by It’s springtime in Baldwin County, and that means that mole crickets are busy finding mates and creating the next generation of mole crickets for the year.
And mole crickets are destroying your Alabama lawn in the process. How can you stop them?
What Are Mole Crickets?
At night, do you hear the mole crickets chirping outside your window? Mole crickets are very busy right now, eating turfgrass and other vegetation as well as looking for mates.
Mole crickets destroy lawns by
- Their shallow tunneling at the grass line dries out grass roots.
- They eat turf, including the roots and shoots, leaving holes in your yard where weed seeds germinate.
- Mole crickets do the most damage in the spring and fall when they’re actively mating.
Learn more: Protect Your Lawn from Weeds This Year
You have mole cricket problem if you see the following:
- If you have ugly brown patches of dead or dying grass.
- If you have mole crickets in the same area of your lawn as you had last spring.
- There are small tunnels in your yard that makes it look uneven and messy.
- You hear a lot of cricket chirping at night.
- You leave your outdoor lights on all night that attract mole crickets (and grubs) to your yard.
- You have armadillos, birds and raccoons digging up one section of your lawn every spring and fall.
- If you see two to four crickets float to the top for air after you pour soapy dishwater in a 4’ square foot area of your lawn.
Save Money and Water by Implementing These Lawn Sprinkler Ideas
Rescuing Your Mobile, AL Lawn from Mole Crickets
Your local lawn care company helps you get rid of mole crickets by treating your lawn with pest controls designed for these pesky creatures. Right now, your lawn service is mapping, administering and monitoring mole crickets in your neighbors’ yards.
You also need to employ good yard care practices in between visits with your lawn technician. Indeed, here are the basics for taking care of your property that only you control:
- Mow your lawn regularly by taking the top third off your turfgrass.
- Invest in a fertilizer program with your lawn care company.
- Deeply water your lawn one to two times a week. Adjust how much you irrigate your lawn by how much rain you receive each week. For example, you don’t need to water your turfgrass when a rainstorm dumped 1” to 2” of water during a particular week.
- Stay committed to your lawn care company when they want to monitor your lawn for mole cricket activity.
Good cultural practices won’t get rid of mole crickets in your yard, but it’ll help your lawn grass survive the negative effects that these critters do to your turf.
How Xtreme Turf Lawn Care Helps You Take Care of Your Mole Cricket Problem
Right now, many of our customers are calling us for mole cricket control because this is the crickets’ peak mating season. When one of our technicians visits your property, he/she will
- Inspect and diagnose your lawn for mole crickets including mapping out the areas affected by them.
- We’ll design a pest management program for your lawn that includes insect controls.
- We recommend lawn care tips, such as regular irrigation and proper mowing techniques.
- We’ll continue to monitor those areas of your lawn where mole crickets live to make sure our program is working, and your turf is surviving this stressor.
If you’re ready to stop mole crickets from ruining your lawn, call us today at 251-648-9947 or fill out our contact form.
Xtreme Turf Lawn Care serves homeowners in Daphne, Fairhope, Foley, Gulf Shore, Loxley, Mobile, Saraland, and Spanish Fort, AL.
Sources:
Clemson Cooperative Extension, HGIC: “Mole Cricket Management in Turfgrass.”
Ratcliff, Cindy, “Pest Control: Lights Out for Mole Crickets.”
UF/IFAS Extension, “Mole Crickets: Getting Rid of These Invasive Pests.”
