Keeping a green yard can be tricky this time of year. There are too many diseases and pests out to get it to mention in one blog post. So, we want to focus on one that attacks during the late summer and again in early spring. The insect live under your lawn, have tiny little arms, and can chew your grass into an unpleasant shade of brown in no time; we’re concentrating on mole crickets.

If you have brown patches in your lawn and notice the ground bulging a little bit upwards, you may mole crickets. This species earned its name because like the furry animal, these crickets make tunnels. They have front arms that look like
shovels to dig holes and put themselves in position to feed on blades from theroots. These guys love to feast on Bahia and Bermuda grasses.

Now some more bad news. Mole crickets can also lead to holes in your yard. Here’s
why armadillos and big birds like to snack on the bugs and will tear up your yard to get
to them.

Cricket check
Not sure you have a mole cricket problem? Try this. Start by pouring two gallons of water into a bucket, mix in two ounces of dish washing soap, then pour the concoction over a section of your turf that’s about four-square feet. If you have mole crickets, you’ll see them struggle to the surface in a few minutes.

There is a unique and natural way to get rid of these miserable mole crickets—plant flowers. Well, not any flowers. Mole crickets have a sworn enemy, the Larra Wasp. Consider these guys your flying friends in this bug battle. Larra wasps don’t bother people, don’t build nests, and have a cool nickname, ‘mole cricket hunters.’ You can attract them to your yard by planting flowers like the Shrubbery False Button, Partridge Pea, or Star Flower.

There’s also another way to mash-out mole crickets—call us. We have the equipment, expertise and safe chemicals to turn your cricket crusted grass green again. Esterline Landscape offers several spray programs, even an individual mole
cricket treatment.

Good luck.