing is spot on and we get the most out of our treatments I monitor cricket activity weekly. 

After I have collected several crickets by performing a soap and water flush I dissect them and inspect for the presence if eggs.  Above is a cricket that had eggs. I will continue to flush and dissect crickets two to three times a week and document my findings. Once I see a decline in the amount of crickets with eggs I will make a note of the date and in three weeks make my first application with Merit and three weeks after that treat with bifenthrin. 

I'll keep you updated as I move through this process.